Gypsy Moth Caterpillar

Larvae can be distinguished from other species of caterpillars by their spots. They have 5 pairs of blue spots and 6 pairs of red spots. They also have long. hair-like setae covering their bodies.

These caterpillars are like little zombies that just keep coming. They were everywhere - defoliating trees, covering yards, houses, roads, cars, etc... You couldn't go in the woods without hearing the sound of "rain", which is actually the sound of gypsy moth feces (frass) falling from the trees. Going in the woods makes you feel like you are in a horror movie with caterpillars covering every tree and poop falling on your head. Gypsy moth caterpillars are usually kept in check each year by a virus and a fungus, but since the spring of 2015 was so dry, neither the fungus or the virus were able to spread enough in order to kill the caterpillars before they pupated. This caused a carry-over effect that led to an abundance of eggs being laid and extremely high numbers of caterpillars during the summer of 2016 in Rhode Island (northeastern US).