tent caterpillar moth

tent caterpillar moth

 any of a group of moths in the family Lasiocampidae (order Lepidoptera) in which the larvae (caterpillars) spin huge, tent-shaped communal webs in trees, are often brightly coloured, and can defoliate forest, fruit, and ornamental trees. The adults are stoutbodied and usually yellowish brown, with a typical wingspan of 25 to 75 mm (1 to 3 inches). Many species have feathery antennae and hairy bodies and legs.

      The eastern tent caterpillar moth Malacosoma americanum of eastern North America deposits its eggs on a tree in midsummer. The egg mass appears as a shiny, tarlike band on a branch. The following spring the eggs hatch, and the larvae migrate to a fork in the tree and construct a large silken tent that, in most species, serves as a communal web. The larvae leave the nest each day to feed until early summer when they are full grown. Pupation occurs in cocoons of silk mixed with a yellowish-white powder. The forest tent caterpillar moth M. disstria is common in the southern United States.

      The family Lasiocampidae also includes the eggars, named for their egg-shaped cocoons, and the lappets, having lateral lobes, or lappets, on each segment of the larva.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • tent-caterpillar moth — noun 1. moth whose larvae are tent caterpillars • Syn: ↑Malacosoma americana • Hypernyms: ↑moth • Member Holonyms: ↑Malacosoma, ↑genus Malacosoma 2. moth whose gregarious larvae spin webs resembling carpets …   Useful english dictionary

  • Forest Tent Caterpillar Moth — a. Clutch on twig; b. Adult; c., d. eggs …   Wikipedia

  • Tent caterpillar — Tent Tent, n. [OE. tente, F. tente, LL. tenta, fr. L. tendere, tentum, to stretch. See {Tend} to move, and cf. {Tent} a roll of lint.] 1. A pavilion or portable lodge consisting of skins, canvas, or some strong cloth, stretched and sustained by… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tent caterpillar — Taxobox name = Tent caterpillars image width = 240px image caption = Lackey moth, Malacosoma neustrium regnum = Animalia phylum = Arthropoda classis = Insecta ordo = Lepidoptera unranked familia = Macrolepidoptera superfamilia = Lasiocampoidea… …   Wikipedia

  • tent caterpillar — 1. any of the larvae of several moths of the genus Malacosoma, which feed on the leaves of orchard and shade trees and live colonially in a tentlike silken web. 2. the North American larva of M. disstria (forest tent caterpillar), which spins a… …   Universalium

  • tent caterpillar — noun chiefly N. Amer. a moth caterpillar that lives gregariously inside a silken web in a tree …   English new terms dictionary

  • Eastern tent caterpillar — Adult …   Wikipedia

  • Forest tent caterpillar — Taxobox name = Forest tent caterpillar image width = 200px image caption = a. Clutch on twig; b. Adult; c., d. eggs image2 width = 200px image2 caption = Caterpillar status = NE status system = IUCN3.1 regnum = Animalia phylum = Arthropoda… …   Wikipedia

  • forest tent caterpillar — noun larvae of a gregarious North American moth that spins a web resembling a carpet rather than a tent; serious defoliator of deciduous trees • Syn: ↑Malacosoma disstria • Hypernyms: ↑tent caterpillar * * * noun : a hairy orange striped and… …   Useful english dictionary

  • eastern tent caterpillar — noun : the gregarious web building larva of a reddish brown American moth (Malacosoma americanum) hatching in spring, feeding on the young foliage of apple, wild cherry, and related trees, and building community nests of silk in crotches of the… …   Useful english dictionary

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