Forest Tent Caterpillar

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Forest Tent Caterpillar
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Description
Larvea Gray background color with wide pale blue
lines and narrow broken yellow lines. Hairy
being covered with light white setae. Mature
larvae are 2-2.5 inches in length
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Description

• Adult
• Adult moths are tan to brown in color, with thin
  dark parallel lines extending along the forewing.
  W
• Wingspan of 1-13/4 inches

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Description

• Eggs
• Egg masses occur in groups of 100 to 350.
• Eggs are lain in small twigs in encircling bands.
  
• Eggs look frothy and are glued together.

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Description

• Pupae
• Pupation occurs in a pale yellow silken cocoon.
• Cocoon is often under bark flakes or curled up in
  a leaf

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Importence

• Caterpillar is a hardwood defoliant
• Caterpillars are unsightly
• Defoliation is rarely causes tree mortality but
  places stress on the tree
• Added stress can cause decreased timber or sugar
  production
• When defoliation is combined with other stressors
  it can cause tree mortality

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Life Cycle

• One life cycle per year
• Over-winters in egg masses
• 4 stages Egg, Larvae, Pupae, Adult
• Eggs hatch in the spring just before leaf out
• Adults emerge in the beginning of July

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Whats With the Tent?

• Unlike other tent caterpillars the FTC does not
  live inside a silken Tent
• Caterpillars congregate on silken pads spun
  between branches

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Management Options

• Hand Removal
• Expensive, impractical
• Large scale treatment is most effective from the
  air
• Very expensive
• Diflubenzuron Growth Regulator
• InsectacideBT
• More effective the smaller the larvae are

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References

• References
• Meeker, James. "Forest Tent Carerpillar." DPI
  Entomology Circular 385(2001) 184.
• Fitzgerald, Terrence. "Forest Tent Carerpillar."
  Social Caterpillers. 2005. State University of
  New York at Cortland. 30 Nov 2008
  lthttp//facultyweb.cortland.edu/fitzgerald//Forest
  TentCaterpillar.htmlgt.