Hi again, sorry for continuous posts! Is it ok if I ask what kind of caterpillar this little guy is?
It's very soft, really sticky feet, kind of velvety, and it's matt (?) green with a white line down each side, slightly darker, vague arrows pointing all the way along its body and it has two small white spots at one end.
It was found on an arum lily leaf - is this its host plant? What will this fellow eat? Worried that it dies because of me not feeding it properly :-(
Thank you!
Take care,
Lil Wren
Hi he is not eating the arum lily leaves and he is alive but getting weaker. Is there anything I can feed him?
Thanks Alan I'll try that - we have roses next to the lily? Is it worth trying cabbage
I'm not sure where to find them, but I'll try really hard to pick some up today as soon as possible for it. Just now I've done what you suggested and put in a variety including cabbage, broccoli, green bean, raspberry, rose and arum lily. I hope he'll eat something :-( Thanks again Alan
Good point. I've not seen any more of his kind?
Hello, closest I've found is the caterpillar of the deep-brown dart moth although I must admit to struggling with caterpillars that are all green with few distinctive marks, there are plenty of green ones to choose from!!!
If it is and I am by no means certain, then the food plants I have listed include tufted hair grass, dock, sorrel, broom and hawthorn.
Warden Intern at Otmoor.
Wondered about Angle-shades? They certainly will feed on nettles. Here is the list of recorded food plants.
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
My photos on Flickr
Blimey they both look very similar to him. Thanks so much for replying Ian and MarJus I'll add those plants to the tub!
I think it is a very young Elephant Hawk Moth Caterpillar - largest moth in the UK.
If so it should eat Rose Baywillowherb, fuchsia and bedstraw.
https://www.google.com/search?q=elephantt+hawk+moth+catapiller&oq=elephantt+hawk+moth+catapiller&aqs=chrome..69i57.8792j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#wptab=si:AEcPFx54xC24hHdmk4sTG9PjszVGWKs4z3N92T7o14UGufZwu2dl7SliODIJK-XXi-A2sfd1o_NHEiTsxgkjRe-4Y66UkVAZz7feUPhUFz_wxOm4uJIDDUDbRN0Mpnz8uz-itf76S1LtUmDV8gfNCiBmSD_aMUb9gNBaR-GltUAZ_cE0htlkFgQ%3D