Venom Wiki / Totes les criatures / Erugues i bestioles

Núm. 1044 de 1 402

Oak processionary

Thaumetopoea processionea

Sobre el nom: The name comes from the caterpillars' habit of moving in nose-to-tail lines called processions.1

Només fa malNo ho toquisFa mal, però no et farà cap mal greu.

Erugues i bestioles

Pèls urticantsMenja: Plantes

Perill per a les persones: DolorósPot fer molt de mal, però gairebé mai no és greu.

The oak processionary is a moth whose caterpillars feed on oak leaves and can strip trees bare. The caterpillars travel in long, nose-to-tail lines, which is how they got their name. Their fine, hair-like bristles can irritate skin and breathing, so they matter a lot to people.1

Viu a

Central and southern Europe, occasionally as far north as Sweden; now established in the UK and Belgium1

Europa

Inici

Oak forests and oak trees, where the caterpillars feed and build silk nests on trunks and branches. People can meet them in oak woodland, on the ground under oaks, and in gardens and parks with oak trees. Their hairs can also reach lawns and garden ponds.1

Llargada

de 2,5 cm a 3,5 cm (de 1 in a 1,4 in)1

Velocitat màxima

uns 0,03 km/h (0,02 mph)

A terra, estimació aproximada

Què menja?

Caterpillars eat oak leaves, feeding in the tree crowns at night and returning to their nests. They also eat the leaves of hazel, hornbeam, sweet chestnut, birch and beech, though oak is preferred.1

Foto de Oak processionary — Oak processionary. Foto: Kleuske. CC BY-SA 4.0, iNaturalist.

Com reconèixer-lo

Adult moths have a wingspan of 25 to 35 mm and are tan, brown and white, which makes them hard to see against oak bark.1
Caterpillars have very long, white hairs that contrast with shorter hairs.1
Caterpillars march in lines, often arrow-shaped, with a leader and rows of several caterpillars side by side.1
Nests are white and silk-like when new, and become discoloured and hard to see over time.1
Nests can be round, teardrop-shaped, bag-like or blanket-like, and can be found at any height on an oak tree.1

Sovint es confon amb: Caterpillars of several other species may be mistaken for the oak processionary. Unlike other caterpillars, the oak processionary does not live on fences or walls, so it is mostly found in oak trees or on the ground beneath them in late spring and early summer.1

Poder del verí

Pèls urticants

Pèls o cerres petitons es trenquen dins la pell i couen.

Què fa el seu verí?

The caterpillars' back bristles contain a urticating toxin called thaumetopoein, a protein that irritates the skin. Contact can cause a papular rash and itching, and the hairs can also cause eye inflammation (conjunctivitis). If the hairs are breathed in, they can cause sore throat (pharyngitis), breathing problems, asthma, or in rare cases anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction.1

Com de perillós és per a les persones?

Perill per a les persones: DolorósPot fer molt de mal, però gairebé mai no és greu.

The moths are an increasing nuisance to people as their range grows, and the hairs can cause a skin condition called epidemic caterpillar dermatitis. The hairs break off easily, float in the air, and can stay harmful for several seasons. Mowing a lawn can bring people into contact with them.1

Bona notícia: els metges tenen un medicament (l'antiverí) o un tractament per a això.1

Què fa quan té por?

The caterpillars defend themselves with thousands of pointed, easily broken bristles on their backs that float in the air and irritate the skin.1

Si toques els seus pèls

The skin irritation and itching can be largely relieved by cetirizine-based antihistamine tablets. Anyone with breathing problems or a severe reaction needs urgent medical help.1
Per als pèls urticants de les erugues: treu-los amb cinta adhesiva i després renta la pell. No freguis.
Per a les mossegades: renta i refreda. Busca ajuda mèdica si la persona es troba malament o sagna amb facilitat.

Truca sempre primer al número d'emergències (112, 000, 911). Això són pautes generals de primers auxilis, no consells mèdics. Primers auxilis bàsics

Estigues segur

No toquis, atrapis ni molestis mai un animal salvatge, encara que sigui petit i encara que sembli adormit o mort.
Deixa-li espai. Si en trobes un, mantén la calma, recula a poc a poc i deixa que segueixi el seu camí.
Si toques els seus pèls: mantén la calma, no et moguis, truca al número d'emergències (112, 000, 911) o ves de pressa a un hospital. Recorda com era, una foto ajuda.

No va a per tu. Fa servir el verí per caçar o per defensar-se, i prefereix mil vegades amagar-se. Més sobre com estar segur

On del món?

Àfrica Àsia Europa Amèrica del Nord Amèrica del Sud Austràlia i Oceania

Que gran és?

Quant fa de llarg?

més o menys el que fa de llarg un clipmés lent que un cargol de jardí

Que gran és Oak processionary comparat amb TU?

Només càlculs al teu navegador. No es desa ni s'envia res enlloc.

Com de ràpid va?

Oak processionary uns 0,03 km/h (0,02 mph)

Un cargol de jardí uns 0,05 km/h (0,03 mph)

Una tortuga uns 0,3 km/h (0,19 mph)

val la pena saber-ho

Dades

Older caterpillars can have up to 63,000 pointed defensive bristles on their backs.1

In 2007, soldiers were deployed to burn infestations in the Belgian province of Limburg.1

The UK government spent £37 million trying to control the caterpillars, which had spread to all 33 London boroughs by 2019.1

In the Netherlands, great tits have been observed eating the young caterpillars before their hairs develop in April.1

In 2023, an outbreak in Ireland was successfully eradicated.1

Per a experts en verins

Nom científic: Thaumetopoea processionea
Grup: Erugues i bestioles
Família: Notodontidae2
Ordre: Lepidoptera
Continents: Europa
Cries: Eggs hatch into caterpillars that build communal silk nests in oak trees, and the caterpillars later pupate into adult moths in these nests.1
Perill per a les persones: 2 / 5: Dolorós3

D'on surten les dades

Oak processionary (Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0))
Thaumetopoea processionea (iNaturalist): noms i classificació.
Venom Wiki: el nivell de perill, la mida típica i la velocitat estimada són nostres. Mira com els calculem: Com valorem el perill.

Cada dada d'aquesta pàgina té un número que porta a la seva font. Si ens hem equivocat en alguna cosa, perdona, som fans dels animals, no una revista científica. Escriu-nos a [email protected] i ho arreglarem.

L'escorpí té gana! Venom Wiki és un projecte d'una sola persona: gratuït, sense anuncis i sense rastrejadors. Una petita propina ajuda a mantenir-lo en línia.Dona menjar a l'escorpí