pine processionary caterpillers

[arbwork]

came across this in Portugal and Spain coastal towns over the last few days, affecting pine trees, sad to see  ,( just popped over to see how my new cruiser was coming along)

Edited April 7, 2019 by arbwork

[nepia]

Is that crown dieback caused by the caterpillars?

[arbwork]

unfortunately I think yes, some quite significant trees affected, and almost totally dead / defoliated , evidence seen from top north of Spain through Portugal, including Gibraltar  round to Malaga, same sign different country 

Edited April 7, 2019 by arbwork

[Martyn Honey]

They are also on The Costa Almeria around the Mojacar area, when we were down that way recently. Which is 3 hours east of Malaga.
More in the hills than on the coast though.

Martyn

[naturarbo]

we work quite a lot on infected pines,removing nests and dismantelling trees.

the crown browning is due to the fact those catts eat only young needles,not giving a chance to new growth.

taumatopoina is the protein that is dangerous,some people just dont react,to the point of letting them walk on you without consequences.lucky them.

we do take appis mellifera for protection.

if you dont know about your reaction dont try,some workers we had where driven to hospital close to annifilatic shock.

its a very serious problem here and will get worst.watch out when close to this trees.

stay safe

[arbwork]

Martyn and naturarbo hello and thanks obrigada  for the additional information, I had feared it may be bad, worrying situation  

 

 

Edited April 7, 2019 by arbwork

[Stere]

Why are they spreading north now bad bio security or climate change?

[Gary Prentice]

1 hour ago, Stere said:

Why are they spreading north now bad bio security or climate change?

They're trying to get into the UK to take our jobs and houses. We'll be safe after we leave the EU. 

[Mick Dempsey]

I do a lot of removals because of them, they’re a danger to pets amongst other things.

 

People often start off wanting the nests removed which I never do these days, just the tree.

 

We wear masks and ensure full body coverage, using the blower to clean off the hairs from our clothes as much as possible.

 

Some people suffer more than others from them, I’m not so bad, I had a groundy who had trouble breathing afterwards.

[naturarbo]

On 07/04/2019 at 19:47, Gary Prentice said:

They're trying to get into the UK to take our jobs and houses. We'll be safe after we leave the EU. 

dont do that all climbing kit will costa armas and legs then you cant climb..lol