280 days of Urbpandemonium #49

[urbpan]

We've been experiencing a biblical plague of these bastards lately. This is the larva of the winter moth Operophtera brumata*, a Eurasian pest introduced to the east and west coasts of North America. They have a strong appetite for a wide variety of trees and shrubs, defoliating saplings and causing deforestation. Songbirds have a hard time keeping up--while I've seen many robins, starlings, sparrows, and other birds with their bills stuffed with caterpillars--there are still hundreds all over the sidewalks and pathways in the woody parts of the city and suburbs.


* The etymology of this one is a mess, with transcription errors and pseudonyms all over the place. I think the name is supposed to suggest "working wings" (which would be Operoptera) in reference to the fact that males can fly while females can't (that makes sense in the sexist context of 19th century naturalism). Brumata means "of the winter," because these are some of the only moths that fly in the winter in northern places.