Malacosoma americana
Eastern Tent Caterpillar
Moths are rarely seen, but their larvae
are seen in huge numbers every Spring. Adult
moths are reddish-brown with white bands on the forewings
(front wings). They have a wingspan of about one and a half
inches. The caterpillars
grow up to two inches long. They are black with a white
stripe down the back. On either side of the stripe are blue
spots and reddish or yellowish stripes. Robert L. Anderson, USDA
Forest Service Robert L. Anderson, USDA
Forest Service Tim Tigner, Virginia
Department of Forestry Female moths lay egg
masses of 100 to 300 eggs around a twig in mid-summer. The
egg mass is very dark. The eggs overwinter
and hatch the following Spring. When the larvae
(caterpillars) hatch, they are small. They immediately climb
up the tree to a crotch of branches and build a silk
tent. Eastern Tent Caterpillars
use the tent for protection. They leave the tent during the
day to feed and return to it at night. As the caterpillars
eat and grow larger, the tent grows larger also. It can get
to be about two feet long. Eastern Tent Caterpillar
Moths especially prefer Black Cherry as a host
plant (food plant for caterpillars). Other common host
plants include trees and shrubs
in the Roseaceae family, such as hawthorns. If the
caterpillars defoliate (eat all the leaves) their host
plant, they will move on to another nearby tree, sometimes
an oak or beech. Robert L. Anderson, USDA
Forest Service
Gerard J. Lenhard, Louisiana State University
