On August 10, I posted a picture of a caterpillar that looked like it had been assembled by a young child with a vivid imagination.

One reader said that it looked like a wet Tussock Moth caterpillar. At first, I thought the word wet was part of the caterpillar’s name. Then I realized I’d been hosing dirt off the lower part of my house’s foundation. The caterpillar rested about five feet up, but the mist from the hose gave it a shower, making it look even more fanciful than when it’s dry. A few days later, another reader also identified the caterpillar as a Tussock Moth. (There are about thirty different varieties of Tussock Moths.)

To watch a video about White-Marked Tussock caterpillars and moths, click here. Note: In this video the Tussock caterpillar is crawling on a person’s finger and hand. Because the caterpillars release toxins to discourage being eaten by predators, humans handling the caterpillars could experience itching and burning after touching them. I’d say it’s best not to touch. To learn more about Tussock Moths and see a picture of an adult version, click here.

Tussock caterpillars eat the leaves of a wide variety of trees, bushes, and other plants. They have voracious appetites, sometimes leaving trees bare. Although I’m sure no one wants to see the leaves on their trees disappear, people need to keep in mind that because Tussock Moths are native to their North American habitats, they are part of a balanced ecosystem. So, Mother Nature has an answer for Tussock Moths when they become too numerous — a virus outbreak among the species causes their numbers to drop, and that gives trees a chance to recover. However, some trees will die or be weakened and become more susceptible to other diseases and pests. As part of their ecosystem, Tussock Moths also face predation from native species found in their habitat: some birds, insects, bats, and small animals will eat Tussock Moths in their various stages of development.

While some types of trees can better withstand hungry Tussock caterpillars, other trees, especially conifers, are more susceptible to destruction. If you notice the leaves disappearing off your deciduous or coniferous trees, it might be wise to seek advice from several reliable sources.

On a literary bent, and because I often make connections to things I’ve read . . .

While watching the video on White-Marked Tussock Moths, I learned female White-Marked moths are either wingless or nearly wingless, as are most Tussock Moth species. They will never take flight. The male will find them, mate with them, then fly away to mate with other females. The female will lay her eggs and die shortly after. That’s it. She will never experience flight. Now, I know Mother Nature has specific ways of providing for the continued survival of each species, and I know I’m anthropomorphizing the White-Marked Tussock Moth, but I felt for the female moth who would never fly.

As I watched this video, I immediately thought about Kate Moore’s nonfiction book The Woman They Could Not Silence: The Shocking Story of a Woman Who Dared to Fight Back. In her book, Moore tells the story of Elizabeth Packard who is married to Theophilus Packard, a minister, and the mother of five children. It’s 1860, and after twenty-one years of marriage and being told what to think and say, Elizabeth dares to spread her wings and fly. A deeply devout woman, she begins to question some of her husband’s church’s teachings. She writes essays about her doubts and concerns. Theophilus tells her to stop, but she won’t because she believes she is a separate person from her husband and entitled to her own thoughts and opinions.

Outraged, Theophilus has Elizabeth declared insane and committed to the Illinois State Hospital in Jacksonville, Illinois. Shockingly, because Elizabeth is his wife, and because the state of Illinois allowed it, Theophilus is able to have her locked up simply on his say-so. After Elizabeth is placed in the state hospital, she discovers she isn’t the only married woman to have been declared insane by a husband who wanted his wife out of the way. Ironically, if Elizabeth and the other women had been single, it would have taken a jury of six people to agree they should be committed.

Through Elizabeth Packard’s powerful story set in the second half of the 1800s, Kate Moore explores the second-class status of women, the abysmal conditions in state hospitals, and the arrogant doctors and medical staff who professed to be experts in psychology, but who truly did great harm to the people they should have protected. Moore also talks about the people who, along with Elizabeth, worked tirelessly to change attitudes and laws to give women more rights and to reform state hospitals.

I’m just going to say it — Hey, Mother Nature, how about giving the female Tussock Moth wings?