Information About Forest Tent Caterpillars

The term ‘forest tent caterpillar’ is used in order to refer to the larva of a particular moth that are describes as North American moth. But these caterpillars should not be mistaken as to be found in North America alone. In fact, they are found in almost all parts of the United States of America and also in Canada. Nevertheless, they have been found to be most common in the eastern regions. Their favorite habitat happens to be deciduous trees, of which they strip the leaves soon after they emerge from the eggs.

Initially they stay on the strip of the leaves right after they emerge from the eggs. The moths, however, have been found to be in preference of the sweetgum, oak, aspen and tupelo trees. One general tendency of the forest tent caterpillars is that they prefer various species of the woody trees for laying their eggs. They also prefer shrubs for laying eggs. This fact has been assumed out of the fact that the eggs of the forest tent caterpillars are found in a huge number in these kinds of trees and shrubs during the outbreaks of the population.

You might have the idea that the forest tent caterpillars build tents just as the other tent caterpillars do. The fact remains that the forest tent caterpillars do not form tents. Rather, they are more prone to weaving a silky sheet. They lie on those silky sheets, thronging together when it is the time of molting. When they move on to the different branches, they lay down the strands of silk. The movements of the forest tent caterpillars make them look like the tightrope walkers.

In the earlier times it used to be thought that the silk helps them to follow the trail. However, it has been discovered later that they are guided to the trail by the trail pheromone that is secreted from the posterior end of their abdomens. The forest tent caterpillars are very much social like the other species of the tent caterpillars. They feed as well as move in mass. The caterpillars generally feed on oak, tupelo and sweetgum, aspen, sugar, other woody trees and shrubs.

Forest tent caterpillars are generally over 2” in length and are popularly found in colors, dark brown and black, gray with faint yellow and blue stripes. The caterpillars feature a hairy coat on their body, known as setae, which gives them a furry appearance. Eastern tent caterpillars are also linked with Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome, whereby if a pregnant mare is fed with it, it has been seen to abort. This owes to the toxicity of these caterpillars induced by their feeding habit, which relies much on cyanogenic black cherry orchards (also known as Prunus serotina). However, other studies prove the invalidity of this.

Forest Tent Caterpillar Review
Malacosoma disstria, can be found throughout the United States and Canada on any type of hardwood tree. The forest tent caterpillar can often infest trees devastating the trees durability and longevity. Tent caterpillars are some times known as 'armyworms' because groups of these tent caterpillars can destroy and defoliate trees, and sometimes resulting in permanent injuring. Forest tent caterpillars can especially be a nuisance to humans because they can occur in large numbers covering homes, sidewalks, and roads.