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Project Noah Nature School
Tyria jacobaeae
The cinnabar moth caterpillar starts out a pale yellow, but as it grows it develops the orange and black stripes. The adult cinnabar moth is black with red markings.
Cinnabar moth caterpillars use aposematic warning colouration, deterring predators through the use strong colouration that signals toxicity. This is similar to the aposematic colouration of nudibranchs.
Spotted on Jun 16, 2011
Submitted on Jun 16, 2011
5 Comments
It is a gift and a curse. :)
Haha ditto on reef-fish. Know the feeling ;)
No problem. Happy to pass on the info. I'm a bit of an insect geek I'm afraid. Not great at parties but it comes in handy on here. :)
Cool, will update info! Thanks :) (again!)
The colouration of these is defense in its own right. They are toxic due to their diet as caterpillars. They don't need to mimic wasps as they are just as nasty. It is called aposematism. Advertising your defenses instead of camouflage.