Poisonous Caterpillars Threaten London Olympic Goers
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Experts say the oak processionary moths are spreading into new parts of the country and fear the insects could affect the Olympics if oak trees in East London suffer an infestation.
At their caterpillar stage they are covered in 63,000 toxic hairs, which can trigger asthma attacks.
Airbourne hairs can cause painful skin and throat rashes, running eyes, vomiting and dizziness.
‘You can slow them down but we will never find them all. They will always keep increasing.’ said Tony Kirkham, head of the arboretum at Kew Gardens.
‘We use spray to keep them at bay but even the nest removals at Kew don’t totally control oak processionary moths,’
The caterpillar – the larval form of the moth – feeds on leaves particularly from the European oak and if there are sufficient numbers can completely defoliate the tree.
They first appeared in Britain in 2006, after they were brought into London on a batch of oak trees imported from Holland.
Since then they have spread rapidly across the South East and have been spotted as far afield as Reading and Sheffield.
Local authorities have teamed up with the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Forestry Commission to try and stop the moth before it spread further afield. More than 700 nests were destroyed in the area but it is now clear that enough survived to pose an even bigger threat this year
It is feared that the pest will be prevalent throughout the South East within five years.
he caterpillars emerge from communal and camouflaged nests made out of silk thread in May and June and feed voraciously on the host oak tree leaves. Covered in microscopic hairs for protection they move in a nose-to-tail line – which gives them their name – and feed at night and then travel back to the nest for protection during the day.
They pupate in the nest in late June and early July before emerging as moths about two weeks later. Adults lay their eggs in summer for the lifecycle to begin again the following Spring.
Warmer and milder winters over the last two years have enabled greater numbers to survive.
Many thanks to The Telegraph for this story…
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