Subject: Help re. poisonous?/dangerous caterpillers found S. England.

From: Linda J Brown <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 09 Jun 1996 17:41:33 +0100

Any information re. a moth or butterfly caterpillar which nests in 
clumps in certain types of tree in South East England.  Are the 
caterpillars poisonous? or is it the clumps of nesting larvae which are 
in some way dangerous.  Is this a notifiable problem?  Does the Local 
Authority have to be notified?

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From: [email-masked] (Pierre Zagatti)
Date: 11 Jun 1996 08:23:44 GMT

>Authority have to be notified?

In Western Europe, there are only two kinds of caterpillars that
may urticate man: 

-Larvae of the processionary moths (Thaumetopoeidae)
	Thaumetopoea processionea with larvae living on oaks
	Thaumetopoea pityocampa on pines
-Larvae of several Lymantriidae, esp. the genus Euproctis
	Euproctis similis, the yellow tail
	Euproctis chrysorrhoea, the brown tail
	Both species live on various trees and shrubs, (Prunus,
	Crataegus, Carpinus etc...).

All these insects live in communal webs. The processionary moths 
are the most urticating. Even nests left for years may cause severe
urtications. Be aware of the wind direction if you want to destroy
an old nest, because there are still thousands of dried hairs coating
the inner walls of these nests (when the larvae molt, they left their
old exuvia in the nest).
I think that processionary moths may be found as migrant adults
in England, but the larvae do not develop under oceanic climate 
(although very strange things seem to appear this year).

Both Euproctis are common in Southern England, according to
Skinner's guide. The yellow tail is often common in urbanized
areas and there was some problems recently in France with this
species. The larvae have long hairs on the back, with black, white
and orange colours. I never knew exactly if only the last instars
were urticating, or if a permanent exposure to the insects caused
an increasing irritation. When I tried to rear the yellow tail,
I had no problems with 1st and 2nd instars, and began to be urticated
with the third. Then it was terrible...

Pierre Zagatti

P.S. If you are definitely crazy, you can try to find
VERY interesting beetles in old processionary nests (Lebia spp.,
Trox spp.).

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From: Anne Kilmer <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 11 Jun 1996 08:44:04 -0400

Pierre Zagatti wrote:
> snip
>snip

> VERY interesting beetles in old processionary nests (Lebia spp.,

Having encountered the urticating hairs of insects, plants and the like,
you will wish to whip out that handy roll of masking tape from your
bugwatcher's basket. Dab the itchy areas with the sticky tape, to remove
hairs and toxins.
Follow at your leisure with dock leaves, chilled aloe, ammonia/meat
tenderizer paste (a papaya extract is best) or whatever tickles your
fancy.
Enjoy
Anne Kilmer
1424 Lake Bass Dr.
Lake Worth FL 333451