Eastern Tent Caterpillar

Natural Habitat

Found in deciduous forests, suburban landscapes, and orchards, specifically on host trees like cherry, apple, and crabapple.

Diet & Feeding

Larvae are folivores that consume the leaves of host trees; adults do not feed.

Behavior Patterns

Social larvae that construct communal silk tents in the crotches of tree branches for protection and thermoregulation. They emerge from the tent to feed several times a day and follow silk trails to find leaves.

Risks & Benefits

Can cause significant defoliation to host trees, which is aesthetically unpleasing but rarely kills healthy trees. They are a food source for birds and other wildlife, though their hairs can cause irritation to some animals and skin irritation in sensitive humans.

Identified on: 5/16/2026