Six spots

Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae)

While we sat working in the office the other day, Mike suddenly said "There's something red out there" and headed for the door. Sure enough, there was something red – a handsome Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae), trundling around on Marjoram flowers near the sundial. This day-flying moth is the only burnet moth in the UK with six (rather than five or fewer) spots on its metallic green forewings. Those spots are a warning to potential predators that the moth is toxic; it's full of cyanide. Some of this comes from the food plants that the moth ate as a caterpillar. Preferred larval food plants, such as Common and Greater Bird's-foot Trefoils, are loaded with toxins which the caterpillars can safely metabolise for their own use. And if they can't get enough cyanide from their food sources, they can make their own! Such protection is so important to the moth's survival that males even present "nuptial gifts" of cyanide to females while mating; presumably, this helps to increase the survival rates of any resulting offspring. 

Six-spot Burnets are common and widespread across England, Wales and Ireland, but are mostly coastal in Scotland. Elsewhere, they range across much of Europe, and east into Lebanon and Syria. They flourish in grasslands (particularly those rich in flowers), and can be found from coastal cliffs and sand dunes to roadside verges, meadows and woodland clearings. Adults feed on scabious, knapweeds and thistles, all of which we have on the property; they clearly like Marjoram too. Caterpillars, when they're ready to pupate, build their cocoons high on grass stems. Hopefully our pocket meadow, with its bird's-foot trefoils and abundant grass stems for the caterpillars, plus various food plants for the adults, will prove appealing.