Look! Cinnabar moth!

Last summer I was surprised to find cinnabar moth caterpillars feeding on the native pahokoraka, Senecio quadridentatus, in the middle of Christchurch city, NZ. Cinnabar moths were released to control the European pasture weed ragwort back in the 1940s.

I collected four caterpillars and fed them on pahokoraka leaves until they pupated on 16 January. I put them on some scrunched up newsprint in a plastic container and put that outside in a shaded area of our garden. Today, three adult moths emerged.

They're day-flying moths which retain the poisons of their host plants and advertise that to would-be predators with their bright colours,

https://inaturalist.nz/observations/328816568

#mothodon #moths #nz #Christchurch #BiologicalControl

Look! Cinnabar moth!

Last summer I was surprised to find cinnabar moth caterpillars feeding on the native pahokoraka, Senecio quadridentatus, in the middle of Christchurch city, NZ. Cinnabar moths were released to control the European pasture weed ragwort back in the 1940s.

I collected four caterpillars and fed them on pahokoraka leaves until they pupated on 16 January. I put them on some scrunched up newsprint in a plastic container and put that outside in a shaded area of our garden. Today, three adult moths emerged.

They're day-flying moths which retain the poisons of their host plants and advertise that to would-be predators with their bright colours,

https://inaturalist.nz/observations/328816568

#mothodon #moths #nz #Christchurch #BiologicalControl