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Citizen complaint of the day: Mothpocalypse in South Boston
By adamg on Tue, 07/05/2016 - 7:39pm
A concerned citizen complained about the moth situation at M and East 3 streets in South Boston today.
The city has already marked the complaint "invalid," no doubt because the people who used to work in 311 have been replaced by moths.
Earlier:
Boston on high blecch alert.
Neighborhoods:
Free tagging:
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Comments
Moth Liberation Front!
Moth Liberation Front!
We welcome our new winged overlords!
Adorable!
I remember my first really bad gypsy moth summer.
I was little, seven or eight. Their cob-webby nests, like translucent stomachs dense with wriggling black contents, were in every other tree. My dad would burn out the ones in our yard with a gasoline-soaked cat-o-nine-tails for a torch. I was simultaneously horrified and quietly thrilled to see those disgusting things dying.
There was a mass migration of larvae across my street, a writhing three-foot-wide carpet of them. The occasional passing vehicle created twin tire-track-shaped little holocausts of green caterpillar goo, but only momentarily slowed the juggernaut.
I also remember walking outside one evening underneath a soaring canopy of trees and hearing a gentle rainfall, but wondering why I couldn't feel any raindrops on my face. Then I realized it was a moonlit night: there were no clouds. The sound was of countless tiny mouthparts high above me, munching daintily yet relentlessly in their millions, stripping the ancient trees of their green leaves. I'd read about loathsome, unseen things in the dark making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. That was the first time I felt that dead-cold, papery hand graze me at the nape.
Ripley had it right. "I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure."
One thing
Those raindrops weren't them eating. That was the sound of millions of poo drops falling to earth
Your are welcome.
Wrong species?
Are you sure those weren't tent caterpillars? They look similar at first glance, but tent caterpillars have a stripe down the middle of the back, while gypsy moth larvae have 5 pairs of blue spots and 6 pairs of red spots down the back. I don't think the latter build nests.
Both have medium-sized, hairy caterpillars and both will defoliate a tree, although the gypsy moths more so (and a wider range of tree species.)
This is simultaneously the
This is simultaneously the most literary and most disgusting thing I've read all week
What are the statistics on marking "invalid"? over what period?
What are the statistics on marking "invalid"?... over what period of time how many got marked invalid?
>' The city has already marked the complaint "invalid," '
311 call centers would be less useful for problematical concerns that get marked invalid, the more that get marked invalid.
Moths
Are they the 'luxury' species of moth?
Doesn't surprise me that 311 would mark the complaint
invalid. As others on here have noted in various ways, it appears that the job of 311 operators is apparently to dispose of complaints as quickly as possible (unless they involve City agency vehicles, then they apparently are just ignored and stay open forever - see the below two posts).
Case in point: About seven months ago, I filed a 311 complaint against the 7-11 in the Transportation Building for charging state meals tax for self serve food items, which they aren't supposed to do. The response I got was that the complaint was referred to ISD for action (which appears to be Canned Response # 47).
So, about a month ago, I discover that the same 7-11 is still charging meals tax for self-serve food items. Filed another complaint with 311, with the suggestion they refer the matter to ISD. This time, the response I got is that ISD does not deal with the meals tax, as well as a rebuke that I didn't provide any contact information for follow up.
BTW, I no longer patronize that 7-11. Fool me once, ...
Semi-off topic
I still have an open 311 complaint of a Boston city car double parked on Centre Street. Brings me a little joy to see that years later, it's still open.
I hope that's messing with their average statistics.
I have a complaint about a BPD cruiser
going the wrong way at high speed down Boylston Street without lights or siren (it nearly hit me in a crosswalk). It's been open for about a year and a half.
Um
What does the ISD, or city government overall, have to do with the collection of state sales tax? Call someone at the DOR or the AG's consumer affairs office.
I demand a moth petrol!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkV_ztynYDM
Well, liberal application of petrol
- followed by a lighted match - would be an effective way to eliminate the moths. Unfortunately, it would also result in much property damage.
Dammit.
Never post first thing in the morning. Only bad things come of it.
What, exactly, would you like the city to do?
They're already trying to turn every location that might host a tree into upscale luxury housing as fast as they can.
I remember growing up on the
I remember growing up on the South Shore one summer, where you could not walk without squishing one of those caterpillars. They ate all the leaves then people put all sorts of stuff on tree trunks to save the trees like aluminum foil. That must of been 1980 or so. I remember going on a walk with my mother, who was pushing a baby carriage, kept running them over.
NABI Full of Moths...
There were more moths riding my Route 50 trip yesterday afternoon than humans.
At least they are trying to reduce their carbon footprint.