Pine processionary moths

Anne Eyries

emerge unnoticed, the colour of cold ash, converge
in haste for one night only; they mate,

she lays her eggs on nearby pine trees: deadline
met, job done. The larvae infest, spin silk nests

that conflate, congregate like gauze-gloved hands
in prayer; hang out as a gang after dark, seek

fresh young pine needles, dine, return replete
before dawn. Grown fat, the caterpillars dress

for their pupation procession, each russet gusset
sown with barbs, bristles that defend; descend

from treetops in single file, tunnel deep, sleep
wrapped tight in oval, ochre-white cocoons –

one night they’ll wake, shake off the shrouds:
a few hours to renew the cycle, unless eaten by a bat.

The Science

Five years ago, I moved from a flat in Paris to a house in Arles with a garden. When I first encountered pine processionary caterpillars, I was intrigued by their beauty and nose-to-tail procession. The pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) is native to the Mediterranean Basin and its caterpillars create not only economic consequences by feeding ravenously on pine needles during the winter and thus damaging tree growth, but also cause health concerns with their defence mechanism of urticating hairs that can fly to lodge in nose and throat of humans and animals. Man-made traps are relatively ineffective, but PPM caterpillars have efficient natural predators like great tits and pipistrelle bats. 

In this poem reflecting on the PPM life cycle, I’ve tried to give the scientific story a mock-gothic approach, with an element of humour - and a nod to the cruelty of nature - in the last line. I’ve used internal rhyme in every line to mimic the rhythmic procession of the caterpillars marching in single file, nose to tail, through the length of the poem.

The Poet

Anne Eyries has work published or forthcoming in Cranked Anvil, Dream Catcher, Green Ink Poetry, Moss Puppy Magazine, Mslexia, Reflex Press, The Hyacinth Review and The Piker Press, among others. In poetry groups and workshops, she has been described as an eco-poet. She lives in France.

Next poem: Terminator by Martin Zarrop