To The Editor: Caterpillar Avalanche

“What on earth are all those yellow caterpillars doing all over the roads? It’s like an avalanche of them! An invasion! Please tell us what they are.”

– Many On The Highway

Well, MOTH, there’s no denying it, these critters are everywhere. Within just a few days, it seems the desert ecosystem is full of yellow caterpillars, all moving, going somewhere, for some reason, with some kind of purpose.

Generally, they’re a couple of inches long, they’re yellow with black stripes and bits of red, and if you don’t like bugs, they’ll creep you the hell out.

According to the Experts Who Know Things, this is a migration of the white-lined sphinx caterpillar, which move around this time every year, although this year would appear to be particularly prominent in the Parker area. So, if this migration is anything to go by, we should be seeing a lot of white-lined sphinx moths sometime soon, MOTH.

The white-lined sphinx moth is often compared to a hummingbird, due to its flying pattern and looks. It can also have a wingspan of up to 5 inches.

Anyway, I can’t figure out where they’ll all going. If anyone cares to follow them and let us know, please do in the comments section below! And thanks for the question, MOTH.

JW