MAY: Garden Tiger Moth EGGS
Food plants: pretty much anything, but some of the best include Willow, Dandelion, Dock, Privet
Difficulty: very easy (1/10)
Temperature: room temperature or outdoors
Lifecycle: there are a couple of broods per year in nature, with the final one in autumn overwintering as a caterpillar (L2/3). Metamorphosis is completed the following spring. Continually brooded indoors.
Food plants: pretty much anything, but some of the best include Willow, Dandelion, Dock, Privet
Difficulty: very easy (1/10)
Temperature: room temperature or outdoors
Lifecycle: there are a couple of broods per year in nature, with the final one in autumn overwintering as a caterpillar (L2/3). Metamorphosis is completed the following spring. Continually brooded indoors.
Arctia caja, commonly known as the Garden Tiger Moth, is an infamous species found in many parts of Europe, North America, and Asia - known both for its distinctive, colourful adult moth and brilliant hairy caterpillars (known popularly as Woolly Bears). After about 6 weeks, caterpillars spin loose silk cocoons and form a pupa inside. The adult moth emerges quickly, only 2 or 3 weeks later, breeding easily and producing masses of tiny green eggs. Once common, this moth is now increasingly scarce in the UK.