There was something really strange I uncovered in my yard. In the early morning, while the lawn was still wet with dew, I saw a rope-like object lying there somewhere. Because it seemed out of place, my first guess was that a neighbor might have put it there by mistake. I paused and went blank.
A different thought crossed my mind that felt dark. What if the animal is a snake? As soon as I heard this idea, I felt my pulse speed up. I didn’t want to come to a quick judgment, but I also didn’t want to be in harm’s way. I couldn’t help being curious any longer. I took my phone out to take a picture and slowly approached the area.
I walked forward through each step with great hesitation. Everyone noticed that early morning was dead-quiet, and every movement in the grass seemed louder. As soon as I got very close to study it, I felt a shock I had not felt before. It actually started falling without the thief being held by a rope. Neither was it a snake.
They were crawling in a single column, each one touching the one before, and I was able to see that there were close to 150 caterpillars altogether! I was stunned, and my fear turned into something much stronger and more difficult to understand. I never imagined that this would happen, much less just a few streets from me.
There was an organized and purposeful way about how the caterpillars moved. All of the soldiers stayed with their group during the battle, without any of them going rogue. The way they were so close to one another made it seem as if some invisible factor was nudging them.
I kept watching for some time, while still thinking about what I was seeing, and wondered, where did they think they were going? What motivated them to move forward precisely along this line?
With time, I found out that displaying affection in this way is common among animals, but it is not something most people see. The pine processionary and some other caterpillars usually travel along as a group or procession during their yearly migrations.
Certain theories explain that, by moving with many others, caterpillars may frighten predators more than they would a single caterpillar. Some believe it’s to use less energy, since those in the front break the way, making the path clearer for people following them. Some people say scent trails guide them and keep the group in contact, allowing each one to stick to the chemical path left behind by another.
Explaining it doesn’t stop me from having that strange feeling while watching them. I honestly have no idea who placed these seeds, whether from a tree or the garden bed, and what destination they might have used. Still, for the moment, something common in my yard became truly special. I’m still wondering a lot, but there’s something very clear: my view of grass will never be the same.
