In run-up to Lag B’Omer, KKL-JNF warns public not to touch pine caterpillars
Despite pesticide spraying in forests, organization warns public to take care when sitting under pine trees as larvae sting can cause skin, eye, throat irritation, allergies
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
The KKL-JNF Jewish National Fund on Sunday warned people to keep away from stinging pine processionary caterpillars when they venture into forests on Monday evening and Tuesday to mark the Lag B’Omer festival.
The organization said it had sprayed pesticides in forests throughout the country to kill the larvae, which carry stinging hairs that cause skin, eye, throat irritation and allergic reactions, but that some might remain on the ground.
The caterpillars leave their nests in the pine trees at the beginning of spring and move along the ground until they find a suitable place to burrow and pupate.
They are named processionary because they move head to toe, as if in a procession, possibly to dupe predators into thinking they are snakes.
“The public is asked to be aware when sitting beneath pine trees and to avoid touching the ground beneath or near to trees where there are nests,” a statement said.
The caterpillars, which eventually turn into moths, carry a protein on their hairs that stings.
The Environmental Protection Ministry warned earlier this year that touching the furry creatures risks releasing the harmful hairs into the air.
The ministry called on the public to notify the local authority if nests were spotted in pine trees in kindergartens or public areas, so that the council could mark the location and return in the fall to destroy the nest.
If there was no way to keep children or others away from the larvae, a pest expert could be called in to remove the larvae by hand, the ministry said.
The Times of Israel Community.