Stock video description

One 30-second clip (close up) of aggressive behaviour in cinnabar moth caterpillars. Three caterpillars have chosen to rest on the shell of a snail, and a fourth approaches from above. Footage features aggressive flicking and - possibly - biting.

Gathering on a snail shell seems to be a popular pastime for these caterpillars. I haven't worked out why. They can only rest there, not feed, so one can only conjecture that the snail shell is warm.

The caterpillars of the cinnabar moth Tyria jacobaeae are striped black and orange-yellow, a warning colour and contrasting pattern that is explained as follows: the caterpillars absorb bitter tasting alkaloids from food plants such as ragwort Senecio jacobaea that make such plants distasteful to most animals. The caterpillars themselves become distasteful to birds as a result. The bright, contrasting colours are a striking reminder to birds not to eat them.

This is Full 1080p HD video. Camera locked down. Raw video footage with no post processing. Sound is incidental.

Some other examples of nature in HD video, some with insects:



More nature in HD video
Photographs: More UK wild flowers

Aggressive cinnabar moth caterpillars Tyria jacobaeae HD video

Size	Resolution		Credits$ USD
Small Web	320 x 180 px @ 25 fps	32.68 MB	$36.00 USD 20 Credits
Big Web	640 x 360 px @ 25 fps	81.12 MB	$53.00 USD 30 Credits
HD 720	1280 x 720 px @ 25 fps	216.11 MB	$147.00 USD 85 Credits
HD 1080	1920 x 1080 px @ 25 fps	402.18 MB	$170.00 USD 98 Credits
Small Web	320 x 180 px @ 25 fps	5.80 MB	$36.00 USD 20 Credits
Big Web	640 x 360 px @ 25 fps	8.81 MB	$53.00 USD 30 Credits
Small Web	320 x 180 px @ 25 fps	9.55 MB	$36.00 USD 20 Credits
Big Web	640 x 360 px @ 25 fps	25.67 MB	$53.00 USD 30 Credits

Stock video details

Contributor:	Whiteway view portfolio
Keywords:	Animal Behavior, Caterpillar, Moth, Cinnabar Moth, Ragwort, Close-up, England, Animals In The Wild ...Show all keywords: 32 Insect, Wind, Warning Sign, Food, banded, Mitcham Common, Warning Colour, Horizontal, Outdoors, High Definition Video Format, Wildflower, Video, Color Image, Surrey, Merton, Eating, Action, Contrasts, Motion, Yellow, Black, Striped, Pattern, Nature Wrong keywords? Tell us
Downloads:	0
Views:	0
Uploaded on:	10-05-12 © Roger Whiteway
Source Codec:	HD: Photo JPEG
Length:	29.96 seconds
Anamorphic:	No