Caterpillar chaos on the University of Florida campus

University of Florida students returned from spring break several weeks ago with the hopes of business as usual to finish out the semester.

Instead, many were met with the unexpected fate of caterpillar chaos.

The fuzzy little insects have taken over the UF campus, raining down from the trees onto unsuspecting individuals, and students have quickly developed an aversion to the creatures.

“It’s especially disturbing because there’s just so many of them and they’re everywhere,” said Jessica Garcete, a second-year journalism student. “It feels like I’m constantly looking over my shoulder because of these stupid caterpillars.”

While Garcete mentioned that she does not remember the caterpillars being a problem last spring, the arrival of caterpillars occurs every year.

Jamie Beach, a third-year entomology and nematology student, said that because this only happens for a few months at a time, “most people tend to forget how bad things were and assume each year is getting worse.”

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Beach also noted that this year’s appearance of the caterpillars would not be considered an outbreak, despite how other UF students may view the matter.

“This is simply a slightly unpleasant section of the cycle of nature,” said Beach.

Several scientific journals suggest a likelihood of these caterpillar populations increasing over time due to their tolerance for warmer temperatures.

“The winter has been very warm and rainy, so there is lots of green around, which is always good for caterpillars,” said Andrei Sourakov, the Lepidoptera collections coordinator at the Florida Museum of Natural History .

Sourakov and Beach identified the main culprits around campus as tussock moth caterpillars and tent caterpillars .

“Tent caterpillars are colorful, smooth and cylindrical with intricate patterns. Tussock moth caterpillars have punk-rock style ‘haircuts’ with tufts of yellow or white hairs on their backs, making a little ponytail,” Sourakov explained.

As a part of their life cycle, these two species of moths hatch out of their eggs into their caterpillar stage once the weather starts to warm up, typically around March 1 every year. The caterpillars then feed and grow for four to six weeks. These caterpillars can often be found in oak trees, and the caterpillars fall off the branches they are feeding on when the wind blows and into the laps of unsuspecting victims.

The fuzzy hairs in both species are used as a defense mechanism intended to repel bird predators by irritating their throats. However, coming into direct contact with the caterpillars’ prickly hairs or their cocoons can affect humans too, as it can result in welts and itching.

“Level of sensitivity to these caterpillars varies, and I am able to touch them with my palms as long as I avoid the tussocks,” Beach said, “though I would not recommend handling them even if you have a high level of tolerance.”

Beach explained that in addition to predation by birds, the caterpillars are also parasitized by various flies and wasps.

“That is why the caterpillars must defend themselves, otherwise they would be like defenseless, juicy sausages crawling around,” Sourakov said.

Even though students are bothered by the caterpillar chaos, the situation has inadvertently brought the UF community together against a common enemy.

Over the past couple of weeks, various memes about the caterpillars taking over campus were created by students and posted to Yik Yak and UF’s Barstool account.

“It feels like such a big inside joke on campus this year,” Garcete said.

Despite the jokes and social media posts scorning the caterpillars, the insects are not a nuisance to everyone. Beach is a big fan of any creature, especially with her involvement in and love for entomology.

“I love seeing these guys around!” Beach said. “Winter is always a sad time for me, as I feel like half of my friend group (the bugs) are gone. Seeing these caterpillars sort of marks the beginning of spring to me and signals the return of many other insects as well!”

Unfortunately for the caterpillar haters, they’re here to stay for a little while longer, as their season is projected to last until mid-May.

In the meantime, Sourakov hopes UF students will find time to visit the Florida Museum of Natural History to learn more about the caterpillars.

“We have lots of cool exhibits [at the museum], including the ones about butterflies and moths, and one can learn a lot about these important creatures,” Sourakov said.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Caterpillar chaos on the University of Florida campus