On sunny days, a trip to the beach feels like music for your eyes. But beware, because the hybrid satin caterpillar is causing nuisance in various places along the coast. Not only on the beach, but also in the dunes. If you touch the caterpillar, the animal’s stinging hair can cause a lot of itching and rashes.
You probably know the oak procession caterpillar, but the hybrid satin caterpillar is less well known. No less disturbing are the complaints that the animal can cause. However, there are some other differences to note. The oak procession caterpillar can be found throughout the country, while the hybrid satin caterpillar is mainly found in coastal areas. “This caterpillar was seen all over the country until the 1970s and 1980s,” Jurriën van Dijk of the Butterfly Foundation told him previously. advertisement. “However, nowadays it is mainly found on the coast, where it is found in dune areas and on the beach.”
This is how you recognize the hybrid satin caterpillar
To avoid coming into contact with the hybrid satin caterpillar or its stinging hairs, it’s a good idea to be able to identify the animal. The animal is dark brown to black, covered in tufts of long, yellowish-brown hairs and has shorter spiky black stinging hairs. With these barbs, the arrow-shaped stinging hairs easily pierce the skin, eyes, and airways when touched. Small caterpillars are usually found in nests, trees and shrubs and for their food they move to various trees and shrubs, such as sea buckthorn, hawthorn, oak, birch, elm and fruit trees. NVWA. The nests of young caterpillars can be found mainly in the spring and can be recognized by a kind of white cobweb.
Complaints after contact with a hybrid satin caterpillar
If you come into contact with the stinging hairs of a hybrid satin caterpillar, you may suffer from unpleasant complaints. Animals can also get complaints. Good to know: You don’t always have to directly contact grub to receive complaints. The wind can also carry fire bristles. GGD Zeeland It indicates that you can get various complaints after contact with the hair, including a red rash with bumps and blisters. You may also experience itching.
In addition to these skin problems, you could also suffer from:
- Dry throat and hoarseness
- Irritated, red, swollen and/or inflamed eyes
- fruit
- feeling dizzy
- Fever
- Respiratory complaints such as runny nose, difficulty swallowing, coughing, tickling in the throat, and shortness of breath
These complaints usually go away on their own after about a week.
Advice if you have complaints
If you have stinging hairs, try to prevent them from spreading further on your body. Take off all your clothes and do not touch them with your hands. Then wash the clothes as warm as possible and do not allow them to air dry, but preferably in a dryer. To prevent the complaint from getting worse, it is best not to rub your skin. What you can do to remove the fiery hairs falling from your skin is to take a shower with lukewarm running water. If that doesn’t work, you can remove the stuck-on fire filaments with masking tape. Do you suffer from itching a lot? Then you can use an antihistamine for the necessary relief. Means based on menthol, calendula, aloe vera or luteo alba help, accordingly GGD Dutch Central. If symptoms do not go away or if they are severe, contact your doctor.
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