The eastern tent caterpillar is a pest native to North America. Defoliation of trees, building of unsightly silken nests in trees, and wandering caterpillars crawling over plants, walkways, and roads cause this caterpillar to be a pest in the late spring and early summer.
They use the tent to catch insects in the same way as a spiders web? I'm getting quite an education on nature through 365 this evening. Im not sure i'm very fond of the eastern tent caterpillars but it is a fascinating photograph.
@helenhall Thanks so much for commenting, Helen! In response to your question . . . after the caterpillars hatch from eggs they spin a silken tent in a crotch of a tree. During the heat of the day or rainy weather, the caterpillars remain within the tent. They emerge to feed on leaves in the early morning, evening, or at night when it is not too cold. As the caterpillars feed on the foliage, they increase the size of the web until it is a foot or more in length. In 4 to 6 weeks the caterpillars are full grown and 2 to 2-1/2 inches long. At this time, they begin to wander away individually from the nest in search of protected areas to spin a cocoon. The cocoon is about 1 inch long and made of closely woven white or yellowish silk and is attached to other objects by a few coarser threads. The adult moth emerges from the cocoon about 3 weeks later.
I read all this information online after taking this photo and realizing I didn't know anything about this caterpillar. :-)
Fascinating picture and information, but I do hope that you did destroy them. I had to think about all the damage they will do to the foliage and trees.
Wow, so interesting, but not so sure I would like this in my garden. We are plagued with white cedar caterpillars on our property on occasion and they are a terrible nuisance.
@henrir@louannwarren@onewing Thank you so much for commenting! Fortunately, this caterpillar tent is nowhere near my brother-in-law's cottage where we're staying this month. I noticed it while we were out on a walk and took some shots. :-)
Great picture, but yuck, right? We have a huge infestation of gypsy moth caterpillars going on right now in Connecticut. They look very similar but are an invasive species that strip trees bare. I was just trying to read about the differences between the caterpillars, but they are confused all the time with tent caterpillars, and I guess we have those too. Anyway, an interesting photo with the brightness and detail captured.
I read all this information online after taking this photo and realizing I didn't know anything about this caterpillar. :-)
Great shot and explanation of them!