Winter Webworms

These dudes are literally everywhere. Pavements are covered in them (and dog poo, of course). It has been like that at least for three weeks now. The Winter Webworm (Ocnogyna baetica) is a moth (of the family Arctiidae) living in the south of Spain and is actually far more widespread as its larvae are a common plague of the herbaceous areas of western Mediterranean area. The thing is that the Winter Webworm moth has been a "people problem", a real pain in the ass from the viewpoint of gardeners. Not much of a nuisance for the people who walk the streets of the villages surrounding the city or run to catch a metro to downtown, like me.

I ain't no photographer, heh

The female has no wings and looks like a hairy chocolote-coloured ball, hardly relatable to a moth at the first sight. Male moths are "normal", with black spots on the white background of the wings. Incubation of their eggs lasts between 40 and 70 days. Which is why there was no sign of them (well, the larvae) in the streets before February. The larvae are about 5,1-7,6 cm long (i.e 2-3 inches), black, and covered, during their development, with hair of variable colour (usually, orange).

Photo used is taken from from blog Gerena Viva

Spawning takes place in October and the eggs hatch in mid-December, which is early and can be considered an adaptation of the species to the grassy areas of Mediterranean region, as the larvae feed on grass (sweetvetch, clover, wallflower, mallow, etc.), what withers quickly in the summer, while is green and lush in the winter. In the early stages (until March), the larvae stay together feeding on the ground moving beneath the web they weave themselves. Anyway, it is going to be warmer and warmer from now on, and they have to be feeding heavily to be fat soon to turn into a cocoon. These moths spend in the pupal state (in the soil) all the summer until the autumn, or may even take a year to emerge.