Reproduction
The larva is a major forest pest, living communally in large "tents", usually in pine trees but occasionally in cedar or larch, marching out at night in single file to feed on the needles. There are often several such tents in a single tree. When they are ready to pupate, the larvae march in their usual fashion to the ground, where they disperse to pupate singly on or just below the surface.The larvae should never be handled as the abundant hairs on their bodies cause extreme irritation to the skin. 5th stage larvae can eject hairs when threatened or stressed; the hairs, which have the form of harpoons, then penetrate and irritate all areas of exposed skin nearby with an urticating protein. Allergic reactions may follow in susceptible individuals on subsequent exposure to the hairs.
Fabre conducted a famous study on the processionary pine larvae where a group of them were attached nose-to-tail in a circle with food just outside the circle; they continued marching in the circle for a week. The caterpillars may follow a trail of pheromones or silk, but the main stimuli that induce following are from the hairs on the end of the abdomen of the caterpillar in front. The ant mill is a similar phenomenon.
References:
Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.
