The black caterpillar makes the public panic: what is the worm? Is it toxic? Popular science is coming

Moss moth larvae crawling on trees.

　　The whole body has long hairs, black, five or six centimeters long... Recently, Mr. Zhang, a citizen, reported to the hotline of this newspaper 968820 that on the roadside from DongpingShan Hongcuopu Station to Dongshan She Station, bugs were piled up on large stones and tree trunks, which made people worry. Yesterday, the reporter went to the scene to investigate and interviewed experts in greening.

　　Hundreds of caterpillars crawl on the rocks, and there are bugs hanging in mid-air

　　Yesterday morning, this reporter came to Hongcuopu Station in Dongping Mountain. Walking along this station in the direction of Dongshanshe Station, the reporter saw that there were traces of black bugs being trampled to death or being crushed by cars on the roadside ground. Looking more closely at the trees on the side of the road, I found that many of them had black caterpillars. Mr. Zhang, a citizen, told reporters that in the past, this insect was red, but now it has become black, "the body is black and shiny, making people panic."

　　Along the road, the reporter found a large stone mentioned by Mr. Zhang. The stone is shocking because it is densely packed with hundreds of black caterpillars. On some trees on the side of the road, hundreds of black caterpillars are also "coiled".

　　In addition, some bugs hang down from the branches of the tree, and there is a possibility of falling at any time. At the scene, a woman was startled by the fact that a bug almost fell on her.

　　Moss moth larvae have phototropism The relevant departments said they would deal with it

　　What exactly is this caterpillar and will it harm people? Zhang Huafeng, a senior engineer at the Municipal Greening Center, said that this bug is a moss moth larva, a kind of insect that specializes in eating moss, and is non-toxic. However, some people may develop allergies after exposure to this insect.

　　Zhang Huafeng also said that this is a larvae of insects of the lepidoptera lamp moth family. A female moth can lay up to 300 to 400 eggs at a time, and even if the survival rate is only one-third, the number of bugs will increase dramatically after a year of reproduction.

　　As for why this larvae hang in the air, Zhang Huafeng explained that this insect has phototropism, climbing up the trunk or high place from a relatively dark habitat in the morning, and when the outside world is full of light, it will spit silk from the high tree and hang down, drift with the wind, and feed in another mossy place.

　　Zhang Huafeng said that in recent years, Xiamen's ecological environment has been continuously optimized, and Dongping Mountain has not been sprayed with pesticides, which is one of the reasons for the large number of moss moth larvae. He pointed out that if the insects affect the landscape, they can be sterilized and controlled by biological agents such as albicans.

　　Subsequently, the reporter gave feedback on the relevant situation to the greening department, and the relevant person in charge said that he would go to the scene to check and deal with it.

　　【Reminder】

　　Insects fall on the body and rinse with soapy water to have a disinfectant effect

　　Experts remind that the public in the outdoor activities, if you encounter insects falling on the body, do not panic, should immediately bounce off or blow away the insects, and then use water or soapy water to carefully rinse the body parts touched by insects, which can play a certain disinfection effect.

(Text/Figure Xiamen Daily reporter Wu Xiujun)