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Project Noah Nature School
Malacosoma americanum
The eastern tent caterpillar is a social species that forms communal nests in the branches of trees. It is sometimes confused with the gypsy moth, or the fall webworm, and may be erroneously referred to as a bagworm. The caterpillars are hairy with areas of blue, white, black and orange. The blue and white colors are structural colors created by the selective filtering of light by microtubules that arise on the cuticle. Caterpillar length to 57 mm (2¼ in).
Eastern and central US to the Rockies and Canada from Nova Scotia to Alberta. This one was photographed in Edgefield County, SC.
The moths oviposit almost exclusively on trees in the plant family Rosaceae, particularly cherry (Prunus) and apple (Malus).
Spotted on Apr 1, 2012
Submitted on Mar 23, 2013
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