A Year in the Valley

Yesterday, when I went for a walk round the garden, I didn’t find much that was new.  It was hot and sunny with a stiff breeze to keep it a comfortable temperature.  There are still some butterflies around – I saw Red Admirals, Small Heath, whites, a Meadow Brown, and a Speckled Wood.  There are grasshoppers, flies, and spiders.  Then I spotted a fat black caterpillar on the path in Little Venice.  What looked like a tiny plush draught excluder was, in fact, an Elephant Hawk Moth Caterpillar.  It has four false eyes to make predators think it is a lot bigger and fiercer than it actually is.  Elephant Hawk Moths are a stunning pink and green combo.  They are seen from May to July and the caterpillars from July to September.  They eat nectar from bedstraws and willowherbs, both of which are still flowering in the watermeadow.  The fact that the caterpillar was on the ground means it might be getting ready to pupate.  I’m hoping that it withdraws back into the long grass to do that.