Tale of Tails
Posted by jeanie sepin on August 2, 2005
Q: Last month here in the foothills of Southern California, (Alpine), I
noticed many hollow carcasses of
woolly caterpillar. They were all
black, so I don't think they are the one's mentioned here, but I
have no idea where to ask the
question and just stumbled upon
this site. Can the mite that has
devastated local bees effect them?
Habitat: suburban/yard
State: California
Habitat: suburban/yard
A: Interesting question. Here in the East, we have a real problem with Gypsy Moths. About every 7 years or so, their population peaks and they do lots of damage to our trees. At about that same time though, there is a peak of a deadly bacterium that hits the caterpillars causing them to die in huge numbers. So, your Woolly Bear caterpillar senario makes me think that they too have been hit with a bacterium - not the same though. Often these infections are cyclic and you don't notice anything for years and then it's quite obvious.
This is only an "educated guess" so don't quote me. Thanks for asking and let me know if you learn otherwise on the caterpillars.
John Wiessinger ( August 3, 2005)