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The eastern tent caterpillar (Malacosoma americanum) is a species of moth in the family Lasiocampidae, the tent caterpillars or lappet moths. It is univoltine , producing one generation per year. It is a tent caterpillar , a social species that forms communal nests in the branches of trees.
When fully grown, the caterpillars leave the natal tree and seek protected places on the ground or under the eaves of buildings to spin their cocoons. About two weeks later, they emerge as adults. Shortly after eclosing from the cocoon, the female moth secretes a pheromone which draws males to her. Mating typically occurs in the early evening ...
The caterpillars grow to about 80 millimetres (3.1 in) long. They are at first completely black and moult to light green with a dark dorsal pattern outlined in white or yellow. They also develop a tail fork with two long dark-colored tips bearing red extendable flagellae.
The first instar: Caterpillar larvae vary in size and are capable of being between 1.5-2.0mm in length. [3] At this stage a hatchling lacks its characteristic coloring and instead tends to be a translucent lime green with green or black tentacles and green protuberances along the skirt which lack the long spiny thorns that are seen in older ...
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Once they are blue green, they develop four red and one yellow protuberances. These caterpillars go through several instars or skin shedding, and usually after the fifth shedding the caterpillar is ready to form a cocoon. [11] When the caterpillars form cocoons, they are twice as long as they are wide. [12]
As caterpillars, they tend to feed on a wide range of host plants. This includes oak, apple, birch, willow, hackberry, cherry and coniferous trees such as fir and spruce.
The caterpillars are black, grey, or white with an orange stripe running longitudinally across the body. There are blue-white lines on each segment with dispersed setae extruding from the body. Pupae are 2-2.5 centimeters and reddish-brown to black in colour. Pupae spin a white silken cocoon, powdered in white and yellow.