We had intended to move on to Elche today but we knew that the archaeological site that we wanted to visit was closed on Mondays, so we decided that staying in El Berro would be better. This gave us the opportunity to do another walk from the site. Shirley and Ian had also decided to stay an extra day and we discovered that we were both planning to do the same walk in the afternoon. The obvious thing to do was to get lost together and this we duly did!
We went off track fairly early in the walk but, much to everyone's surprise, we found ourselves back on the route a little while later. Shirley and Ian noticed some silk-thread pouches in some pine trees and we told them that they were nests of Pine Processional Caterpillars. Shirley then explained that they had seen some of the caterpillars the day before, easily identified because they follow each other nose to tail across the land. We had been told that they are dangerous and must not be handled as the hairs are an extreme irritant and can result in hospitalisation. Even handling a brush that has been used to sweep them away is dangerous. Just a few minutes later we found a procession of the caterpillars crossing the road. Later we found a website that said that they can cause immense damage to pine forests and because of their danger to people and pets, the nests and caterpillars on the ground should be burned whenever they are found. It even said that if the caterpillars are found on golf courses, play ceases immediately as it is too hazardous to clear them away! Needless to say, we didn't touch them but Shirley said that the day before she had nearly helped some across the road because she was concerned that they would get squashed – a narrow escape!
After a very pleasant walk, we all had a drink in the campsite bar and then exchanged contact details for the future. We thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Shirley and Ian and hope to meet up with them at some time in the future – perhaps in Italy in September?
Photos: View south east from a ridge east of El Berro; Pine Processional Caterpillars processing across the road; A close up view of the caterpillars; Shirley, Ian and Jane on the El Berro old bridge.
We went off track fairly early in the walk but, much to everyone's surprise, we found ourselves back on the route a little while later. Shirley and Ian noticed some silk-thread pouches in some pine trees and we told them that they were nests of Pine Processional Caterpillars. Shirley then explained that they had seen some of the caterpillars the day before, easily identified because they follow each other nose to tail across the land. We had been told that they are dangerous and must not be handled as the hairs are an extreme irritant and can result in hospitalisation. Even handling a brush that has been used to sweep them away is dangerous. Just a few minutes later we found a procession of the caterpillars crossing the road. Later we found a website that said that they can cause immense damage to pine forests and because of their danger to people and pets, the nests and caterpillars on the ground should be burned whenever they are found. It even said that if the caterpillars are found on golf courses, play ceases immediately as it is too hazardous to clear them away! Needless to say, we didn't touch them but Shirley said that the day before she had nearly helped some across the road because she was concerned that they would get squashed – a narrow escape!
After a very pleasant walk, we all had a drink in the campsite bar and then exchanged contact details for the future. We thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Shirley and Ian and hope to meet up with them at some time in the future – perhaps in Italy in September?
Photos: View south east from a ridge east of El Berro; Pine Processional Caterpillars processing across the road; A close up view of the caterpillars; Shirley, Ian and Jane on the El Berro old bridge.
No comments:
Post a Comment