caterpillars from hell

The mountain behind Loutraki, apparently called Mt Loutraki/Perahora is extremely interesting and very dramatic. I didnt expect it to be quite so exciting. The legally protected forest directly above Loutraki,(see photo for details about how it is protected...legally but not, as I found out, actually) and going towards the monastery of Agias Triadas, is very dry indeed, which means that there is vegetation which is unusual in its adaptation to these harsh conditions.

However, the conditions are now much harsher than even these tough plants have evolved to deal with. The lack of water...so that streams and springs are all dry...except one trickle, that was obviously once upon an time a torrent.. as one can see by the water loving trees of the riverine forest that are now trying to cling to life beside it..can only mean that a combination of climate change and uncontrolled extraction of the water for human use is destroying this very special environment. The legal protection afforded this unique place suggests that its value is well understood by those who understand these things. That it is rapaciously and illegally exploited by those who don`t understand these things, or, that if they DO understand they don`t care, means that legal protection, means NOTHING if the "political will" to enforce the law is missing.

Loutraki apparently used to be a high class resort.. and then the Casino came, and a lot of things changed. Certainly there is a lot of gambling going on.. and not just in the Casino. Have a look at the photo of the state of many of the trees in the forest. How much do you bet Loutraki`s forest will survive into the next century? No takers? what a surprise. Look also at the photo that shows just how many trees-what proportion of the forest -is in poor health.

One of the obvious symptoms of trouble in the pines is that they are (on this dry side of the mountain, where they are already in poor health) infested with the caterpillars from hell. These are the larvae of the Pine Processionary Moth, and they are without natural enemies and almost impossible to control by the poisons known to humanity because they are so fucking tough.

The photo shows the secret of their success.. they live in a nest woven of silk which provides absolute protection. Each horrid caterpillar is covered in awful hairs which are poisonous, so if you touch one you will get a very nasty reaction. I know because, where I used to live we had pine trees, and we used to biologically control the caterpillars by collecting the nests (using tools, so we didn`t actually touch them) and using them as fuel in our burner. Well, the warmth of the kitchen awakened the sleeping caterpillars (they return to their nests in the evening to avoid cold) and they emerged from their nest AND from the sack it was in. They proceeded to invade the house, and, unbeknown to me, crawled over my underwear (drying by the burner). Well, readers!!!! I had to spend the next two days sitting with my private parts in a cold bath.

In the two photos you can see the effect of an infestation of these caterpillars on a pine branch, and can contrast this with a branch in good condition. There is also a photo of a nest.

The caterpillars live in a tiny nest when they are tiny. They feed and excrete and soon they are two heavy for the nest they have built. So..in a solid lump they fall to the ground. Hitting the ground stimulates them, and they writhe and squirm, until one caterpillar starts to move in a purposeful way. They are programmed to follow this caterpillar, and head to tail they form long strings, and march until they happen upon another tree of the right kind. If they don`t find a tree.. they starve to death. Under natural circumstances this limits their survival. But where trees are close together and unhealthy, and there are no other tree species, they prosper and take over an entire forest.

On the dry side of the mountain at Loutraki the effect is catastrophic. On the damp side of the mountain, where the trees have the strength and health to repair themselves, it is negligable.

Few parasites are designed to kill their hosts.. and these caterpillars aren`t either, but where they are attacking hosts that are already weakened..well, you can see the results.

The pines they are attacking are the kind that include fire in their usual life cycle.. and obviously the caterpillars cannot survive fire..but now we try to control fire in the forests, so the caterpillars seem to be indestructable, and the forest very vulnerable indeed.

I knew George, who is allergic to most things, MUST be kept away from these bastards. BUT alas.. dust dropped on him from above.. and caused the rash you see in the photo..

Because the weather was cold and damp when I was in the Loutraki dry forest, the Pine Processionary Moth caterpillars were dormant. So I have included a picture of another kind of nest building caterpillar.. these parasitise wild pear trees..and you can see them just setting off for a day`s destruction of the pear tree. The sun warms them quickly because of the insulating qualities of the nest, and so they are able to be active earlier than other kinds of caterpillar.. which gives them an advantage.

YESSSS!!! I have even managed to post a VIDEO!!!!!!!!

It is below. It shows a group of YET ANOTHER kind of community living caterpillars..I saw these little buggers waking up in the sun..see how they all writhe and squirm as they are programmed to do, they do this for ages, and then one sets off..and everyone else can then set off too. I thought you`d lke to see their behaviour. At first when I saw them I wondered what on earth was causing this wriggling and lashing about. Then I realised: noone can move out of the nest til one accidentally moves off. Isn`t Nature wonderful?