Hi again all.... There is a pine tree on one of my dog walks that has three cocoons of the processionaire caterpillars in.. I do take great care to check out the ground on each walk and in fact now avoiding it, (sadly there's a stray cat nearby which I am feeding and a dog caged close to it)

My question is, what are the movements of these beasties.. I know they march (usually) in the evening, but do they march often before leaving the tree, or is it just the one march when the time comes to leave. Do they let fly their spikes only when disturbed or generally when they move...

I am worrying now to the point of distraction,, should I pay the local odd job guy to get rid of them or leave well alone, I don't want him to get hurt either.

Living nr Pinoso where it's colder here than most places, when will these critters be gone for good as we seem to be a few weeks behind everyone.

Cheers in advance for your help x

Thank you for your post which educated me a bit ;-) but as Google is your friend here is a snippet from wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Processionary


Colonies are active throughout the winter months. Activity records of colonies foraging in pine forests in mountainous regions near Barcelona, Catalonia, obtained with infrared activity monitors, show that the caterpillars leave their nests soon after sunset and travel to distant feeding sites located on the branches of the host tree. Here they feed overnight then return to the nest at dawn. Observations in mid-winter show that the caterpillars forage on the coldest of nights and are able to locomote, albeit very slowly, at sub-zero temperatures. The permanent nests are typically sited to intercept solar radiation and during sunny days warm to well above ambient temperatures. The caterpillars rest in the nest during the day and at the elevated body temperatures they experience due to heating of the nest by the sun are able to efficiently digest the food they collect overnight. By March the caterpillars are in the fifth instar and are fully grown. At this time the leave their nest, following each other in long head to tail processions and seek out pupation sites in the soil.[6]

so it appears they come out every night !!!

Must admit if I see the nests I cut them down carefully and burn them in the Wood burner.

Its no just animals, we have nests in the pine plantation behind us.
We recently had a storm which dislodged some of them.
After clearing dead branches etc from our hedge we both found ouselves with very itchy rashes.
Checking again the hedge had loads of caterpillers.
The young son of a friend when playing golf hit his ball into the branches of nearby tree which had a nest.
A few hours later he was in tears and he could hardly open his eyes due to the swelling.
His parents took him to the clinic where they said it was a reaction against the caterpiller hairs.
Keep well away from them.

We get these horrible things every February and March despite the local council's efforts to clear them. They are especially deadly to dogs, including big dogs. We don't walk our dogs anywhere near pine trees but these little horrors can travel quite some distance when they're ready. Luckily they're easy to spot because of their bright colours and constant movement as they snake along.

The local vets are well geared up to treat their poison but you need to get the dogs to them quickly. There's a 24 hour vet hospital at Guardamar and they speak English.

wow thanks for the info.... the little bu**ers... luckily I don't go out after sunset either... but I'm worried about the little cat and dog, they're not abandoned... well the cat probably was at some point... what horrid creatures these caterpillars are... I'll be glad when april comes.. hopefully they'll be gone by then... and taken there little spikes with them xxx

So am I reading right... that they only stay in the tree they're in to feed... only leaving the tree to find the soil to pupate in... so in truth,,, they only leave the tree once ?? (or am I just being daft)

....but back again next year maybe even in bigger numbers.
As I mentioned on another thread I spray the nest with lots of diesel if they are within reach. No risk involved, whereas chopping them down and burning them is a very hazardous procedure.

I'll have a word with Juan then... he can do that... thanks Dick xxx

Are they in range for easy spraying or very high up in high trees ?

They are out during the day as well

Usually when they are about ready to move on.

If you really want to know everything about the beasties have a look here

http://www.efabre.net/fabre/electron...fe-caterpillar

too high up Dick...

To be serious, I wonder if those in the top of the highest trees ever leave them during their life cycle ?
New nests are back in virtually the same place every year, yet quite often nearby trees of a similar type remain unaffected.

I've fitted pine tree trunks with sticky bands before and never yet seen a trace of any moving out despite regular checks.

That was a good link from Fred J. but mostly referred to one guys research under mostly artificial conditions more than a century ago.