fairly loosely constructed, and white or yellow because of a powdery material 
dispersed between strands of silk. Cocoons may be found within the old tents, 
inside logs, beneath loose bark, and between folded leaves. 
The eastern tent caterpillar, M. americanum (F.) (fig. 81), 1s generally dis- 
tributed throughout the eastern half of the United States and southern Canada. Its 
preferred hosts are cherry and apple, but it also attacks a wide variety of other 
forest, shade, and fruit trees. The adults are light to dark chocolate brown, the 
wings are lightly dusted with white scales, and the wingspread varies from about 37 
to 50 mm. Each forewing is crossed by two oblique white or yellowish-white lines. 
The hindwing is uniformly chocolate brown and crossed by a faint white area. Full- 
grown larvae have black heads, sparsely clothed with long, fine, light-brown hairs, 
and are marked with an apparently continuous middorsal light stripe, bordered on 
each side with longitudinal reddish-brown and black wavy lines. The subdorsal area 
is marked with a central black area on each segment, crossed by a vertical blue 
mark posteriorly. 
A, courtesy Can. For. Serv., Can. Dep. Environ., 
Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. 
B, F-532847 
C, D, courtesy Conn. Agric. Exp. Stn. 
Figure 81.—Eastern tent caterpillar, Malacosoma 
americanum: A, adult male and female; B, egg 
masses encircling twig; C, larvae; D, a typical tent. 
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