A Cinnabar Moth in the Garden

I’ve been a bit under the weather recently and haven’t managed my usual walks. However, I consider myself very lucky to have a garden – where nature often comes to me.

Last year, we let a patch of ragwort grow at the end of the garden. It became the most wonderful cinnabar moth caterpillar nursery, the plants absolutely covered in those distinctive yellow and black stripes. The entire cinnabar moth life cycle depends on this one plant: the adults lay their eggs on ragwort, and the caterpillars feed almost exclusively on it. Without ragwort, there would be no cinnabar moths.

My Baby Cinnabar Moth Caterpillars, Summer 2024

This beautiful adult moth landed near me in the garden this week, and I’m convinced it’s one of my little cinnabar babies come back to say thank you. The caterpillars will return this summer before burrowing into the ground to hibernate as chrysalises, emerging the following year as one of our most striking daytime moths. Having this beauty stay still long enough for me to snatch a couple of photos cheered me up no end.

Adult Cinnabar Moth in the Garden This Week

Ragwort often gets a bad name, but if you’re not near horses or livestock, there’s no harm in letting a few plants grow. You can always snip off the seed heads before the wind carries them away.

A small act that brought one special moth into my garden – and a quiet reminder that enough small acts, together, can bring about real change. If you, like me, are feeling helpless and hopeless in the face of so much pain across the world, perhaps that thought will stop you giving up.

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A note for regular readers:
From next week, these Sunday posts will have a new home on my Substack, The Woolgatherer’s Almanac – where I’ll continue sharing seasonal reflections, small wonders, and the quiet rhythms of making and noticing.

If you’d like to keep following along, you can subscribe there to receive an email whenever a new post goes up. I’d love to see you there.