Hairy and Scary …
View attachment 30267
I came across this line of processionary caterpillars 20 km into my morning ride today. Nose-to-tail, they followed a communal silken thread that was about twenty metres long – a total of four or five hundred individuals, not that individuality is considered a particularly commendable trait among
Ochrogaster lunifer (click for Wikipedia info).
These beasties pack a venom which deters predators and will cause severe skin irritation among humans, especially children who cannot resist the temptation of coaxing them into a circle to see them march to nowhere – an enterprise usually accompanied by shrieks and howls of agony. Hairy caterpillars are best left alone.
Ride : 73 km /
2019 : 2420 km