Lackey Caterpillar Malacosoma neustria

The caterpillar of the Lackey moth is a colourful pale blue, white and orange larva although the adult is a brown, fairly plain moth. It has false eye spots to deter predators.

The young caterpillar starts with more muted colours of blue-grey, off-white and dull orange (above) which brighten up (below) as it matures.

The caterpillar's hairs can irritate skin but it is far less harmful than the slightly similar Brown-tail caterpillar.