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NewsvineEvery returning Stanford student knows that springtime on the Farm not only means beautiful weather, classes held outside and three day weekends, but also the emergence of thousands of Stanford’s infamous pest — the caterpillar. Though spring quarter is well underway, some students like Cole Murphy-Hockett ‘11 have found themselves wondering why the caterpillars are nowhere to be found.
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“When I came for admit weekend last year, I saw millions of caterpillars simply hanging from the trees,” Murphy-Hockett said. “Now that it’s spring, I was wondering when they will start to show up. I have heard so many stories about horrible encounters with these pests that I am definitely not looking forward to them.”
Though the caterpillars’ arrival has been delayed this year, Facilities Operations Manager Herbert Fong said that the caterpillars are on their way.
“The caterpillars are still present but at a young, smaller stage,” said Fong. “They go through what is called gradual metamorphosis to become a larger, more visible caterpillar later in the spring.”
Karen Stidd, Horticultural Support supervisor for Facilities Operations, said that the emergence and activity of the caterpillars is temperature or climate-related. So while the caterpillars are not easily visible yet, closer observation will find that some have already been hatching and emerging in trees.
“The caterpillars are out there, but they are still quite small and just beginning to chew the leaves,” Stidd said. “I believe they are growing more slowly this year because of colder average temperatures this winter. We know that as the weather warms, any existing caterpillars will grow in size rapidly, and we are currently washing trees that show signs of infestation.”
The caterpillars found around campus are tussock larvae that will eventually become moths, most commonly the western tussock moth. After their eggs hatch in February, the tussock larvae grow rapidly until they begin to pupate. Adult moths then emerge from the cocoons, lay eggs and then die. This process is usually completed in June, though the exact timing of the life cycle varies from year to year depending on temperature.
Though the caterpillars are native to the Stanford campus, their growth, as seen last spring, has often gone unchecked. The massive springtime proliferation of the caterpillars over the past several years has caused considerable annoyance and discomfort among students, leading to anti-caterpillar Facebook groups boasting hundreds of members and calling for their extermination.
University officials, however, are hesitant to implement such strategies.
“We do not use toxic sprays in the control of these organisms in our efforts in sustainability and environmental concerns,” Fong said. “Instead, we hope that our efforts of power washing the over-wintering stages of egg masses from last year that will lead to lower quantities of caterpillars this spring. This is probably one of the least disruptive methods that can be taken.”
In addition to power washing, the University intends to implement their strategies to check the caterpillars’ growth using predators.
“We have allowed natural predators such as praying mantis and predatory wasps, both [of] which naturally exist, to help control these pests,” Fong said. “We have also been supplementing their populations with additional commercially grown predators.”
Fong notes that the populations of caterpillars are cyclical, and at times predatory populations are not adequate to control peak caterpillar populations. Therefore, while University measures to control the caterpillar population were largely unsuccessful last year, Fong is optimistic that the caterpillar growth will be more controlled this spring.
“I do not expect populations to be near the levels we experienced last year because of our measures,” Fong said. “This last year we just had the perfect conditions in some of the most highly trafficked areas on campus for these conditions to all come together for one of the worst years ever.”
Despite Fong’s assurances about controlled caterpillar population, students like Brianna Wilson ‘09 are not looking forward to their arrival.
“I was so excited not to see any caterpillars when I got back from spring break this year,” Wilson said. “They are the only thing I don’t like about Stanford. A lot of tourists in the spring ask me why there are so many caterpillars around and I don’t know how to respond. I think the caterpillars give tourists an inaccurate impression of campus.”
Liberty Reforma ‘08 said that while neither she nor her friends are looking forward to the caterpillars’ return, she will not let the fuzzy menace dampen her last spring on the Farm.
“Spring quarter will be fun regardless of the caterpillars,” she said. “Though I am not looking forward to the caterpillars, as a senior, I have come to see them as a natural part of springtime at Stanford.”