Populations of toxic oak processionary moth (OPM) ‘exploded’ this summer despite control efforts, spreading from west London to as far as Stratford’s Olympic Park.
Children at a school have been affected and arborists at Kew Gardens have developed rashes after being stung by the poisonous hairs shed by the moth’s caterpillars, which appear from late spring to early summer.
The invasive caterpillars feed voraciously on oak leaves. They have no natural predators in England and have established in west London since they were believed to have arrived on oak saplings imported from Holland in 2005.
The Guardian: Oak processionary moth population exploding in London
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