horror at the beach
Back to Sunken Meadow earlier this week.
Got to see some interesting wildlife.
But there was something else at the beach that night, Something that haunted my nightmares.
I will spare you the image. But it was horrible. Truly horrible.
It was ...dare I say it? It was a gypsy moth caterpillar.
You might wonder what horrors are associated with a little black caterpillar.
One of those furry black things is...controllable. When he brings along a million of his nearest and dearest, however....
In the early 1980's Long Island was overrun by gypsy moth caterpillars. For several weeks each spring, the trees were heavy with caterpillars. Those hungry little critters could strip a tree bare.
And they didn't just crawl through trees. The infestation spread to patios and decks and all sorts of outdoor structures. Our white garage doors were so full of caterpillars that they appeared black.
Really, from the time the larvae hatched until the caterpillars cocooned, it was almost impossible to use our yard. We had to keep the dog and cat in the house. I wouldn't venture out without a hat.
And lucky me, I had a sensitivity to their droppings. Gave me a rash.
But thanks to those horrid little caterpillars, I had my 15 minutes of fame. The local cable news station, then in its infancy, came to my neighborhood and interviewed a few of us about the horrors of the gypsy moth caterpillar infestation. Yes, I was on TV, talking about those horrid creepy crawlers....
Got to see some interesting wildlife.
But there was something else at the beach that night, Something that haunted my nightmares.
I will spare you the image. But it was horrible. Truly horrible.
It was ...dare I say it? It was a gypsy moth caterpillar.
You might wonder what horrors are associated with a little black caterpillar.
One of those furry black things is...controllable. When he brings along a million of his nearest and dearest, however....
In the early 1980's Long Island was overrun by gypsy moth caterpillars. For several weeks each spring, the trees were heavy with caterpillars. Those hungry little critters could strip a tree bare.
And they didn't just crawl through trees. The infestation spread to patios and decks and all sorts of outdoor structures. Our white garage doors were so full of caterpillars that they appeared black.
Really, from the time the larvae hatched until the caterpillars cocooned, it was almost impossible to use our yard. We had to keep the dog and cat in the house. I wouldn't venture out without a hat.
And lucky me, I had a sensitivity to their droppings. Gave me a rash.
But thanks to those horrid little caterpillars, I had my 15 minutes of fame. The local cable news station, then in its infancy, came to my neighborhood and interviewed a few of us about the horrors of the gypsy moth caterpillar infestation. Yes, I was on TV, talking about those horrid creepy crawlers....
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