ALOR SETAR: It will take at least another 10 days before the species of the caterpillars which invaded a village in Kuala Kedah can be identified.

Authorities have to wait until the samples of the black caterpillars, collected from Kampung Tepi Laut in Mukim Tebengau, transform into adult butterflies or moths to correctly identify the species.

The caterpillar samples were sent to the department’s Plant Biosecurity Division laboratory in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, said Kedah Agriculture Department director Mohamed Bukhori Abdul Rahman

It was reported that the Plant Biosecurity Division had sprayed cypermethrin insecticide on the affected trees and bushes along the riverbank and seaside where thousands of the caterpillars have been spotted since last Friday.

Mohamed Bukhori said the number of caterpillars decreased as many died after the spraying of cypermethrin on Tuesday morning.

“The operation to spray the insecticide will continue until the number of the caterpillars is reduced to the stage where they no longer affect the villagers,” he added.

Villager Yunus Saad, 52, earlier said the wedding reception of his friend’s son on Sunday was interrupted by thousands of black caterpillars.

Another villager Rohani Shaari, 57, said her granddaughter Nurul Ain Qalisha Mohd Arif, five, suffered itchiness on her neck after the caterpillars fell on her.-thestar