Overview

• The caterpillar’s microscopic hairs contain a toxin called Thaumetopoein that can trigger severe itching, swelling, eye irritation and asthma episodes
• Since the mid-1990s the species has steadily expanded northward and is now confirmed in all federal states including Saxony
• Adult moths deposit eggs on solitary oak trees from July to September and larvae hatch in April to feed at night in communal silk nests
• Health authorities warn that airborne bristles pose a greater public health risk than the defoliation damage to trees
• Regional agencies are spraying parasitic nematodes after dusk to eliminate up to 90 percent of caterpillars without harming people or the environment