I was quite amazed when I saw this, not something common I wouldn't think
Sympatico.ca Video - Hundreds of Caterpillars Follow Each Other
Sympatico.ca Video - Hundreds of Caterpillars Follow Each Other
Caterpillars on the move
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These things aren't funny: they are a real menace. In our commune in the Pyrenees-Oriental in France, they have killed many trees and the commune ,i.e us, has to pay out money to eradicate them. They killed two beautiful old pine trees in our garden in a season. If you see them, report them to the relevant authority asap.
Well they would be wouldn't they, "solitary wandering aimlessly alone moths" would just be too much of a mouthful
Well they would be wouldn't they, "solitary wandering aimlessly alone moths" would just be too much of a mouthful
Hey! I didn't name them...
Bad news for animals too, Can cause gangrene should an animal put one in it's mouth. More than one dog has had to have a part or all of it's tongue surgically removed.;;;;; I once picked some up & had itchy skin rashes for a week afterwards.
They decend from their tough silky nest high in the trees (usually pine) in the spring & form 'follow my leader ' lines like that looking for some soft soil to pupate in.
They decend from their tough silky nest high in the trees (usually pine) in the spring & form 'follow my leader ' lines like that looking for some soft soil to pupate in.
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Yes. A neighbour's dog died after getting some in its mouth while it was trying to pick up a ball in the garden. They really are bad news.
Wow, I had no idea what they were, or that they are such nasty little creatures. I just found it interesting that they travel in such a fashion, something completely new to me.
I, too, was fascinated when I first encountered these things for the first time at our place in France. We had two biologist friends staying at the time and none of us realised at the time what they were, neither did we connect them with the death of an old pine tree from which they had descended. It was only later when the local Mairie reported on efforts to eradicate them that we realised what they were. The friends who lost their dog had no idea why it was so ill until they took it to the vet. The poor thing had encountered them while trying to retrieve its ball from under some shrubbery and had managed to get some into its mouth without them knowing. I'm glad we found out about them before the grandchildren came across them. Our grandson is already fascinated by the natural world and would have picked them up to examine them under his magnifying glass.
I reckon there is a moral here but I'm still trying to work it out.
I reckon there is a moral here but I'm still trying to work it out.
Sadly, they are quite common where i live.
We call them Summer processionary (they came down from the trees in the summer time) or Pine processionary (because of their nesting preference for pine trees).
The nests look like this:
And the adult stage:
They are nasty little creatures that can cause you some serious skin allergies! Itches for a few days!
We call them Summer processionary (they came down from the trees in the summer time) or Pine processionary (because of their nesting preference for pine trees).
The nests look like this:
And the adult stage:
They are nasty little creatures that can cause you some serious skin allergies! Itches for a few days!
Elen Sentier
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Hmmm ... as I thought ... Oak Processionary (Thaumetopoea processionea) In the southern countries of Europe the populations are controlled by natural predators, but these predators do not exist in northern Europe. Their range is expanding northward, possibly or partly as a result of global warming. The moth now has an established population in the UK. The eggs arrived on oak imported to the Richmond area of London in 2006; the range of the species in the UK has been steadily expanding despite efforts to eradicate it. It seems the problem comes home to roost with us
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