Forest Tent Caterpillar

We most often talk about the Eastern tent caterpillar which seems to be the greater pest in the landscape attacking crabapple, cherry, and related trees. Less common in most areas is its cousin the forest tent caterpillar, which has similar appearance but a broader host range including most hardwood trees such as oak and maple. Historically, there have been some major outbreaks in eastern forests, primarily in the northern U.S. This caterpillar can be distinguished by the “key hole” markings down the back, unlike the continuous strip of the eastern tent caterpillar. The other distinguishing behavior is that they do not spin a tent as much, but rather lay a silk trail that becomes more like a mat on a trunk or branch. For more information, see the U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service’s Forest Insect and Disease Leaflet 9 available at http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/fidls/ftc/tentcat.htm.