MOTH, MAGPIE

(Nyctemera annulata).

This striking day-flying moth is very common throughout New Zealand and is recognisable by the jet-black wings bearing several white spots and the black and yellow abdomen. Not less striking is the caterpillar, mainly black with some red stripes, which is covered with tufts of black hairs. This caterpillar is the so-called “woolly-bear” which feeds on cinerarias and groundsel in urban areas and ragwort in farming areas.

by Roy Alexander Harrison, D.SC., Senior Lecturer in Agricultural Zoology, Lincoln Agricultural College.