Cinnabar caterpillar (shedding old skin)

This caterpillar from the Cinnabar moth was just shedding its previous smaller skin to enter its final instar. When in final instar the caterpillars become very aggressive over their territory and are found much more spaced out than in their first instar where they gather together for safety. They feed from the Ragwort plant which is poisonous to a number of other species, the larvae ingest the poisonous toxins to avoid predation.