MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • May 28, 2023
Seeing any wildlife that is young or not fully independent tends to trigger an immediate reaction in people: We must do something to help! But in almost every case, the best thing to do is leave the bird alone. Actions resulting from our gut instincts can often cause more harm than good. Yes, some people get an irritating poison-ivy-like rash on their skin, caused by a reaction to the hairy fibers on the body of the browntail caterpillars. These fibers have been known to cause respiratory problems for some people in areas with high densities of the caterpillars. But not all large hairy caterpillars with webbed “tent” nests are browntails. Our native caterpillars are an important source of food. ~ Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox