Cinnabar Moth

Tyria jacobaeae
Cinnabar moth Cinnabar moth

The Cinnabar, a red and black mainly night-flying moth often disturbed/seen in the day, is Britain's most poisonous moth and caterpillar (to birds/predators).

Many thanks to Bob Clark for the cinnabar moths above and caterpillars below, including his "trademark" shots of the subject on his own hand/finger.
Cinnabar moth caterpillars Cinnabar moth caterpillars Cinnabar moth caterpillars
Bob explains: "Am seeing more and more cinnabar caterpillars on ragwort in my particular South London butterfly haunt . . . Exposed as they often are on ragwort plants on pathways which could be brushed by passers-by or 'strimmerman'. I lift and transpose them to safer ragwort homes."
     
The numerous yellow and black caterpillars feed voraciously on ragwort from which the larvae absorb the plant's poison (and retain it to adulthood). They have been imported to Australasia for ragwort control. Many caterpillars die of starvation once the ragworts have been stripped; some turn to cannibalism; a few make it to moth-hood. The bright colours of caterpillar and moth are to warn predators that they are poisonous.
       
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CINNABAR MOTHS IN TOTTERIDGE FIELDS, NORTHWEST LONDON  
Cinnabar moth Cinnabar moth Cinnabar moth
Despite the presence of a small area of Oxford ragwort, Cinnabar caterpillars and moths had not been recorded in the Totteridge Fields until June 2008, when this one individual was seen in a field adjacent to (and some distance from) the ragwort patch.
Cinnabar moth caterpillar Cinnabar moth caterpillar  
By 2011, the ragwort in the Fields had increased and Cinnabar caterpillars were prevalent