  Let C be a locally planar curve. Its versal deformation admits a
stratification by the genera of the fibres. The strata are singular; we show
that their multiplicities at the central point are determined by the Euler
numbers of the Hilbert schemes of points on C. These Euler numbers have made
two prior appearances. First, in certain simple cases, they control the
contribution of C to the Pandharipande-Thomas curve counting invariants of
three-folds. In this context, our result identifies the strata multiplicities
as the local contributions to the Gopakumar-Vafa BPS invariants. Second, when C
is smooth away from a unique singular point, a special case of a conjecture of
Oblomkov and Shende identifies the Euler numbers of the Hilbert schemes with
the "U(infinity)" invariant of the link of the singularity. We make contact
with combinatorial ideas of Jaeger, and suggest an approach to the conjecture.
