nest of caterpillars...

[Charles Nicol]

does anyone know what these are caterpillars of ?

they were by Grafham Water Cambs this morning.

thanks for your help

[Mark Colvin]

Hi Charles.

These are Brown-tail Moth larvae, Euproctis chrysorrhoea. The larvae are well-known for their urticating hairs, which can cause extreme irritation if in contact with human skin. They feed in communal webs on the leaves of plants such as hawthorn, blackthorn and bramble.

Good hunting.

Kind regards. Mark

[Chris Jackson]

Yes Charles,
These cats belong to the "Cul brun" in French
Chris

[Charles Nicol]

thanks Mark & Chris.... glad i did not touch the little chaps

[CallumMac]

Funnily enough I grew up just a couple of miles from Grafham Water. Brown-tail moth only arrived in the area as recently as the summer of 2013, when I trapped this individual in my parents' garden (you can see where the vernacular name comes from!).

I remember emailing the county recorder as I thought it could be an exciting new record for the county. He told me a little grumpily that he'd spent some time recently helping to remove an infestation that had arrived on some hedgerow trees to be planted at the Love's Farm development in St. Neots. Presumably that population managed to establish in the region, if they are still to be found at Grafham - hardly surprising given the availability of hawthorn and blackthorn scrub in the area.

[David M]

These are Brown-tail Moth larvae, Euproctis chrysorrhoea. The larvae are well-known for their urticating hairs, which can cause extreme irritation if in contact with human skin. They feed in communal webs on the leaves of plants such as hawthorn, blackthorn and bramble.

Thanks for the ID, Mark. I had been wondering whether these were the larvae of one of the processionary moths.

The best advice is always to avoid contact with any of these types of larval webs, as skin irritation will undoubtedly follow.

I will be better informed should I see these early stages henceforth.