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?

When you get down to it butterfly/ moth differences are minimal.

I've handled it a lot with bare hands before, last year. Should I be worried ?!

I did the same OP, cut my grass save a couple small ragwort plants that had cinnabar feeding on them. They are lovely!

Apparently ragwort can cause irritation to the skin, I haven't experienced this in my limited handling of it.

I have often pulled it up without gloves - not recommended apparently but if I see some, and it appears overnight, I pull it up whether i have gloves handy or not rather than leaving it until I have gloves..

Seems worse this year, I have filled 3 empty haylage bags with it since spring and I don't usually have a problem.

It is concentrated in one area of my field where the adjacent farmer (over a single track lane) seems to cultivate or ignore the stuff.

They may be moths, but they look spectacular.
c2.staticflickr.com/4/3391/3637358171_a6321dea5e_b.jpg

glasgoow I don't think you need to worry. I too have handled it without gloves, but after reading that story i always try to wear gloves. It can have a cumulative affect i think.

They are ragwort, but i would keep them, because I remember those caterpillars on ragwort being really common when i was a kid, but nowadays I never see them. I see ragwort, but rarely the caterpillars. I think its another sign our ecosystem is going to shit. Let them live

Cinnabars are still commmon but are declining rapidly and are now subject to a biodiversity action plan (along with about 150 other British moth species).