Cinnabar moth caterpillars (Tyria jacobaeae). These brightly coloured larvae develop into equally brightly coloured red and black moths, named after the red mineral ore of mercury, cinnabar. Their bright colours are a warning of their toxicity due to exclusive feeding on genus Senecio such as ragwort shown here, from which they absorb alkaloids that make them unpalatable, and they also possess irritating hairs. Because of this they face low predation, often leading to large populations completely stripping food sources before reaching pupation. This has led to the evolution of frequent cannibalism as a population and thus food source regulating mechanism. Chertsey, 14/07/17 #cinnabarmoth #caterpillar #tyriajacobaeae #toxiccolors #lepidoptera #ragwort #blackandyellow (at Chertsey)