Ruby Tiger Caterpillar?

[poschiavanus]

Found today hidden in log pile:



Closest I can get is Ruby Tiger, but would certainly appreciate confirmation/refutation.

Thanks,

poschiavanus

[Dogghound]

Yes it is a ruby tiger, but as you have probrably guessed its not fully developed, its about half way from egg emergence to find instar larva. Also they overwinter as larvae which makes this one about the rite sort of age for this years offspring.

[poschiavanus]

Thanks for the confirmation, and in particular, for the extra info. I was puzzling my way to sorting out the phenology. This obviously explains the rather variable appearance of the caterpillar on various photos on the internet!

poshiavanus

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

its about half way from egg emergence to find instar larva.

Sorry the find was supposed to be final, but i presume you understood what i meant.

[poschiavanus]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

Sorry the find was supposed to be final, but i presume you understood what i meant.

I did indeed! However, this gives me a chance to ask a supplementary question.

Given that the Ruby Tiger has 2 generations in S&C Britain, I presume that this larva is from the 1st of this years generations. Would a larva of this size overwinter or would it pupate and emerge this year?

Cheers,

poschiavanus

[Dogghound]

The one in your photo will most likely overwinter as its got a fair bit of growing before its fully developed, they pupate after hibernation. The second generation are usually flying around August early september which most likely wouldnt give this one enough time to grow and pupate. Its a tricky one as this one is around the middle of its development, i suppose weather and location would play a part too.

[poschiavanus]

Many thanks Dogghound. One of the beauties of WAB is to be able to get a feel for the biology of an insect in such a short time after first seeing it.

poschiavanus