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When the eyed hawk is disturbed or provoked, it flashes its hindwings, to reveal its colourful blue and black 'eye' spots on a pink background. It also rocks its body up and down to frighten any predator. It has been proved in tests that this moth defense does put off some wild birds from eating it. The caterpillars are quite large, and I quite often find them feeding higher than the poplar hawks on the same food plants, and when feeding on sallow can be seen from a long distance away, to a trained eye. Many of these sadly will have parasitic wasp larvae feeding inside the caterpillar, but even this makes very interesting photography. (See parasitic larvae hatching from a live caterpillar in my insect’s section.) I find the caterpillars feeding on sallow, willows and Poplar, and they will also eat apple and aspen.
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