Forest tent caterpillar, Malacosoma disstria - Pest Tracker

Gerald J. Lenhard, Louisiana State University, Bugwood.org

Forest tent caterpillar
Malacosoma disstria

Forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria) is an insect pest. It is a native of North America and was first detected in Maryland in 1984.

These tent caterpillars do not make tents, rather they weave a silky sheet where they lie together during molting. The caterpillar are social and travel and feed en masse. The caterpillars live in deciduous trees, which they strip of leaves after emerging from their eggs. The moths favor oak, sweetgum and tupelo, aspen trees, and sugar maple for oviposition but the larvae can be found feeding on many other species of woody trees or shrubs when they disperse.

News

09/17/2019 - No need to worry about tent caterpillars this year, says province

09/10/2019 - Door to Nature: Tent Caterpillar versus Fall Webworm

08/02/2019 - Growing Concerns: Birds, bacteria good weapons against tent ca...

06/18/2019 - Caterpillar numbers low, except for three unlucky neighbourhoo...

06/10/2019 - EAB traps set in northwest Wisconsin; tent caterpillar numbers...

05/15/2019 - Forest Tent Caterpillars

05/14/2019 - Dangerous Caterpillar Infestation Expected To Hit Quebec This ...

04/25/2019 - Don't prune, injure oak trees during greatest risk period for ...

04/24/2018 - Gardening: Knowledge is power over forest tent caterpillars

10/26/2017 - Getting rid of forest tent caterpillars

08/14/2017 - Here's What's Eating the Leaves on These Maple Trees

07/31/2017 - Forest tent caterpillars: Rain on a sunny day?