Caterpillars are charismatic creatures but very fussy eaters and very hungry, just like the one in the story. However our caterpillars don’t eat plums and pears and lollipops and cupcakes, they will only eat certain plants and if you don’t have these plants in your school grounds you may not see many caterpillars. Why don’t you become caterpillar champions and give the caterpillars a proper feast?

You may be surprised how easy it is to provide the right food for caterpillars such as nettles for peacock, red admiral and small tortoiseshell butterflies or maybe you would like to attract a real specialist such as the Eyed Hawk moth whose caterpillar would happily live on apple trees.

Use the links below to find out what caterpillars like to eat.

Butterfly Conservation has a dedicated webpage: Munching Caterpillars with loads of great resources to help you give caterpillars the perfect head start in your garden or school grounds. The ID sheets below will help you work out what your hungry caterpillars will transform into: maybe the stunning Elephant Hawk moth or the delicate Orange Tip butterfly.

Click the orange button below to discover more about the wonderful world of caterpillars and how you can help.