| Pine processionary | |
|---|---|
| |
| Pine processionary larvae marching in characteristic fashion | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
| Family: | Notodontidae |
| Genus: | Thaumetopoea |
| Species: | T. pityocampa
|
| Binomial name | |
| Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)
| |
The pine processionary (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) is a moth of the subfamily Thaumetopoeinae in the family Notodontidae, known for the irritating hairs of its caterpillars, their processions, and the economic damage they cause in coniferous forests. The species was first described scientifically by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775, though it was known to the ancients, with remedies described by Theophrastus, Dioscorides and Pliny the Elder. Its processionary behaviour was described in 1916 by the French entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre. It is one of the most destructive species to pines and cedars in Central Asia, North Africa and southern Europe.
The species is notable for the behaviour of its caterpillars, which overwinter in tent-like nests high in pine trees, and which proceed through the woods in nose-to-tail columns, protected from predators by their severely irritating hairs.
The species is one of the few insects where the larva develops in winter in temperate zones. Global warming is causing the species to affect forests progressively further north.[1] The urticating hairs of the caterpillar larvae cause harmful (and in some cases allergic) reactions, in humans and other mammals.