Western tent caterpillar moth
The western tent caterpillar moth is a brown, yellow or grey moth with two lines across its wings. Its caterpillars live together in silky tents in trees. They are black, grey or white with an orange stripe.
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Fun facts
Young caterpillars stay together in their tent to keep warm and safe.
They warm up by sunbathing together in a group.
When a parasite fly buzzes near, the caterpillars flick their heads to scare it off.
A mother lays hundreds of eggs in a ring around a twig.
Every 6 to 11 years there are huge numbers of them.
Most asked questions about Western tent caterpillar moth
?What does the western tent caterpillar eat?
Tree leaves, especially from cherry and plum trees. The adult moths do not eat.
?Do tent caterpillars kill trees?
Usually not. Most trees grow their leaves back quickly.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Malacosoma californica
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Lasiocampidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Lasiocampidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Western tent caterpillar
Where the facts come from
- Malacosoma californicum (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 Franco Folini. CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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