If you’ve secured a coveted summer campsite and can’t wait to hit the forest with the fam, be aware that gypsy moth caterpillars (scientific name lymnatria dispar dispar, or LDD) might have other plans for you. These icky insects are popping up on practically every tree in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes, and the worst part is they don’t stay there?on the trees, that is. Families are sharing horror stories of the bugs raining down on them and their families while outdoors, and others have even said caterpillar poop has landed in campsite meals (which then went in the trash). These pesky crawlers also pillage healthy trees of their beautiful leaves and can leave nasty rashes on human skin.
So what’s the deal with these things" Are they here to stay and ruin the rest of our summer plans" How can parents keep themselves and their kids protected" We chatted with Chris Darling, Senior Curator of Entomology at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, and Toronto paediatrician Dina Kulik, to get the full breakdown on summer 2021’s newest annoyance: gypsy moth caterpillars.
 

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What do gypsy moth caterpillars look like"
Gypsy moth caterpillars are dark coloured and hairy, with a double row of five pairs of blue spots, followed by a double row of six pairs of red spots down its back.
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