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No rules on destroying caterpillars
Near my house is a tall pine tree containing 18 nests of processionary caterpillar.
As I pass it on a regular route with my terrier, I went to the mairie to ask about regulations on the destruction of nests at the larval stage.
What amazed me is – in one of the most regulated countries in the world – there are no requirements to destroy the nests either by the commune or the tree’s owners.
A few communes offer a destruction service and in some forested areas insecticide spraying takes place.
The problem is that the spray kills all the other harmless insects as well.
Bearing in mind the dangers the caterpillars present on their descent from the nests to pupate, I find it extraordinary no one is made responsible.
Philip Lidgate,Pyrénées-Atlantiques
