BEWARE - EARLY Processionary Caterpillars

[AnninAlhaurin]

After a considerably windy few days I was today (28/12/2013) sweeping my driveway of all the pine needles which had fallen from two pine trees on my property. To my horror I found a mature Processionary Caterpillar, alive and kicking, on my yard. (The day before I had seen an immature one dangling from a thread off one of the trees and removed it.)
Dog owners please beware of this VERY EARLY ARRIVAL of these nasty little killers in Alhaurin e G.
Ann

[Lyric]

Interesting, locally we and all the other dog owners have their favoured trees identified and we have all commented on the complete absence of nest building thus far, even at lower levels.
Torrox is not too far from AEG after all.

[El Cid]

I think that may be a false alarm.

The caterpillars live on the trees for the whole of the winter and forage on the tree during that time.

They only become a problem at the last stage of their life as they come down from the nests and wander around looking for a suitable site to pupate.

What probably happened was one got blown off the tree while foraging and that's what you found. They are all up there now but you don't normally see them until March.

Sid

[AnninAlhaurin]

I think that may be a false alarm.

The caterpillars live on the trees for the whole of the winter and forage on the tree during that time.

They only become a problem at the last stage of their life as they come down from the nests and wander around looking for a suitable site to pupate.

What probably happened was one got blown off the tree while foraging and that's what you found. They are all up there now but you don't normally see them until March.

Sid

I totally agree Sid, and after seeing the juvenile (only about 12mm long and plainer colour) I was very surprised to see the regular one this morning. But it only takes one of the beggers to kill a dog. Our young Lab has been 'pillared' twice now, last season and the one before, but fortunately both times it was diagnosed before it took hold, though not without incurring Vet's bills.

The one today was good-sized and appropriately hairy. Just be watchful for windfalls, that's all.

[El Cid]

The one today was good-sized and appropriately hairy. Just be watchful for windfalls, that's all.

Absolutely. Horrible things but at least you can stamp on a single one - dealing with two metres of them can be a challenge!

As Lyric said, they don't seem to be around much this year. We are near some pine plantations and there is no sign of them.

Sid

[Lyric]

The tree I'm thinking of is on the normal dog follow and is usually festooned with nests like Christmas Baubles, all highly visible. There is not one. Still there is also time

[ValL]

They were seen on a golf course near Ayamonte several weeks ago, around the same time they were seen the previous year. Thankful I don't live near the trees they nest on.

[El Cid]

The tree I'm thinking of is on the normal dog follow and is usually festooned with nests like Christmas Baubles, all highly visible. There is not one. Still there is also time

No, if you can't see the nests now then you are clear. Their life cycle is pretty complicated. If anyone is really interested in them a famous French scientist carried out an amazing study of them over a century ago.

It really is worth reading.

http://www.efabre.net/fabre/electronict ... aterpillar

Sid

[Lyric]

Must be something to do with the mangoes then

Very, very few on this hill earlier this year, usually it is a problem to work out what can be done next with them.







Tongue firmly in cheek

[AnninAlhaurin]

Thanks, El Cid,

My son and I took a stroll down the lane past our house yesterday so that we could look at the south-facing side of the trees, where the nests usually are. We counted NINE nests, compared to five last season, but they were very small compared to the previous two seasons and to those I've seen in trees elsewhere around here.

We found two more of the little b-s-a-ds on the concrete yesterday, with wind-free weather. Maybe it is because they land on concrete which makes them more easy to spot with a practised eye, that we find them more easily than most. That makes them no less dangerous.

Our big dogs (a Lab and a Mastin) are NOT impressed at having to be confined to the house at night now. We also have to put them inside if we go out during the day when there is no-one to do 'caterpillar patrol' every half hour. December to April is going to be an awfully long time to have to "take precautions"!

And thanks, I shall check out the efabre website with interest.

Cheers, Ann

[El Cid]

We once rented a house that had the caterpillar problem and we were concerned about our cats.

We used to check out the drive and patios first thing in the morning and didn't bother again. If you read the Fabre account you will see that they normally come down from the tree at night to look for potential site to dig in and pupate but they normally return to the tree early in the morning.

If you find any then of course you have a disposal problem. I used to spray them with insecticide and use a pair of tweezers to pick them up and drop them into a jar - wearing rubber gloves of course.

I can understand your concern. It was less of a risk with cats as they are more likely to play them with their paws whereas a dog naturally will put them in its mouth with dire consequences.

Sid

[Lyric]

If a dog were to be unfortunate enough to ingest some hair how long does a reaction take ?

We saw more this morning than we have ever seen before.

[El Cid]

I believe it is very quick. You need to get to a vet immediately.

I understand that there pills available from the vet to carry as a precaution. I have seen antihistamine and prednisalone mentioned.

Sid

[Lyric]

That is the impression I had, similar to Toads. She did the toad trick four or five years ago up the river in Frigiliana and we only just made it to the vet in time. As she is a Pointer it is a worry as they are serial sniffers.

[El Cid]

Further to my previous post, I was at the vet this evening and I asked him about it. He said there was no instant pill you could use and the only solution was to call a vet immediately. If treated early enough with an injection and aspirin they will probably be OK, but he said, behave with the same urgency that you would do if your husband/wife had a heart attack!

Sid

[Lyric]

Thanks Sid, caution is the watchword then.

[oliveview01]

It is not just dogs or cats - I am really allergic to the b*ggers. A couple of years ago I had a really bad reaction after walking under the neighbours pine tree! The rash was agony! My list of houses ´ not buy´includes a house close to a feria ground and one with pine trees in the garden!

[El Cid]

You have to be so careful. A friend was removing some nests a few years ago and one burst, showering him with the debris. He got some in his eye and has trouble with it even since. The latest is that he cannot see anymore from that eye and the only solution is a corneal transplant!

Sid