Campion moth caterpillar

This is a red campion seed capsule full of ripe seeds and .....

... this face peering out of a ripe seed capsule is the caterpillar of the campion moth Sideridis rivularis, which has eaten all the seeds

When they are small the caterpillars can eat the seeds from within, but as they grow that can be a bit of a squeeze, so ....

... they start again, working from the outside.


Photographed at Egglestone in Teesdale, North Pennines