I regret that I do not (yet) have any photos of the adult moth (Artace cribrarius), mostly because it strongly resembles a stuffed animal, but please enjoy these fascinating pictures of the A. cribrarius caterpillar, a very well-camouflaged caterpillar which appears to resemble the bark of a birch tree, complete with nifty “fringe of sublateral…
Tag: Lasiocampoidea
Forest Tent Caterpillar Moth
A cousin to the eastern tent caterpillar, the forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria) doesn’t actually make tents; instead, it constructs silken mats along tree trunks and branches. Like its cousin, however, it also congregates in large numbers and the mats can be just as unsightly and large as the tents. The caterpillars are harmless to…
Eastern Tent Caterpillar
I remember, as a small person, gathering these up by the dozens and keeping them in a jar for a few hours, marveling at them. Anyone who grew up in the eastern United States remembers eastern tent caterpillars, which form a huge, white silken tent in the branches of trees where they’re eating, occasionally gathering…