Swarms of caterpillars which can cause skin rashes have invaded the Indonesian holiday island of Bali, an official said last Wednesday, but tourist areas have not been affected so far.
The dark, wriggly insects were first sighted in a village on April 8 and the swarms have since spread to six districts, including the provincial capital of Denpasar, Bali agricultural chief Made Putra Suryawan told AFP.
“The situation is under control. Since April 8, workers have been spraying insecticide and burning garbage in affected areas to stop the spread,” he said.
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
“Tourists need not be alarmed. The caterpillars have not spread to tourist areas yet. The threat to tourists is minimal,” he added.
Thousands of caterpillars have reportedly descended on parts of neighboring Java island in the last weeks, attacking fruit farms and invading residential areas.
Suryawan said officials were trying to identify the species, adding that the rise in the caterpillar population could be attributed to a “disturbed ecosystem.”
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
“There’s a reduction in the number of birds and ants that feed on these caterpillars. People catch the birds to sell them and catch the ants to feed their pet birds,” he added.
Coming into contact with the caterpillars could cause itchy rashes, Suryawan said.
Bali tourism agency head Ida Bagus Subhiksu said there had been no reports of caterpillar problems from tourist operators so far.
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
The island is increasingly popular with foreign visitors, with 2.5 million overseas tourists expected this year, up from 2.3 million last year.
(AFP)
一位官員上週三表示，成群的毛毛蟲已入侵印尼渡假勝地峇里島，但觀光區迄今尚未受到影響。這些毛毛蟲會導致（人類）皮膚起疹。
峇里島農業部門主任瑪德‧普特拉‧蘇爾雅萬告訴法新社說，這種深色會蠕動的昆蟲，自從四月八日在一個村莊內首次被發現後，就開始群起蔓延到當地六個區域，其中包括首府登巴薩。
他說，「情況已控制住。農業部門自四月八日起，已派員在受影響地區噴灑殺蟲劑並燃燒垃圾，防止蟲害擴散。」
他補充說， 「遊客不用擔心。毛毛蟲尚未蔓延至觀光區。對於觀光客的威脅微乎其微。」
據報導，成千的毛毛蟲在過去幾週，已湧入鄰近的爪哇島，不僅襲擊果園，還侵入住宅區。
蘇爾雅萬說，官員們正試圖辨識出此毛毛蟲的品種；他補充，毛毛蟲數量攀升可能歸因於一個「被干擾的生態系統」。
他補充說，「捕食毛毛蟲的鳥與螞蟻數量減少，原因是人們捉鳥來販售，而也有人們捉螞蟻餵食他們的寵物鳥。」
蘇爾雅萬說，接觸到這些毛毛蟲可能導致皮膚發癢起疹。峇里島觀光局長伊達‧巴古斯‧沙卜希克蘇說，迄今尚未從旅遊經營者，接獲任何毛毛蟲問題的通報案。
這個島越來越受到外國遊客的歡迎，預計今年會有二百五十萬外國遊客到訪，比去年的二百三十萬人更多。
（法新社／翻譯：林亞蒂）
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