Fandango’s Flashback Friday — May 5th

It has been six years since the last attack of these tiny, hairy, hungry monsters but this is the time of year when they are developing. As long as it keeps raining, all is well but if suddenly, the rain stops, things could quickly change.

It had been 34 years since the previous attack. People had almost forgotten. When the caterpillars returned, memories came flooding back.

My son was here last week, mowing the yard. He also hosed down the house in a largely futile attempt to clear it of gypsy moth caterpillars. It was pointless, but we had to try to fight back.

Everything is covered with hairy, toxic caterpillars. The house. Cars. The dogs don’t want to go out. Their feet get stung as they try to walk through the grass.

Many of the oaks are entirely stripped of leaves. I took these pictures the day before yesterday. It’s much worse today. I can’t bring myself to go outside for any reason, so you’ll have to take my word for it. The ground is writhing with caterpillars. It’s horrible.

The caterpillars eat the oaks from the top down. Some are fully defoliated. Others have a few leaves remaining on lower branches.

Not all of the trees will recover. Some will simply fall over. The fruit trees die. So do pines. The healthy oaks and maples will grow new leaves after the caterpillars morph into moths. It’s going to be an interesting year for the electric company when the trees start falling. Worse, the odds are that they will be back next year. It’s usually a two-year run, but when it moves to three which it does sometimes, entire forests die. A whole species of oak trees was wiped out by them in the past.

This invasion is the price we are paying for an easy winter. Without the deep cold to kill the eggs, you get caterpillars.

It will be weeks before the siege lifts. My personal nightmare, writ large. The trees against the cloudy sky are weird and naked. When it’s quiet, no traffic noise or wind, you can hear the crunching of millions of caterpillars chowing down. Stephen King couldn’t write a creepier story.

Garry, who is not particularly afraid of bugs, is finding this hard to deal with. On top of that, it turns out he is allergic to them, a condition so common it has its own name.

Gypsy moth caterpillar poisoning.

After Garry came in from taking pictures — and sweeping the crawlies off the cars, his arms were covered by raised welts. I looked it up and other than the usual stuff you do about allergic reactions to insects, the suggestion is — are you ready? Avoid gypsy moth caterpillars.

Why didn’t I think of that?

I think I’m holding up pretty well, all things considered.

Categories: #foliage, #Photography, Nature, New England, Trees, woodland, Woods, You can't make this stuff up

Tags: #Photography, caterpillar poisoning, Gypsy Moths, infestation, oak trees