Caterpillars

Caterpillars are the larval stages of moths and butterflies. They belong to the lepidoptera family. They have a segmented body with three pairs of true legs and can have several pairs of prolegs (little legs that aren’t proper legs) There are hundreds of different types of caterpillars from all different mothsand butterflies – silver Y moth, tortrix moth and white cabbage are some examples.
Moths and butterflies will lay eggs usually on the underside of the leaves but some varieties will lay just behind a bud or the bark. The egg will hatch into a larvae/ caterpillar. The larvae will eventually pupate and overwinter either on the plant or in the soil. These will then hatch out to be the next generation of butterflies or moths.