The stinging, poisonous hairs of the oak processionary caterpillar could begin to be released in the air within two weeks. Research published by Nature Today showed that 15 percent of the caterpillars have reached the fourth larval stage, when they develop the harmful hairs which can cause rashes and respiratory issues. Due to the very cold spring, the development of …
The first oak processionary caterpillars crawled from their eggs one week earlier than usual on April 1 as temperatures rose, the Knowledge Center for Oak Processionary Caterpillars reports. The hairs the caterpillars later grow cause health problems among Netherlands residents every year. Some municipalities are using birdhouses to attract birds like the tit to get rid of the caterpillars before …
