The chicken or the egg? The tent or the caterpillar? In April and May, trees in the Eastern United States begin hosting the homes of these insect larva. I was always under the impression that the tent was kind of a group cocoon for the maturing moths. But after observing the tent in our backyard, we could see the caterpillars leaving the tent. Did that mean the moths laid eggs inside the tent and the caterpillars come out after they hatch? A little research reveals that neither is correct!! This tent in my backyard is home to
Eastern Tent Caterpillars. They didn't hatch there and they won't undergo their metamorphasis there. It's just their home while they in the larva stage. When an egg mass begins hatching, the caterpillars work together and spin a tent. Caterpillars from several different egg masses may get together and form a huge tent. The caterpillars live there, coming and going like we do our houses, until they're ready for "the change." Then they find a protected spot to spin their cocoons.
Most of the web sites I visited classified the fuzzy little guys as pests but my boys don't look at them that way. Evan and Matthew are especially fascinated with the little buggers in our backyard. They're constantly picking them up and carrying them around the yard. Some of them even survive Matthew's loving touch. LOL Evan has collected a few which he's keeping in a box. Ryan is aghast and insists that they be given their freedom! But I'm hoping we'll get to see them spin their cocoons.
The chicken or the egg? The tent or the caterpillar? In April and May, trees in the Eastern United States begin hosting the homes of these insect larva. I was always under the impression that the tent was kind of a group cocoon for the maturing moths. But after observing the tent in our backyard, we could see the caterpillars leaving the tent. Did that mean the moths laid eggs inside the tent and the caterpillars come out after they hatch? A little research reveals that neither is correct!! This tent in my backyard is home to Eastern Tent Caterpillars. They didn't hatch there and they won't undergo their metamorphasis there. It's just their home while they in the larva stage. When an egg mass begins hatching, the caterpillars work together and spin a tent. Caterpillars from several different egg masses may get together and form a huge tent. The caterpillars live there, coming and going like we do our houses, until they're ready for "the change." Then they find a protected spot to spin their cocoons.
Most of the web sites I visited classified the fuzzy little guys as pests but my boys don't look at them that way. Evan and Matthew are especially fascinated with the little buggers in our backyard. They're constantly picking them up and carrying them around the yard. Some of them even survive Matthew's loving touch. LOL Evan has collected a few which he's keeping in a box. Ryan is aghast and insists that they be given their freedom! But I'm hoping we'll get to see them spin their cocoons. 
6 comments:
Hey! Remember when we had these crawling all over the back of the house at Merritts Creek? I love those furry little guys.
PS we're home, had a GREAT TIME! and we did make it to Maui, thanx for your help!
OH I didn't know that. Lydia and Nolan have adopted one as a pet! :)
Make sure you give your wiggly prisoner some fruit leaves to eat! They only nest in fruit trees. Tris has been facinated with them too. http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f399/cnewmans/greenbottom005.jpg
There are nests in every Bradford Pear in the yard.
ick, i like it when they're in other ppl's yards! they eat everything around here (or maybe that's their distant cousins)!
why keep them in a box? Don't you have a handy dandy butterfly house?
Oh, you'll probably get to see them make a cocoon alright. They do so surprisingly quickly...and when they come out they're ugly brown moths. Don't try to tell my kids that, though. They think they are beautiful creatures and they would NOT let me feed them to our frog. ;-)
~Kris
PS I loved your comment on your other post about the fire being hot enough to melt your skin! LOL Btdt
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