Drought aiding caterpillar population explosion on island in Skagit County, Washington
6/15/2023 12:21:43 PM
CATEGORIES:
Plants & Wildlife
Society & Public Health
AFFECTED AREAS:
Skagit County, WA
Start Date: 6/15/2023
-
Guemes Island has been overrun by Western Tent caterpillars as the seven-year life cycle peaks, leaving the creatures crawling on the ground, roads and everywhere else. Conditions are perfect for their numbers to increase quickly—there’s an absence of predators, warm, drought conditions and a lack of viruses that typically limit the population. The infestation should last a few weeks.
"They go up your neck and in your pants and everything else," a local resident said, feeling kind of squeamish. "My own hair was freaking me out, so I had to get a haircut."
KING TV 5 (Seattle, Wash.), June 15, 2023
Sources
