You may have noticed more tent caterpillars in the area this year, which is part of a ten year outbreak cycle for the insects.
That’s according to Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Forest Health Field Program Coordinator Dan Rowlinson. Rowlinson says we are in the second of a three year caterpillar outbreak cycle.
He says these caterpillars are not harmful to your health, but may be a nuisance because they eat a lot of foliage on trees.
Rowlinson says, in about a week, these caterpillars will start the process of spinning into cocoons, before turning into moths later in the summer. At that point, they will start laying their eggs on tree branches.
Rowlinson says this is part of a bigger provincial outbreak of tent caterpillars, but if you can make it through the next week, they’ll be gone as quickly as they showed up. He does remind you to expect and plan accordingly for another caterpillar outbreak next June.