Last year I wrote about the ‘cobwebs’ which appeared in the hedgerows during later May. They are spun by the caterpillars of the Small Ermine Moth in order to protect them from becoming the tasty morsel a bird would enjoy! Protected under the bird proof mesh they are able to strip the hedge of leaves before turning into a chrysalis and then a moth. There are many sections of hedgerow with these ‘cobwebs’ but here is the most dramatic I’ve spotted this year.
I have seen them for a few years when out walking but never as much as Malcolm’s picture
It’s strange that I don’t recall having seen these cobwebs until last year – I wonder what has suddenly made them so prolific in the lanes around Hampshire and Wiltshire?