Oh, it is those caterpillars again!

Caterpillars swarm residential areas across Java

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 04/10/2011


Hundreds of thousands of caterpillars have descended on parts of Java over the last several days, eating up vegetation and swarming through residential areas.

As of Saturday the swarm, which was first detected late last week in Probolinggo regency, East Java, had spread to other areas including Madiun in East Java, Kendal regency in Central Java and Bekasi in West Java.

The swarm has frightened residents who complain of severe itchiness on their bodies.

Warsih, a resident of Sumberkedawung village in Leces district, said the caterpillars were very annoying. “They stripped my mango trees bare. They even entered nearby houses,” he was quoted as saying by news portal kompas.com on March 31.

Sumberlawang elementary school and other schools in the affected villages were forced to temporarily close.

Residents going out of their houses were also forced to use umbrellas to prevent caterpillars from falling on their heads. “When they fall on my body, my skin feels hot and ichy,” Warsih said.

Many trees, especially mango trees, have been stripped bare.

The swarm spread to western parts of East Java, including Madiun, where residents expressed concern that the caterpillars would spread as quickly as in Probolinggo.

In Madiun, caterpillars ate both plants and crops, including in residential areas such as Tawang Rejo village in Kartoharjo district. The first caterpillar plague was discovered by local children playing on Saturday morning.

The caterpillars moved from trees to houses, with many houses dotted with cocoons.

In Kendal, caterpillars had swarmed through three districts — Kendal, Ngampel and Brangsong — as of Thursday.

Eko Suyono, a resident of Kendal district, said he suffered rashes to the body.

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Pest control experts in East Java will send samples of caterpillars to a laboratory in Jakarta to help authorities find effective ways to exterminate the insects that have been swarming the province.

The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) is set to receive samples of hairy caterpillars — which have in recent weeks invaded homes and destroyed plantations in Probolinggo district — from Jember University’s School of Agriculture.

Hari Purnomo, a lecturer from the university, said on Sunday that they had found two species of caterpillars that had been attacking mango orchards and “terrorizing” villagers.

He said these species were believed to be from the moth family, with one species having brown wings and another characterized by striped brown wings.

“We have taken a number of cocoon samples, adult moths and a number of the caterpillars’ predators,” he said. “Some of the samples are to be sent to LIPI.”

Hari and a team of professors had also conducted observational studies on the insects to determine their reproductive and growth patterns.

He said the species, from the Lymantriidae family, that were found in Probolinggo were nocturnal and laid eggs at night.

Experts said over the weekend that the current crop of caterpillars would morph into moths or butterflies in several weeks, but more outbreaks were likely.

East Java villages worst hit by the swarms were Sumber Kedawung and Pondok Wuluh.

The infestation has spread from Probolinggo district to neighboring cities in Central and West Java, causing skin rashes among residents, according to Agriculture Minister Suswono.

The insects have swamped Kudus, Central Java, and the West Java districts of Subang and Bekasi.

“I call on the people to remain cautious and coordinate with field officials from the agriculture office who can warn of potential caterpillar attacks,” the minister said.

Aunu Rauf, an expert from the Institute of Agriculture (IPB) in Bogor, said weather anomalies that caused the deaths of the caterpillars’ natural predators contributed to the problem.

“The prolonged rainy season caused Braconids [a family of parasitic wasps] and Apanteles [a genus of destructive wasps and leaf rollers] unable to stay alive,” the researcher said on Sunday.

However, Aunu said not all of the predators had disappeared, though fewer of them keep caterpillar populations under control.

Aunu said many of the insects were expected to stop eating away at crops and other plants since they had entered the pupal stage. This is when caterpillars are enveloped in cocoons before turning into adult moths or butterflies.

“But one should be aware that caterpillars have a life cycle of one and a half months,” Aunu said, adding that future attacks should be expected.

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