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The lobster moth is known from its curious larvae than the moth, a member of the prominent family.
It is known when the lobster moth larvae hatch the caterpillars mimic red ants, well I had some Lobster moth eggs, the baby caterpillars looked like ants and could run fast like a red ant and look nothing like a moth caterpillar. So for my photography I tried an experiment with some hatched larvae and some aggressive red ants. The larvae, its front legs which was waving around, met the antennae of the red ant a the same position It was just like two ant communicating with each other, after the encounter the ant seem to lose interest and turned the other way. I tried the same experiment with a few larvae and different ants, ok this experiment was set up at home and not in the wild or near a ants nest, but it can not be a coincident that it looks and runs like a ant. Even if the larvae are annoyed too much, as I tried with a small brush the ants wriggles about violently just as an injured ant would, very clever. From the time they hatch the larvae are strange as the as the eat there egg shell, which they will even guard, from other hatchlings, and then do not eat again until they have shed there first skin. At all stages the caterpillar looks like a crustacean / arthropod type creature with its very long legs and swollen last segment. And it puts up a startling threat display with its legs outstretched looking like claws and its head bent backwards over the body.
When fully grown the caterpillar, which is quite large up to 70mm in length, spins a strong cocoon between dead leaves, and hatches into a moth from May until July. This very interesting species' is hard to find in the wild, especially the caterpillars, even with there odd appearance are very well camouflaged on branches, I have only ever found male moths in my moth trap, probably travelling further looking for females and these are always tatty specimens.
Fortunately the Lobster moth can often be brought from entomological suppliers, and butterfly farms, in the UK.
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