Is this fox moth caterpillar

[Pat]

hi
I found this today along the banks of the crinan canal, my friend wanted to keep it,to allow her children to see it develop into a coccon, then moth, but i think it might be a fox moth, possibly, and if it is, then the book says it overwinters as a larvae, so possibly better to put it back out again, can anyone advise,
Pat

is this a fox moth.jpg (103.22 KiB) Viewed 355 times

[Dave McCormick]

Hi Pat,

I think this is white ermine caterpillar. They have same orange line going up middle. I bred 100+ of these last year and know what they look like. See here: http://www.ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=3626 Fox moth looks like this: http://www.ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=425 and is not this one.

[Pat]

Hi Dave,
many thanks for you identification, I now see the fox caterpillar looks more like the oak eggar,
but my book, moths of Great Britain says, the white ermine is mainly SE England, I found this along the canal footpath, along the crinan canal in Argyll, how common is it up here, and what did you feed your caterpillars on, and do you think my inexperienced friend, will manage, can you advise, i;m sure her boys would be impressed if the lovely white ermine one day popped out,
Pat