Tent Caterpillars

bugman

May 13th, 2007 at 12:00 am

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Tent caterpillars
and a closeup….This was taken near a child’s park in Asbury, NJ on Mother’s Day 2007. I found this about them on Wiki “Tent caterpillars are moderately sized caterpillars in the genus Malacosoma in the moth family Lasiocampidae. Species occur in North America, Mexico, and Eurasia. Twenty-six species have been described, six of which occur in North America. Some species are considered to have subspecies as well. Although most people consider tent caterpillars only as pests due to their habit of defoliating trees, they are among the most social of all caterpillars and exhibit many noteworthy behaviors. Tent caterpillars are readily recognized because they are social, colorful, day active and build conspicuous silk tents in the branches of host trees. Some species, such as the eastern tent caterpillar, Malacosoma americanum, build a single large tent which is typically occupied through the whole of the larval stage while others build a series of small tents that are sequentially abandoned. The forest tent caterpillar, Malacosoma disstria, is exceptional in that the larvae build no tent at all, aggregating instead on silken mats that they spin on the leaves or bark of trees. Tents facilitate aggregation and serve as focal sites of thermal regulatory behavior. They also serve as communication centers where caterpillars are alerted to the discovery of new food finds, as discussed below.”
Debbie