Watch your tracks!
Carlos Alcala: Step gently at the caterpillar crossing
By Carlos Alcalá - calcala@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, May 1, 2008
Ooey Gooey was a worm: Amy Greer is passionate about something many would rather not think about: hordes of caterpillars. Crawlers give the creeps to some people, but not Greer. When she noticed the recent spring emergence of pipevine swallowtail butterflies – a striking velvety black flier – her mind went to what comes next. Butterflies lay eggs. Baby caterpillars emerge and begin feasting on Dutchman's pipe – a native plant in the American River Parkway. Eventually, many of them try to cross the Jedediah Smith trail along the river. (This may occur because their food plant reacts to their feeding by turning bitter. They have to go look for fresh food.) The inevitable result isn't pretty. "These little caterpillars. … You see their little dead bodies," Greer said. She's an equestrienne and runner and will stop to help them off the path. Most people don't. "It's really hard to avoid them," said Lynne Pinkerton, a naturalist at Effie Yeaw Nature Center. But that's what Greer hopes you will do. She's even considering posting signs urging people to watch out for the smooth-skinned black larvae with orange spots. "I see too many squished bodies," she said. The butterflies don't seem endangered by the carnage (caterpillage?), but still, what's the harm in being careful? …
