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Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar

6.295 24

Mark Billiau.

Premium (World), region Antwerp, Belgium

Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar

In this shot you can see a Cinnabar Moth caterpillar with its striking black and orange hoops (some say a black and orange striped pyjama) feeding on its host plant, which is Ragwort.

Ragwort however contains poison, but this caterpillar absorbs easily the very bitter tasting toxic substances and stores them in its skin. Becoming inedible in this way, together with the bright colours which act as a warning sign, this caterpillar is seldom eaten by predators.

During its evolution, a peeling proces takes place approximately 5 or 6 times. This is important, because after the peeling, he’s rid of all absorbed poison !

Dutch name : Rups van Sint-Jacobsvlinder (op Jacobskruiskruid)
German name : Raupe von Jakobskrautbär (auf Jakobs-Greiskraut)
Latin name : Tyria jacobaeae

More information on Ragwort, can be found in the picture below.

Comentarios 24

Gaby Falkenberg 04/07/2009 12:59
Raupe,passend zur gelben Blüte ;.)
Wunderschöne Aufnahme,Mark.
LG.Gaby
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Fons van Swaal 30/06/2009 16:24
Excellent shot Mark......
Only have seen em ones ......
Wish and hoping for an other encounter.....;-))
Greetings,
F.....
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Natalja Dralova 28/06/2009 21:56
Oh! I saw, that these caterpillars on yellow colors, them was much.... I shall know now, who they such....

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Adele D. Oliver 28/06/2009 21:31
An excellent capture of this beautiful caterpillar in his striped pj's .. and the bright yellow ragwort. I admire how you spot these little creatures and know what they are so you can get us all the interesting information from wikipedia!
greetings, Adele
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Jan Rillich 28/06/2009 21:24
a wonderful summer picture
Jan
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Deryck 28/06/2009 19:34
This is an interesting version of symbiosis. Great picture depicting the flower and it's predator.
Deryck
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adriano j faria 28/06/2009 19:27
Very good camouflage!!.........love the ligth and colours!!!
good work Mark!!

Adriano.
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j.a.j.jansen m. 28/06/2009 19:09
Great colours and details, I love it.
Are you a biologist by profession? You know a lot about biology
Regards, Jan.
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A. Lötscher -Bergjäger- 28/06/2009 17:18
Fantastisches Bild!!!
LG Bergjäger
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JeannyL 28/06/2009 13:18
Die Raupe passt wunderbar zur Blume,
wunderschön fotografiert Mark
LG Jeanny
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† Ushie Farkas 28/06/2009 12:50
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO beautiful,Mark ! I love your text, to see your pics is allways a big pleasure! Salut Ushie
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Ryszard Basta 28/06/2009 11:50
grossartig die Quali
schoen abgelichtet
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Josef Kainz 28/06/2009 11:11
Super ein klasse Makro
lg. josef
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Hans-Reiner Bohn 28/06/2009 11:06
...hopr these lessons will go on and on...
Good work, Mark!
g, reiner
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Anca Silvia B. 28/06/2009 11:02
Excellent!!!!!
LG Anca
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