Friday 10 June 2016

Small Tortoiseshell, pupated in leaf tent

A  Small Tortoiseshell final instar larva has very unusually made a tent out of a nettle leaf then pupated inside.

A tent made by a Small Tortoiseshell final instar larva
Where it has pupated, which is very unusual

I very carefully peeled back the Nettle to reveal a golden pupa, a beautiful variation of a Small Tortoiseshell pupa.

The beautiful golden pupa of the Small Tortoiseshell revealed
I folded the leaf back and, left it how i had found it.

No comments:

Post a Comment