Pine processionary

[StJon]

On our dog walk this morning,

I came across this, the pine processionary (Thaumetopoea pityocampa). On posting on facebook, locals warned me about the danger to Donatella, (When the paws and other body parts of a dog come into contact with the caterpillars' hairs, they become severely irritated. In response, the dog licks the affected area, leaving the dog's tongue severely irritated. The tongue may become necrotic, and it may be necessary to amputate the tongue to prevent sepsis and spread of necrosis. Severe reactions to the hairs may cause kidney failure in the dog, and death may occur. From Wikipedia)

Not sure if it's common in the UK, but I thought worth a heads up.

 

[awarner]

Thanks for the info, never know if we will come across these critters.

 

[oldtimer]

We have these in France on the Mediterranean coast. Friends lost a dog through ingesting hairs from them which had become attached to a tennis ball it was playing with. The dog's end was painful and very unpleasant. They have also killed trees in our area and the local commune has had all trees treated against them.

They are VERY nasty creatures.

 

[2trapper]

All true. I ha a very bad time with them. I remeber very well when, as a boy scout, the entire patrol got in contact with them for prolonged time. We spent several days i bed, with severe itch and lesions due to scratching. It's an original species by Mediterran area and Northern Africa. The worst effect is a direct contact with eyes. Just some pictures of the effects of the poison

 

[Bigfoot]

Processional caterpillars are what I know them as, I was warned against them whilst hiking in Spain years ago. I never encountered them but have been wary of them ever since. More likely to find them in Europe, I don't think they occur in the UK, unless someone's going to tell me a global warming story......

 

[Mad Mike]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...rging-people-report-nests-soon-spot-them.html

Oak processionary & Daily mail hysetria