NEW ORLEANS — It's about to be that time of year again, the time when we see caterpillars' everywhere. An expert predicts we may see more of the insects this summer compared to last.
New Orleanians are all too familiar with the buck moth caterpillar. The caterpillars will start emerging from their eggs this month, and this year they're going to be amping up their presence.
"We're going to see more than usual," said Zack Lemann, the curator of animal collections for the Audubon Insectarium.
He went on to say, "In December, when the adult Buck moth is flying around, normally if we see a lot of them, and I noticed a lot this past winter, it means there's going to be a healthy number of caterpillars."
Lemann predicts we're going to see more of these spiky fellas, he says environmental factors play a big role in the insects' numbers.
He said, "Buck moths seem to be fairly resistant to weather extremes, you know we had a pretty big drought this past year and I saw an appreciable amount of the adult moths."
The spiny insects live in the New Orleans staple, the live oak tree, but these guys aren't picky when it comes to dinner time. Lemann said, "The caterpillar is a generalist that will feed on something in the neighborhood of 50 different species plants, both native live oaks, and exotic both trees and shrubs."
Now if you see the caterpillars in your yard, and they do eat away at your plants, don't worry those leaves will grow back, maybe just give them some extra love and care.
Lemann suggests wearing gardening gloves when working in the backyard because the caterpillars will sting you.
"Your basic first aid is going to be trying to use some clear tape to gently remove any spines that you might not see that are still on the skin putting ice on the ice and if you need it Benadryl."