Caterpillars: Oak Eggar

This golden streak is, if I am not mistaken, the caterpillar of the Oak Eggar (Lasiocampa quercus), hageheld in Dutch, found in Europe and northern Africa. I found this one on a birch in a peat bog near my home town:

^{Olympus Stylus 1s, 42mm, ISO160, f8, 1/160s}

These caterpillars are about 8cm (3.2") long and feed on larch, birch, willow, and blackberry bushes.

Note: don't touch this one; its hairs cause violent allergic reactions in some people.

The moth it turns into is fairly large, with a wingspan of up to 75mm (3"). These moths fly from May to September, in one generation:

^{Photo by Ståle Johnsen, from WikiMedia Commons, under a GFDL license}

Quite pretty, as moths go.

Thanks for watching!

Previous in series: Brindled Green.