Like any winter, during December, January and February appear on our conifer nests processionary annoying. The processionary ( Thaumetopoea pityocampa ) is an insect of the order Lepidoptera belonging to the family Notodontidae.
It owes its name to the characteristic habit of moving on the ground in rows, forming a sort of "procession".
This arthropod is found in temperate regions of southern Europe, the Near East and even North Africa. And 'one of the most destructive forest insects, capable of rendering vast tracts of pine forest each leaf during its life cycle.
The pine tree is the most affected (in particular the black pine and Scots pine), but it's easy to find even among cedars and larches.
This arthropod is found in temperate regions of southern Europe, the Near East and even North Africa. And 'one of the most destructive forest insects, capable of rendering vast tracts of pine forest each leaf during its life cycle.
The pine tree is the most affected (in particular the black pine and Scots pine), but it's easy to find even among cedars and larches.
The life cycle of the parasite
The processionary is active only during cold periods of the year, since he spends the hot summer months as a cocoon bury underground. Each female produces a "cluster" of eggs that a needle is attached to the host tree. The cluster can contain up to 300 eggs, from which at least 4 weeks after born typical larvae. The eggs are completely covered with scales from the abdomen of the female.

Despite the modest size of the larvae have strong jaws that can engulf the hard needles immediately after birth.
In a short time, completely stripped a branch move in a new row to search for food.
The caterpillars live in groups. Initially they are nomads, moving from branch to branch building new nests relief, but in October to form a silken nest where they will winter.
activity resumed in the spring and processionary, usually in late May, they head to a place suitable for weaving the cocoon.
they found, there is buried a depth of about 15 cm. The chrysalis state lasts about a month, but can last for a year or more.
The insect, after reaching maturity and the transformation took place during the month of July out of the cocoon. The adult is a moth with wings 3-4 cm wide, gray in color with streaks of brown, the female is usually slightly larger in size than the male.
Their life is very short: no more than 2 days.
The females are the first to go on tall trees, which are then fertilized by the male.
The moth flies in search the most suitable plant to lay their eggs and the cycle begins again.
In a short time, completely stripped a branch move in a new row to search for food.
The caterpillars live in groups. Initially they are nomads, moving from branch to branch building new nests relief, but in October to form a silken nest where they will winter.
activity resumed in the spring and processionary, usually in late May, they head to a place suitable for weaving the cocoon.

they found, there is buried a depth of about 15 cm. The chrysalis state lasts about a month, but can last for a year or more.
The insect, after reaching maturity and the transformation took place during the month of July out of the cocoon. The adult is a moth with wings 3-4 cm wide, gray in color with streaks of brown, the female is usually slightly larger in size than the male.
Their life is very short: no more than 2 days.
The females are the first to go on tall trees, which are then fertilized by the male.

The moth flies in search the most suitable plant to lay their eggs and the cycle begins again.
Identification
Eggs The eggs are spherical and white, are grouped into a cylindrical shape of pine needles. The large mass of eggs is 25-40 mm high and about 5 mm and can contain 70-300 eggs. E 'covered with flakes, produced from the tip of the abdomen of the female, gray-brown shade that allows an effective camouflage among the branches of the plant.
Larva
The caterpillar has 5 larval stages. In the first stage, the caterpillar has a body green. After the second suit, the caterpillar assumes its final appearance. At the end of growth the caterpillar is 38-45 mm long. The larva is covered with stinging hairs that can cause severe skin irritation, conjunctivitis, congestion and asthma in humans and animals. These urticating hairs are arranged in clumps throughout the body. The coloration of the integument of the body varies greatly depending on the species. In general, the seed coat is darker in cold regions and ranges from bluish-gray to black. The head of the larva is black. The lateral and ventral hair varies from white to dark yellow. The dorsal hairs ranging from yellow to orange and red-brown bulbs come from. The lower body is more or less dark brown.
The pupa is wrapped in a cocoon of silk oval brown-white. The pupa (obtecta) is about 20 mm long, oval, pale yellow-brown color that eventually turns reddish brown. The hooks (that bind to a support, eg. The stem of a plant) are rounded, with two strong curved spines.
Adult
The female moth has a wingspan of 35-50 mm, the male is smaller with a wingspan of 30-40 mm. Both have an irregular ridge at the
front. The forewings are gray ash, the nerve fibers (called the moths' tracheae), margins, and the three cross-bands are darker. The design is not pronounce on the wings of the female. The hind wings are white and gray, with the characteristic gray-brown stain in anal area. The antennae are yellowish brown and somewhat behind the tip. Both sexes have a hairy chest. The abdomen of the female is strong and its last segment is covered with large scales.

Fight
The methods of struggle are numerous and include agricultural practices (mechanical removal of the nests), microbiological media (use of Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki dell'insettcida biological ), to be distributed by air and that causes paralysis of the larvae, the fight by using pheromones. Recently introduced, the fight to stem herbal medicine by injection to be performed during the months of September and October. This system guarantees results that are unobtainable with other systems and also the economic benefits. Please refer to the more detailed description on the "Post" to micro-infusion system. Please note that this system has led to eradicate this dangerous insect by entire municipalities of the province of Venice, Padua, Treviso and Vicenza.