Butterfly caterpillars

All images on this website have been taken in Leicestershire and Rutland by NatureSpot members. We welcome new contributions - just register and use the Submit Records form to post your photos. Click on any image below to visit the species page. The RED / AMBER / GREEN dots indicate how easy it is to identify the species - see our Identification Difficulty page for more information. A coloured rating followed by an exclamation mark denotes that different ID difficulties apply to either males and females or to the larvae - see the species page for more detail.

Caterpillars

Caterpillars are the larval form of several insect groups, including moths, butterflies and sawflies. Many are colourful and ornamented with hairs and projections, usually signifying that they are are toxic to birds, their main predators. Other species are camouflaged, usually green or brown, to avoid detection.

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Butterfly caterpillars