FOREST TENT CATERPILLAR 



81 



sides and everywhere sprinkled with black dots or points. There 

 is a row of white spots along the middle, an orange-yellow stripe 

 on each side of this row of spots. Below the yellow stripe is another 

 cream-colored stripe, all stripes being edged with black. Each 

 segment of the caterpillar has two elevated black points in the back 

 from which arise a bundle of coarse hairs. The back is clothed 

 with whitish hairs. The head 

 is dark blue, freckled with black 

 dots, also clothed with black and 

 rufous hairs. The legs are black 

 with whitish hairs (Fig. 104). 



Life History and Habits. 

 The eggs are laid in the fall in 

 rings around the twigs. The 

 clusters of eggs are cut off 

 squarely at the ends, differing 

 from the egg-clusters of the tent 

 caterpillar, which taper to the 

 twig. There are from 200 to 

 400 eggs in each cluster, whitish 

 covered with a brown, varnish- 

 like substance. They hatch so 

 early in the spring that the 

 caterpillars have to wait for 

 green food and have been known 

 to live three weeks in quite cold 

 weather without eating. When 

 the leaves appear, they grow 

 faster, and march over the tree 

 in regular order. They feed 

 twice a day. Wherever they go, 

 they spin a thread, but do not 

 make webs, nests, nor tent. 

 Although gregarious when 

 young (Fig. 105), the individ- 

 uals spread when older and are seen wandering along fences, 

 houses, roads, etc., in search of suitable shelter in which to 

 change to pupae. After two or three days, they transform to 

 reddish-brown pupae covered with short yellowish hairs. Moths 

 appear about ten days later, deposit eggs, and die. This occurs 

 in midsummer and only a single brood is produced in a season. 

 6 



FIG. 103. American tent caterpillars just 

 hatched. Also egg mass on right. (Lugger.) 



