PEST PROFILES: MOTH AND BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

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Eastern Tent Caterpillar Fall Tent Caterpillar Click on image to view larger.

Tent caterpillars Description: Adult eastern tent caterpillars have a 1 inch wingspread and are brown and yellowish with 2 diagonal markings on the forewings. Larvae grow to about 1 to 2 inches long. They are brightly colored with long hairs mostly along the sides and marked with a solid white line down the center of the back. Larvae form a dense silken web usually in the crotch of small limbs, which is used as a refuge at night and during rainy spells. The forest tent caterpillar does not form a tent. Western tent caterpillar builds large tents. The sonoran tent caterpillar builds a small tent. Damage: Larvae leave their tents to feed on leaves and can quickly defoliate sections of a tree. Larvae feed on leaves of plums, peaches, cherries and a few related plants; silken tents are persistent, unsightly and must be physically removed in ornamental plantings. Life cycle: Overwinters as a mass of eggs that encircle a twig. Larvae hatch in early spring and develop through several instars before pupating in a cocoon. There is only 1 generation per year.