To cut these weeds and deprive these beautiful caterpillars of a home (photo included)

[Glasgoow]

My lawn is massively overgrown. Its my last few weeks of sorting it before its too late and can't do anything else it will die off in winter.

There are these yellow flowers with beautiful striped caterpillars. I've left them alone all spring and summer. Now I want to cut them down and make my garden look semi presentable (might sell early next year).

There are literally hundreds of them over these many plants, do seem to be going down. If I cut them all and put on compost will they be OK? They must be getting ready for the winter and going in a cacoon soon right?

I've just had this come up on a thread in Chat "what's the Vegan stance on headlice".

I'm Vegan and that does affect how I weed etc my garden. So I'd leave them. They'll at least be food for the birds.

A lot of people only garden, for appearance sake and they'd say remove them.

They are cinnabar moth caterpillars. If you can hold on a bit longer they should soon leave the plant on their own, as they should be pupating sometime this month. They will emerge in the spring as lovely red and black moths.

Is there any way that you can leave them for another couple of weeks, until the caterpillars are no longer on them?

They look like caterpillars of the beautiful cinnabar moth

Think of it as your chance to do your bit for local wildlife

I'm vegan too, heading over to that thread shortly, but I wouldn't be killing them. Just what they live off and move them to a new home (the hedge). Have to admit I put bear traps out for slugs

But that probably kills less than if I bought non organic veg in supermarkets.

X post!

Cinnabar moths are beautiful, I've never seen one in RL. Please leave the weeds until they've gone, I'd love to see one.

They eat specific food, moving them to the hedge will kill them.

Bear traps - really

Wow thanks, now I know its ragwort and those moths are lovely - I get a lot. Right they are staying. Will they cacoon nearby? I don't want to hurt them if I cut the lawn in a few weeks

Ragwort is extremely toxic to horses, so most horse owners hate the stuff and spend their lives digging it out. You can get special tools to do this even. If you live anywhere near grazing that your plant can seed to, please please please dig the damnable plant up and destroy it. Watching a horse die of liver failure is miserable.

Have to admit I put bear traps out for slugs

Those are quite some slugs!

Sorry love but that plant is so noxious that if it can be eaten by anything [other than the moth] then you need to dig it out. eg passing dogs etc.

The cinnabar eats it on purpose so that other prey will actually be affected by the toxicity from the plant if it eats it - it is very clever.

I'n vegan and no I couldn't take their home away... and I'm too lazy to weed!

I would leave it (and I spend plenty of time digging it up as I have 10 acres of grazing for my horses) if there is no danger of it seeding.

This paper deals with it

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69264/pb9840-cop-ragwort.pdf

Includes the following:

Ragwort is a native species of the British Isles. It is a specified weed under
the Weeds Act 1959. It contains toxins which can have debilitating or fatal consequences, if eaten by horses and other grazing animals. Ragwort is less likely to be rejected by stock if dried and contamination of forage (hay, haylage and silage) is a particular problem. Humans may be at risk from ragwort poisoning through direct contact (e.g. hand pulling) or the consumption of contaminated food. Research undertaken for the Government in the 1990s suggested that the risk to human health in the UK through the contamination of staple foods i.e. grain, milk, eggs and honey is likely to be insignificant.

This code does not seek to eradicate ragwort. Ragwort, as a native plant, is
very important for wildlife in the UK. It supports a wide variety of invertebrates and is a major nectar source for many insects. In many situations ragwort poses no threat to horses and other livestock. It is a natural component of many types of unimproved grassland and is used by some invertebrate species that have conservation needs. However it is necessary to prevent its spread where this presents a high risk of poisoning horses and livestock or spreading to fields used for the production of forage. A control policy should be put in place where a high and medium risk is identified.

Ragwort is a highly successful species and in certain situations it can be difficult
to control particularly where it has not been effectively managed for a number
of years. As a result it might be necessary to use a variety of control methods over an extended period to reduce populations if, on the basis of the risk assessment, they have been found to be problematic.

High Risk:
• Ragwort is present and flowering/seeding within 50m of land used for grazing by horses and other animals or land used for feed/forage production
Medium Risk:
• Ragwort is present within 50m to 100m of land used for grazing by horses and other animals or land used for feed/forage production
Low Risk:
• Ragwort or the land on which it is present is more than 100m from land used for grazing by horses and other animals or land used for feed/forage production.

So, I would assess the risk and take a view .... if you are still awake that is .

Oh Oh Oh, cinnabar moth caterpillars.
Best thing about them is that if you clap really loudly next to them they will stand on end. No idea why.

Ah I think it will go, its next to my strawberries and black currents!

Beer traps

Lovely - you're lucky! They just like ragwort... Could you leave them till they change into butterflies?

laugh all you like but the size of the slugs in my garden need a bloody bear trap! huge slimy fuckers

Stepaway I've got giant ones too bastards

Awww (though I'm not sure I'd be so enamoured of them now that I know they're MOTHS )

I grow nasturiums, a plant I hate with a passion purely because the Cabbage Whites like it.
We've had loads of eggs and caterpillars but when we get heavy rain, they get washed away. I'm sure 99% have been birdfood.

Leave it if it's in your garden until the caterpillars drop off which should be soon.

I've left a big crop of purple toadflax growing up the top of my garden for the last 2 summers as it is covered in toadflax brocade moth caterpillars. They drop off and turn into cocoons to overwinter in the ground. I keep thinking I'll dig it out and reclaim that bit of the garden but I like doing my bit for wildlife.

Wear gloves when handling it, a few years ago a woman died of liver failure after pulling ragwort up with bare hands.

Cinnabar moths are gorgeous, 70, we are lucky enough to have the visit our garden - they are day time moths. We have to stop the dog from eating them though.

As Notta says, wear gloves when you handle ragwort, it is horrible stuff.