Eastern Tent Caterpillar Moth Malacosoma americanum (Fabricius, 1793)

Family: Lasiocampidae

Subfamily: Lasiocampinae

Identification: Body and wings warm fawn brown. Forewing with white am. and pm. lines. Median area sometimes white.

Wing Span: 2.2-4.4 cm.

Life History: Larva feed on many plants and are a serious defoliating pest. They can be easily recognized by the characteristic white webbing ("tents") larvae spin in forks of trees and shrubs in the spring. When full-grown, larvae leave host trees and disperse to form loose cocoons in protected places where they pupate. Infestations tend to be cyclic in severity, worsening for several years until populations crash to low levels.

Flight: Late May-June.

Caterpillar Hosts: Apple and cherry trees, flowering crabapples, and other members of the rose family.

Adult Food:

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Comments: NULL

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