Two Caterpillars for ID

[jdoherty]

I took these two pics recently. The strange thing is that I found each of them climbing up the side wall of my house. I put them on leaves and a stick to take their pics. The first pic was taken on 21st Sept and the second on Oct 10th. Thought this was quite late in the year to see caterpillars in N.Ireland. Anyway, help with IDs would be great.

Thanks, John.

[Geoff F]

You may get a better response, John, from the Caterpillar Forum.

However, just a couple of guess to start with.

The first one resembles a Hebrew Character Moth in some ways, although it is possibly a touch late in the year.

The second is one of the Geometridae family and looks a bit like either a Brimstone Moth or a Great Oak Beauty, but I think the latter one is absent from Ireland. The timing is OK, I think, for the Brimstone.

But there are several similar possible species so you really need someone who specialises in this area.