Special features: The drinker moth gets its name from the caterpillars habit of drinking large droplets of rainwater or dew from the grass stems on which they feed.
Although the caterpillars are quite large and impressive, the moth itself is a plain brown colour with a wingspan of around 50mms. Drinker moths are fairly widespread throughout Britain.
The hairy caterpillars are often seen between April and June, and the moths normally start flying in July.
Thanks to you both you've saved me hours of trawling the net. Ufortunately the book i bought recently to help id things does not have caterpillar pictures. The name of the book is "Complete British Wildlife" as it does not have the drinker moth anywhere in it's pages it seems to have been named wrongly maybe the "Almost Complete British Wildlife" would have been more appropriate.
Discussion
3 repliesThanks
Stewart...
Phillip.
Latin name: Philudoria potatoria
Special features: The drinker moth gets its name from the caterpillars habit of drinking large droplets of rainwater or dew from the grass stems on which they feed.
Although the caterpillars are quite large and impressive, the moth itself is a plain brown colour with a wingspan of around 50mms. Drinker moths are fairly widespread throughout Britain.
The hairy caterpillars are often seen between April and June, and the moths normally start flying in July.
All the best
Thanks Again Stewart.......