Rain Brings Caterpillars

News flash! Forget the weather person jargon, “pop-up showers.”

We are getting sudden downpours practically every day, usually in the afternoon. While working in the Atlanta area, we called them rush hour rain and they really put a bog in your commute home, slow and go.

Along with these frog-strangler rains have come some unwanted visitors. Have you seen all the small black caterpillars along with their buddies, the pillbugs or roly-poly. They must be drowning in the rain-soaked earth and have taken refuge on higher ground, sidewalks and porches.

If you take a walk outside after dark, you’ll see hundreds of these caterpillars and hear crunching under foot.

Experts, questionable, say these things may turn into beautiful butterflies. If that’s the case, Jasper County will not only be Deer Capital, but also Butterfly Capital. Some say there are 175 kinds. Others say they could be the western forest tent caterpillar. Still others say it is raining the things.

And the doomsday bloggers say they will eat anything in their path. Run for your life!

Whatever they are, hopefully, the invasion will end soon and take their little friends with them and say, “Goodbye, Monticello.”