Sent when ready in June or July. A very attractive moth with a stunning, large eyespot on the hindwing. The forewing differs in the female and the male with the former a patterned brown and the latter a bright yellow. The larvae are polyphagous and will eat most trees and shrubs. In the early stages they are processionary, and gregarious until the fourth instar when they are bright green in appearance with spines that can sting like a nettle - do not handle them directly! Pairing is extremely brief and easy to miss but readily achieved in a standard hanging/ popup cage. Attractive in all its stages and well worth breeding.
Foodplants: oak (quercus), plum (prunus), bramble (rubus) and many others.
Rearing: plastic boxes and ventilated cages.
Photographs: 3rd and 4th instar larvae; adult male at rest; adult female at rest.
