Fidelis E. Satriastanti Jakarta Globe 26 Apr 11;
Experts said on Monday that the multitude of reported caterpillar outbreaks in the country were not related incidents.
Millions of hairy caterpillars were first reported to have invaded at least five subdistricts in Probolinggo, East Java, eating up mango trees and invading fields and homes.
More caterpillar appearances were later reported in other regions, including in Jakarta.
“With Probolinggo, it was an explosion of a single species. Meanwhile, the other regions just experienced small breakouts,” said Hermanu Triwidodo, an entomologist with the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB). He suggested any subsequent outbreaks would continue to decrease in size.
Experts have attributed the cause of the Probolinggo caterpillar outbreak to the declining population of the pest’s natural predators and climate change.
Hermanu called on people not to overreact to the appearance of caterpillars in their area. “They are just domestic pests and not an outbreak,” he said.
Hari Sutrisno, an entomologist from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said that despite the complexity and size of the Probolinggo outbreaks, they were not caused by a new insect species, a new invasive species or an act of terrorist engineering.
“We need to be clear on this because there are lots of irrational ideas circulating out there,” Hari said.
“Based on the results of our identification, there were four species found on the site that have already been recorded near Tengger Mountain in East Java since 1948.”
Syakir, who leads the Agriculture Research and Development Agency at the Agriculture Ministry, said the agency had suggested ways to handle the caterpillars if people believed the insects were beginning to negatively affect their lives.
“We’ve recommended that people handle these insects in natural ways, starting from collecting and burning them or burying them in the ground, installing light traps, preserving their natural predators such as ants and birds, and using natural insecticides — made from tobacco, for instance,” Syakir said.
He said chemicals could be used as needed but suggested insecticides with low toxic levels so as not to disturb the caterpillar’s natural predators or pollute the environment.
