Question: how long is the shortest caterpillar-we found some tiny ones in the garden

Vikki Rose answered on 2 Jul 2020:

Hi Finn,

Thanks for the question, yes there are some tiny ones. So we divide up moths into what we call Macro (big ones) and Micro (small ones). Of the small ones the tiniest are the leaf mining moths. The adults lay the eggs on the leaves of a specific tree and the caterpillars go into the leaf to start feeding. This is good for them as the leaf keeps them safe from predators and its interesting for us as we can often tell what species the caterpillar is by identifying the plant and then looking at the pattern or mine that the caterpillar has created by its feeding. Brilliantly different species make different patterns! You can use some of the same techniques to identify the caterpillars in your garden, if you can work out what food plant the caterpillars are on you can usually narrow down what species they could be (although there are a lot more moths (over 2500 species) than butterflies (57 resident species)).

Many thanks,
Vikki