New pet?

We have been inundated with these little critters in the last few weeks. Our neighbor tells us they are called oak worms, although they are really caterpillars. They live in California Oaks all the time, but every five years or so, there are too many. They eat the leaves, apparently not to any detriment to the tree, but our drive way, side walk and patio area is covered in green powder, which I took to be a sort of pollen. In reality it is the left over from the leaves.

This is just one small area.....

Another freebie science experiment right outside our door.