MEDIA RELEASE

Stinging Nettle Caterpillars

Stinging nettle caterpillars, which have a painful sting, have again been seen at Pualani Park in Kailua-Kona, the county Department of Parks and Recreation reported today.

Weather-permitting, the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation will be spraying the park area on Monday morning, April 27, with DiPel DF, a non-toxic insecticide that can be an irritant in contact with skin or eyes, or if inhaled or ingested.

The park will be closed to the public on Monday if weather conditions permit the spraying. Signs will be posted in the area. The park would then reopen for normal activities on Tuesday, April 28.

The state Department of Agriculture has been notified of the discovery of the caterpillar and the planned spraying operation.

For more information about the stinging nettle caterpillar, visit the Web site of the University of Hawai’i’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, at http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/IP-22.pdf.

Photo courtesy of UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.