Why is it, that when something unex- plainable happens in nature that startles us, our first reaction is either to minimize or wipe out what we don’t understand without comprehending why this event or phenomenon happened in the first place? The latest example of this trend is Fair- fax County, Va., which this month plans a massive pesticide offensive against these inch-long creatures. This reaction seems way over the top, considering that the inchworms weren’t coming to wine and dine on every fruit, plant and vegetable in the county.
Despite the bad press, the salient fact here remains unchanged: inch- worms are absolutely harmless to humans. True, some inchworms are carnivorous — but only those living in Hawaii. The species’ largest prey is fruit flies. So, this natural occurrence of
inchworms visiting Fairfax County hard- ly poses a threat requiring a full-blown arsenal attack in which the chemicals used will create more pernicious effects than the “concern” spawning them.
Rather than being worms, inchworms are geometer moth larvae, otherwise known as geometridae. There are about 35,000 different species. Their “official” name means to “measure the earth,” which is precisely what their loop-like movements would suggest. They have two to three pairs of appendages at each end of their bodies. The creatures spend four-to-five weeks in late April suspended above ground, hanging on silk thread or on trees eating foliage before going underground in silk co- coons until June. They emerge in early November as adult moths.
The usually hairless adults fly mainly
at night. (They must, because they be- come paralyzed after only one hour in the sun.) Inchworms’ color resembles a twig or a branch, which shields them from predators by enabling them to blend into their surroundings. Many inchworms will stand erect and motion- less when startled. Because they don’t have lungs, in the hot summer months these harmless creatures dig holes in the ground, which allows air into the soil. That process helps plant root growth, enhancing water absorption, which helps reduce pollution by break- ing down natural materials into organic ones that lower the risk of soil erosion.
According to the Fairfax Exam- iner, the county this month will spend $226,000 spraying pesticides from helicopters in Franconia and Mount Vernon to kill off this purported over-
population of inchworms. Officials told the newspaper that these nuisances are “damaging local trees in their area” and “butterflies may be affected as well.” However, other counties like Hanover and Chesterfield near Richmond, are forgoing spraying, believing that “na- ture will take care of itself.” Predators helping to accomplish that task include yellow jackets, birds, bats and wasps.\
Metaphorically, and possibly literally, all of mankind hangs on an invisible thin delicate thread of silk similar to an inch- worm’s. That thread holds this planet to- gether, so, we are responsible to try first to understand nature’s ways before we take drastic measures that may severely damage our environment. Haphazardly bombarding any area with herbicides and pesticide should be our very last resort and never our first.
