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The meteorological summer is officially upon us which means that the summer bug season is here. Summer bugs have some consistency across regions, with different types of insects being present in most parts of the country, but there are some more commonly prone to certain areas as well. For example, mosquitos are often seen in most places in the United States and are at their prime in the spring and summer but cicadas, which also are at their prime in the warm seasons, are most prominent in the Midwest and the south. Another more commonly regional specific summer bug is the caterpillar, which is currently taking over the streets of Houston, Texas.

The fall webworm species of caterpillar in particular can be seen all over Houston.

This species of caterpillar consists of creatures that resemble the appearance of fuzzy little white balls more than an actual insect. Experts have confirmed they are harmless to humans and animals, which means if you come into contact with one you are not in harms way. One resident of Houston who says she has already seen a number of them in and around her home stated she originally thought they were cotton balls when she first saw them.

Some residents expressed concerns over their plant life after the caterpillars seemed to kill trees.

Residents noticed that the caterpillars started to appear in trees after they noticed their webs forming and worm like things dropping from the webs. They then started to take notice of the fact that the plant life surrounding the home of the webs looked like it was dying. Leaves near the webs were turning brown and seemingly no longer growing, but entomologists at the Houston Museum of Natural Science say that this phenomenon is completely normal. Lauren Davidson, one of the entomologists at the museum, explained that the caterpillars form the web after they hatch as a means of creating a barricade from predators. From there, they simply feed on the local foliage, which causes it to die. However, she expressed that this is completely normal and that any healthy tree will bounce back with ease!