Thaumetopoea pityocampa ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)

Host plants:
The larvae feed on pine (Pinus). Especially in N-Africa also Cedrus is infested.

Habitat:
Thaumetopoea pityocampa inhabits pine trees from the coast up to the mountains.

Life cycle:
The moths appear between May and September/early October with a peak often in August. The eggs are deposited in largae batches around pine needles and hatch mostly after some weeks. The larvae live from late summer or autumn to spring in the conspicuous webbings on the tree. In mild weather they are active also in winter. I observed them e.g. in January in coastal Provence.
The mature caterpillars leave the tree for pupation between February and May (according to region) and search in a conspicuous procession for suitable places. If the leader has found such a place, the animals bury themselves in the ground and construct their cocoons. The resulting pupae undergoe dormancies of different lengths which explains regional flight time differences and is as usual in the Mediterranean correlated with the climatic factors heat and summer drought.

Remarks:
Thaumetopoea pityocampa occurs from N-Africa acroos Southern Europe to Asia Minor. In the north it is observed up to the more southerly Alps (e.g. Vinschgau) and Central France. Obviously Thaumetopoea pityocampa is expanding due to climatic change.