Love bugs? Here's a beauty...

You can imagine my delight when I discovered this spiky creature munching away on our nettles:

Thanks to the handy UK Butterflies website, I was able to track him down and find out he's the caterpillar of the peacock butterfly - one of my favourites because of their beautiful spots.

I don't think I've come across a peacock caterpillar before so that was a real treat.

Even better, I'm going to be getting hands-on with lots of insects tomorrow morning as we hold our next Nose to Nose with Nature session. Last month we went hunting for toads, grass snakes, newts and more, as we explored the world of reptiles and amphibians. This time our theme is creepy crawlies so there's definitely some bug-hunting and pond-dipping on the cards, and I'm particularly looking forward to the snail race...

Come along - all you need is a child or two as an excuse! - and enjoy a fascinating start to the weekend.

Peacock butterfly image: Chris Shields (rspb-images.com)