Most farmers would agree that a good layer of snow, and a few days of hard frost, is good for the land in general.
I think this picture, above, epitomises our winter. Before Christmas we had several days of frost, but since then it's been a mix of cool, sunny, occasionally drizzly, days, with wonderful sunrises and few causes for complaint.
Unfortunately mild winters can also cause problems for us country folk; one in particular, over here, being a sudden outbreak of Processionary Caterpillar nests in the pine trees. That white fluffy thing, below, is an instantly recognisable nest.
For those who don't know, these caterpillars are poisonous, and dogs are particularly at risk. Our own Monty encountered one (he probably tried to eat it) when he was less than a year old, and is now lacking about a quarter of his tongue.
Watch out for long lines of caterpillars crossing roads or paths, and DO NOT TOUCH. Even their tiny hairs can cause respiratory problems in humans, and in strong winds these can be almost anywhere.
We need a spell of -15 C or colder to kill-off these nasty, and little-known, pests; otherwise they'll be coming down from the trees towards the end of March, so be warned! It's not often I wish for cold weather, but a couple of nights of -20 C would be very welcome; not that it'll happen.
You can read more about this annual menace here.
How awful & I just need the frost to kill off a few slugs. An interesting post, I had never heard of the caterpillars before.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they go as far north as Wales. They are mostly found around the Mediterranean and N African countries.
DeleteI had never heard of them either. Do they not have any natural predators?
ReplyDeleteOther than Labradors; I think not.
DeleteCrikey! That's a nasty one. I'm interested in insects and have never seen this before. I'm hoping we are too far north! Thanks for the heads-up for those that might encounter them.
ReplyDeleteFrost is useful to us for lots of reasons. We have had little here this winter and could do with a bit more to see off some garden pests
Gill
It's worth knowing about them in case you visit France, Spain, Italy, etc. People are fascinated by their tail-to-tail marching, and often play with them, resulting in nasty lesions; or worse.
DeleteThose things have marched over to Britain now, so we are all at risk. There is that sweet desert wine which depends on the grapes being hit with a hard frost too.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise they nested in the pine trees like that. I shall look out for them in future. Scary things.
ReplyDeleteNasty things. We get tent caterpillars here...not poisonous just a nuisance.
ReplyDeleteSome folks like our prolonged subzero weather here; it's halting the spread of the Emerald Ash borer. That caterpillar sounds just as bad.
ReplyDeletemy Gand-dad was fond of saying a good frost killed the bugs.
ReplyDeleteWe have them here in Maine as well. We call them Woolybears. I have had the misfortune of inadvertently touching them while clearing a tarp off a sailboat in storage. Lest me with a very painful rash for about 2 weeks. Best solution is to torch the nests where you can.
ReplyDeleteWe don't get them here but a good frost would be useful to kill off numerous other pests. Unfortunately, we only get very light frosts, if at all.
ReplyDeleteWe have those horrible catterpillars here in Australia too... but then they are just one more yukky thing to cause you harm so you don't hear much about them. Luckily they look yukky so the closest I've been to them is to poke them with a stick.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad always says you need a frost on the oranges and mandarins to make them sweet.