October - Tent Caterpillars

Also known as : "Pine Tree Caterpillars", "Procesionario del Pino", and "Thaumetopea Pityocampa"

During the months of October & November we'll be seeing the appearance of cocoons on pine trees predominantly on the south side of the trees. These cocoons are home to a Caterpillar known locally as "Procesionaro" or "Procesionary Caterpillars", so named as when they leave their cocoons they march off in lines, head to tail, looking for somewhere to bury themselves in the earth in order to complete the next stage of their life cycle.

This marching off in lines is a protective strategy giving the impression of a snake to deter would-be predators, birds for example.

If any part of the caterpillar train is disturbed a message is sent to everybody on board and an irritant is released from the fine hairs covering the caterpillars bodies towards the intruder. This irritant is not disimilar to the burn of stinging nettles, though some people have a high allergic reaction and may need medical treatment, a rash around the neck being the most noticible symptom.

In the case of young babies and dogs this irritant can be fatal. The nests themselves being full of this irritant, individuals working or passing underneath trees with nests may notice slight irritation from powder drifting in the air.

Caterpillars will tend to visit the same tree season after season. They feed off the pine needles early morning & in the evening, returning to their nests during the day. Defoliation of the tree due to the eating of the needles may be fairly extreme but recuperation can also be swift .

Combating Caterpillars

Mechanical means: cut & burn branch tip with nest.
Spraying with bacillus thuringiensis (BT): the Caterpillars ingest the BT during eating the needles, which affects their ability to digest food, and over a few days they will starve to death.

We at CoconutKam treat with BT from end of September through to March early April. Tree height presents no problems as we use a 100 litre 4-stroke high pressure sprayer. In our spray we also add amino acids & fertilizer for the continued well-being of the tree.

We work in the Nerja, La Herradura & Almuñecar areas of the Costa Tropical in Spain. If you are interested in treatments please contact us at info@coconutkam.com.

October - Tent Caterpillars

Combating Caterpillars

Further Reading