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The wing color varies from black to olive brown. The body is a metallic blue green. The head is yellow orange, with feathery antennae. The caterpillar (about 20–25 mm) has multiple tufts of white and yellow hair. [2] It undergoes metamorphosis in May–August.
The larvae are defoliators, skeletonizing the leaves they feed on, but only the late summer batch of caterpillars is plentiful enough to do much damage to crops. This species tends to have two to three life cycles per year, with one hibernating for the winter in temperate climates. [5]
It is distributed throughout the Eastern United States between extreme southeastern Virginia and Florida, the Southern United States, Mexico, and parts of Central America. The caterpillar has two broods, one in the summer and the other in the fall. Late larvae may stay in their cocoon all winter, and emerge in late spring as an adult. [6]
Want to know how bad this winter might be? You could look at the latest forecast. Or you could turn to the woolly bear caterpillar. Here's what to know.
Months after the emergene of murder hornets in the U.S., there is a new bug menace. The puss caterpillar is covered in venomous spines hidden beneath its hair coat.
Immediately after feeding the caterpillars return to the tent and aggregate in sunlight to facilitate the digestive process. Thus, eastern tent caterpillars are central place foragers. In contrast, the forest tent caterpillar is a nomadic forager that establishes a series of temporary resting sites during the course of its larval development.
When the caterpillars leave the nest to feed or over-winter, they form a characteristic single-file procession hence the common name of ‘processionary caterpillars’. [6] The caterpillar over-winters underground from May to October, then spins a cocoon and forms a puparium between September and November (Spring). [ 2 ]
Defoliation from spongy moths and other insects can ultimately kill trees, the DCNR says. That process can often take more than a year, but some defoliated conifers can die after just a single season.