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The life cycle of the moth is atypical, in that it spends approximately nine months (August to April) as larvae (caterpillars), leaving about one month each for pupae, imagos and eggs. Larvae (caterpillars) are covered in hairs. Two red spots on the back, toward the tail, distinguish these species from other similarly hairy moth larvae.
The caterpillar is smooth and black, with innumerable whitish dots; there are also eleven large spots of the same colour arrayed in a row on each side of the back, and beneath these as many spots of the same size and of a bright coral-red colour; the head is of the same coral-red colour, and a line of the same colour runs all along the back ...
When the eggs hatch, small yellow caterpillars emerge. As the caterpillars age, they molt five times (the fifth being into a pupa). Each instar is slightly different, but on their fifth and final instar, they become bright green with silver spots on their sides. They feed heavily on their host plant and can grow up to 3–4 inches long.
The spiny caterpillars are striking in appearance, with black bodies and a line of eight reddish-orange dots running down the back (aposematic, warning coloration). The prolegs are dark red. The body is covered with short hairs and black spines and white dots. [2] The fully grown mourning cloak caterpillars attain two inches in length. [3]
The basic colour is pale brown or green, with a whitish underside. The green forms usually show a dark brown or reddish irregular stripe on the back. The head is reddish brown and relatively small. These caterpillars feed on knotgrass, dock, Anthemis, Emex, Oxygonum, Persicaria, Rhus and other low growing plants. The pupa can reach a length of ...
Bright red defensive glands are seen on the hind end of the back. Four white toothbrush-like tufts stand out from the back, and a gray-brown hair pencil is at the hind end. [citation needed] The four white tufts on the larva's back may mimic the cocoons of parasitic wasps. [3] Touching the hairs sets off an allergic reaction in many humans. [2]
The magpie moth's "woolly bear" caterpillars are around 35–38 mm when fully grown and predominantly black with lines of red down its sides and back, [1] [2] blue spots and tufts of hair on each segment.
C. rumicis L. (3i). Forewing dark grey, varied in places with whitish; lines and shades black; outer line marked by a white spot on the submedian fold; hindwings brownish fuscous Larva marbled dark and light grey: a dorsal row of red spots on black blotches, and a row of white spots on each side; a pale line below spiracles, containing orange-red tubercles; segments 5 and 12 of dorsum humped ...