Pine processionary

Thaumetopoea pityocampa
Notodontids (Notodontidae)

CC-BY-SA 4.0 rights : RikenMon

Thick hairy grey-brown moth. On its grey-brown front wings, there are black wavy lines. The rear wings are grey-white with a dark marking. The thick hair on its head is darker. The caterpillar is thick haired as well with grey sides and belly, the back is rust brown with black.

Mostly active at night, it holds its wings like a small tent when resting. The butterflies don't feed.  The caterpillars feed on pine and have a common cocoon which can damage the tree considerably.  Once hatched, they march along in a long line to find a spot to pupate in the soil. 

⇔ wsp. 35-45 mm

syn. TRAUMATOCAMPA PITYOCAMPA

It prefers dry warm climates, mainly around the Mediterranean.

The caterpillar hairs can cause severe irritations to humans when touched, just as with the THAUMETOPOEA PROCESSIONEA (Oak processionary). No photo available.

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