ARCHIVED - Murcia government to spend 1.2 million euros on fighting the pine processionary caterpillar

A threat to household pets and wild animals as well as to the pine trees in which they nest

As another season of the annoying and potentially dangerous pine processionary caterpillar draws to an end in the Region of Murcia the regional government has announced that it is to spend 1.2 million euros on combating the creature in wooded, mountainous areas between now and 2023.

The campaign is to consist of the spraying of large areas of pine groves in the mountains of Murcia with a contract being awarded for 1.17 million euros to cover the period 2020-23, continuing on-going measures to limit the spread of the caterpillar, which can be fatal for inquisitive wild and domestic animals, which were first introduced in 2007. Since then, after the level of infestation has been assessed every year, measures have been implemented to protect the trees from the moth caterpillars, pheromone traps have been donated to private landowners and public awareness campaigns have been carried out in order to encourage people to remove the cocoon-like nests of the caterpillars from pine trees in privately owned gardens.

Special attention has been paid to the removal of nests and caterpillars from designated rest and leisure areas in the mountains of Murcia, while during the caterpillar season visitors to such areas are warned of their presence.

As well as being a risk to the health of dogs, cats and even young children, the processionary pine caterpillar is also harmful to the trees in which it nests. It is responsible for more defoliation of conifers throughout the Mediterranean than any other single factor, and as such can contribute significantly to de-forestation.

The pine processionary

The pine processionary (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) is so called because members of the species in the caterpillar phase of their life cycle, before they metamorphose into moths, form nose-to-tail processions as they leave their soft cocoon nest of spun filaments, and is widespread throughout the warmer Mediterranean areas of Spain and other parts of Europe.

The favoured nesting grounds of processionary caterpillars are higher up in pine trees, where the nests are closer to the winter sun, and it is normally in late winter and early spring that the caterpillars drop from the cocoon nests and form "processions" in search of soft, warm earth in which to pupate. There can be hundreds of caterpillars nose to tail, winding along roadways or rough ground, and although they may appear innocuous they can be lethal to animals and cause serious reactions in humans, especially young children.

This is because the caterpillars have brittle poisonous and irritant hairs on their bodies which can easily be ejected should they feel threatened. These hairs penetrate the skin easily and cause instant irritation.

The caterpillars are a mottled dull brown with faded yellowish patches but are instantly identifiable as they travel in chains along the ground.

Dogs and cats are often attracted by the bittersweet smell and taste of the processionaries, and both may try to eat them. The results can be fatal; as few as three or four will kill a medium-sized dog, and just one may produce death in a cat as the hairs become embedded in the tongue of the animal, causing necrosis. By the time the owner notices the problem, it is usually too late for veterinary treatment to do much except ease suffering.

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