Forest Tent Caterpillars Are Eating Trees in Calgary

Fuzzy caterpillars can hurt trees.

Samantha Tong saw moving bark on a tree in Calgary.

The tree looked like it had a big, dark, moving patch.

The tree was covered in forest tent caterpillars.

Many trees had these caterpillars.

More caterpillars are appearing on trees.

Many cities are seeing more of these caterpillars.

Forest tent caterpillars are in Calgary.

An expert says these caterpillars are common in Alberta.

The caterpillar population grows every 10 years.

This is called an outbreak.

Many things can cause these outbreaks.

Caterpillars can hurt trees.

They eat all the leaves on trees.

The caterpillars eat buds and leaves.

Trees can grow back their leaves.

If a tree is not healthy, it might not recover.

A stressed tree can get other pests.

If trees lose leaves for many years, they can die.

You might need to stop the caterpillars.

You can pick them up or use a special spray.

The caterpillars are only young for a few weeks.

Then they become moths and fly around.

The moths lay eggs in trees.

You can stop the eggs from hatching.

A horticulturist says we must control the caterpillars.

If not, they will come back stronger.

The government says these outbreaks happen often.

But the caterpillars are also good for the environment.

They are food for other animals and their poop is fertilizer.

The expert says the caterpillars are helpful in the big picture.

If a tree is not recovering, it may have other problems.

The caterpillars can show which trees are weak.

If a tree is dying, you might need to take better care of it.

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