Information About Other Kinds of Tent Caterpillars

If you have a garden, then you should be aware of the nuisance that tent caterpillars may cause. This page will provide you with an overview of the tent caterpillars, something that will help you better understand the species. There are primarily three types of tent caterpillars – the Eastern tent caterpillars, the Western tent caterpillars and the forest tent caterpillars. These three being the most prominent of the lot, there are more varieties of tent caterpillars found around the world.

The Sonoran tent caterpillars are one of those less known tent caterpillars, and this owes to their rare population. They are often referred to as the M. Tigris. There is also another species of tent caterpillars known as M. Incurvatum Discoloratum. While the formers are to be found in the stands of the gambel oak, the later ones can be found feeding on cottonwoods. The M. Incurvatum Discoloratums are found mainly in the month of April. You may also find them in the early days of May. The area where they are mostly found is the Tri River area in the western parts of Colorado.

Among the other tent caterpillars, two of the most prominent ones are the fall webworm and the tiger moth. The fall webworm can be commonly found during the midsummer times. Unlike the other tent caterpillars, these caterpillars are found in almost all kinds of trees. The fall webworms are quite different from the other tent caterpillars so far as their looks are concerned. A full grown fall webworm looks very much like a pure white moth. These caterpillars are to be found during the months of June and July. The most interesting fact about the fall webworms is that the more the webworms grow the larger area of the tree they cover. It is hardly necessary to mention that the more they grow the bigger and severer damage they cause to the trees in which they live in.

Tiger moths belong to one of the species of the tent caterpillars. The scientific name of the tiger moths is L. ingens and L. argentata. They usually build a thick mat made of silk on the trees they live in. The trees in which these tent caterpillars usually take shelter are ponderosa pine, lodgepole, pinyon, pine, white fir, Douglas and juniper. An interesting fact about these tent caterpillars is that it is one of the very few tent caterpillars that start growing during the winter. The circle of their growth comes to a conclusion by the month of June. As the moths grow up, they start flying by the months of July and August. They lay eggs and hatch them before the advent of the fall season.

The tent caterpillars can be easily recognized due to their social behavior and colorfulness. These caterpillars got their name from their habit of building conspicuous tents with silk to accommodate the larvae. These tents help the caterpillars regulate their thermal behavior and form the center for communicating with other caterpillars.