Thinking of tent caterpillars (that's what we used to call them, at least the ones that were doing the bike enveloping thing), I used to think that individually, they were kind of fuzzy, and it was interesting to see them move. Like there was liquid pumping inside.
But then you'd see another, and another, then look up above, and the gaaaa! factor sets in.
You know, I used to think gypsy moths were icky, but this raises insect swarms to a whole new level of ACKRUNAWAY!1111!!!
November 13, 2007
Anonymous said...
Thank you for posting about them. I managed to forget about them until I saw the bicycle post ; Regards, Simone
November 13, 2007
Simone saw my Hapless Bicycle post and wrote me about this phenomenon, as encountered in Germany (and other northern European countries).
Behold a larval mass of the Eichenprozessionsspinner (that's Oak Processionary Moth to us English speakers, and Thaumetopoea processionea to you fancy-pantsy Latin speakers). These caterpillars, known as setae, are considered a plague from July to September, when they are in web-spinning mode. Not only are they a threat to the trees they infest, but if you look close enough to the photo below, you'll see that the little grubs are covered with fine hair. These hairs break off with little provocation and become airborne--and each one is covered with a poisonous irritant. As Simone puts it, a stroll through the woods Southwest Germany in August might result in:
Severe rashes of the skin known as "caterpillar dermatitis" and somtimes also quite persduring wheals. As the little hairs also float in the air, you breathe them in, which irritates the respiratory system, causing painful coughs, asthma and bronchitis.
Lovely. This caterpillar might beat out the Tomato Hornworm as my least favorite grub, and I haven't even encountered one.
4 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formThinking of tent caterpillars (that's what we used to call them, at least the ones that were doing the bike enveloping thing), I used to think that individually, they were kind of fuzzy, and it was interesting to see them move. Like there was liquid pumping inside.
But then you'd see another, and another, then look up above, and the gaaaa! factor sets in.
November 12, 2007
OOohh - inhaling irritating little hairs. Sounds brutal. I LOVE it!
November 12, 2007
You know, I used to think gypsy moths were icky, but this raises insect swarms to a whole new level of ACKRUNAWAY!1111!!!
November 13, 2007
Thank you for posting about them.
I managed to forget about them until I saw the bicycle post ;
Regards, Simone
November 13, 2007