Pandemis corylana on Alder Buckthorn

On 27th June 2010 I found a small green caterpillar in a rolled leaf on my Alder Buckthorn (Frangula alnus).

Despite suspecting it to be the ubiquitous Epiphyas postvittana, I kept the larva which soon pupated.

On the 13th July 2010 I was pleased to discover that a pristine Pandemis corylana had emerged.

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Otherwise known as the Chequered Fruit-tree Tortrix, the larvae of Pandemis corylana are known to feed on a wide variety of trees and shrubs.

Ben Rhydding Gravel Pits

It must be the best week of the year for knocking White-letter Hairstreak caterpillars from elms!

Yesterday, I went to Ben Rhydding Gravel Pits, near Ilkley, and placed a blue rubber ground-sheet under a small elm before rattling the tree vigorously.

After a few shakes I had half a dozen Winter Moth larvae, a couple of Mottled Umber and this WLH caterpillar which is the same size, but noticably more yellow, than the individual found at Baildon yesterday.

Someone has planted Alder Buckthorns at Ben Rhydding and when I found this green caterpillar I initially thought it could be a Brimstone. Closer inspection, however, leads me to the conclusion that it is actually a Hebrew Character.

There were hundreds of Small Tortoiseshell larvae feasting on the nettles by the roadside and Orange Tip eggs on the Garlic Mustard flowers in the same hedgerow.