Pacific tent caterpillar
Malacosoma constricta
The Pacific tent caterpillar is a moth from the west coast of North America. Its caterpillars live together on oak trees and spin small silk tents. They are hairy, with orange hair on top and a dark blue head.
Lives in
California, Oregon and Washington, in oak woods
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. When there are very many caterpillars they can be a nuisance, but they do not hurt people.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat oak leaves, and they can strip whole branches bare.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
Pacific tent caterpillar about 14 km/h (8.7 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Its caterpillars eat outside their tent and only go in when they change their skin.
2
Their silk tents can be up to 10 cm wide.
3
The mother lays golden yellow eggs in clumps along sticks.
4
Even when there are lots of them, they usually do not badly hurt the oak trees.
you asked
Most asked questions about Pacific tent caterpillar
?What does the Pacific tent caterpillar eat?
It eats oak leaves.
?Is the Pacific tent caterpillar harmful?
Not really. It can be a nuisance when there are many, but it does not usually hurt the oaks badly.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Malacosoma constricta
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Lasiocampidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Lasiocampidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Malacosoma constricta (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Eugene Zelenko. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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