Peacock Butterfly Caterpillars

On a walk round the lakes this evening, Zoe spotted these on some stinging nettles (Urtica dioica).  She guessed that they probably were the caterpillars of some colourful butterfly, and she was right: they are caterpillars of the peacock butterfly (Inachis io).

There were also some smaller ones of the same species on a nettle plant a bit further on:

And, on another nettle plant, there were even smaller ones enmeshed in what I presume was a protective web:

Photos taken in Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2009-06-09.

Update on Thu 2009-08-13 by Tristram Brelstaff

This species, Inachis io,  is also known by the synomyn Nymphalis io.  For a photo of an adult peacock butterfly see here.

White Spider

A white crab spider, probably a female Misumena vatia.  These spiders hide on flowers (here an ox-eye daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare) in order to ambush visiting insects.  The females can be yellow or white, depending on the colour of the flower they are on.  The males are smaller and darker.

Photo taken in Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2009-05-31.

Straw Dot Moth

A straw dot moth, Rivula sericealis (order Lepidoptera, family Noctuidae).

Photo taken in Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2009-06-04.

White-Footed Braconid Wasp

Ichneumon and Braconid wasps can be rather frustrating insects to identify.  First of all they tend to be very active and rarely stand still long enough for you to get a good photograph of them.  Secondly, there are so many species of them, several thousand in the UK alone, that it can be difficult to know where to start.  However, this morning, when I saw the white feet on the wasp in the above photo, I thought I might be in with a chance.  A search for "White footed ichneumon" on Google lead me eventually to the Braconidae page at Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects. Version: 31st May 2009. http://delta-intkey.com, and this illustration of Zeles albiditarsus (also known as Zemiotes albiditarsus) in particular.  The match seems pretty good: white 'feet', 'spurs' on the 'ankles', red on the right parts of the abdomen.  I'll take this as a tentative identification.

Photo taken in Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2009-06-07.

Green Oak Tortrix Moth

A green oak tortrix moth (Tortrix viridana, order Lepidoptera, family Tortricidae).

Photo taken in Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2009-06-04.