Millions of hungry caterpillars invade Massachusetts

After a spider invasion of Tennessee in November 2015, it’s the turn now of Massachusetts to be invaded by hungry caterpillars. Millions of the insect have descended upon the state’s woodlands, taking over 100,000 acres of land between Quabbin Reservoir and Cape Cod.

Considered the worst caterpillar outbreak in the region in 35 years, the crawling insects are eating the leaves of oak, cherry and pine trees. However, the area they have invaded is only half of the 200,000 acres in 1981, reports Science Alert.

Despite the cute appearance of caterpillars, which are gypsy moths (Lymantria dispar) in their larval stage, in the eastern US, the caterpillars have been defoliating almost 1 million acres of forest in the region annually since 1980, according to the US Department of Agriculture. The invasion usually begins in May.

Using strands of silk to glide when there are wind gusts, the newly hatched larvae spread all over the forests and keep on munching leaves for a few months until it enters the pupa stage. But the caterpillars do not just munch on leaves, it also rain down on people and homes, covering whole houses.

Residents of Essex describe the situation like a scene from a horror movie. The Boston Globe quotes Jeff Kilburn, a campsite owner, who says, “It’s just a gypsy moth bloodbath out there … It’s like all-out-war. They have invaded and they are taking no prisoners.”

Gerhard Schoenthal, landowner on Walker Mountain, with properties behind the Bland County Courthouse, says this year’s invasion is the worst in 44 years. “It looks like there is not going to be a leaf on the trees if they keep on,” SWVA Today quotes Schoenthal.

According to Whyte County officials, since 1970, the gypsy moths have destroyed 75 million acres of land in the region. To address the problem, agencies overseeing the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests have held aerial treatments by emitting pheromone, a scent that confuses the moths during mating and keeps it from reproducing.

Gypsy moths are not indigenous to the US. Residents can blame the problem on a French scientist who experimented with gypsy moths in 1869 on his window sill on the possibility of a viable silkworm market in the US. A wind gust blew the caterpillars out of his window and 20 years after, the first major infestation took place in the region and has been hitting it every decade, according to researchers at the University of Kentucky.

VIDEO: Massive Caterpillar Invasion in Massachusetts