Beautiful Golden Y - Autographa pulchrina
© Roy Leverton | The crytic markings and tufts of hair break up the outline of the Beautiful Golden Y giving effective camouflage. |
The caterpillars of the Beautiful Golden Y hatch in August and will feed on Dead Nettle (Lamium spp.) and a range of other plants as well as the Stinging Nettle. The larva hibernates when still quite small and starts feeding again in the following spring. The caterpillar is green with a broad white stripe along the back and a pale yellow stripe down each flank. After completing its growth in the spring the larva pupates in a large loose silken cocoon among the leaves of the host plant to emerge in June. The adult mainly flies at dusk and can be seen vistiing a wide range of woodland and garden flowers. Back to moths of the nettle patch | 
