Worms invade Bataan farms

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga , Philippines  – The provincial agriculturist of Bataan said the other day that unusual swarms of army and cat “worms” infested 1,750 hectares of farm and pasture lands in six towns in her province in proportions last observed way back in 1957.

The worms, which are actually caterpillars, were reported to also have consumed leaves of narra trees in Mariveles where some residents reported them squirming even along roads.

In a telephone interview with The Star, Bataan provincial agriculturist Imelda Inieto said that younger farmers were alarmed by the infestation which most of them have never seen before.

She said 25 hectares of ricelands, 20 hectares of corn fields, five hectares of sweet potato farms, and 1,730 hectares of pasture lands for livestock have been destroyed by the worms in Mariveles, Bagac, Morong, Pilar, Limay and Hermosa.

Inieto said, however, that the problem has already been put “under control” after local government units sprayed their farm and grasslands with anti-pest solutions.

Inieto explained that the worms are actually caterpillars of butterflies that feed on the leaves of crops for one week before they hibernate underground to emerge as butterflies. “They are the small butterflies you see often hovering around calamansi trees,” she said.

“The army worms feed on the soft blade of leaves, while the cat worms eat the harder part of leaves. They often go together,” she said.

She also explained that because leaves store food, the entire plant is often destroyed when their leaves are eaten by the worms. “If not totally destroyed, the plants no longer yield as they should,” she said.