Caterpillar alert for bathers
A section of beach at Bembridge, Isle of Wight, was cordoned off after three beachgoers needed hospital treatment for rashes caused by barbed brown-tail moth caterpillars. Insecticide spraying of a half-acre area of sea buckthorn bushes where the moths have been breeding was postponed until English Heritage could investigate the beach, a designated area of special scientific interest.
Ecology officer for the council, Dr Colin Pope, said: "These moths are native to the UK and sometimes there are population explosions ... contact with the barbed hairs of these creatures can cause quite serious skin irritations." He said the caterpillars were brown and hairy, with white lines and two red dots.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies