Western Tent Caterpillar Moth

Fascinating facts about the Western Tent Caterpillar Moth

• Adult western tent moths never feed, relying entirely on stored energy and living only a brief 1-4 days after emerging. They appear in late summer, mate and then females seek the sunny side of host trees to deposit their egg bands. The eggs enter diapause through the winter and only hatch when spring arrives, completing the single yearly generation.
• Caterpillars cluster in silken tents, a behaviour that deters predators, increases temperature and speeds growth. Early-instar larvae stay together in these silk shelters, using pheromones to guide each other to food and benefiting from the collective basking that raises their body heat. The higher temperature shortens their development time before they disperse as they grow larger.
• When they hear the buzz of parasitic flies, the larvae snap their heads sideways as a defensive response. This head-flicking is triggered by the sound of approaching fly parasites and is part of the caterpillars' suite of anti-predator behaviours. It occurs alongside other tactics such as staying in groups and using silk tents to reduce the chance of successful parasitism.
• Infection with nucleopolyhedrovirus does not always kill a western tent caterpillar; many larvae survive the disease, especially in the later stages of development. Late-instar caterpillars are far more likely to survive than younger ones, and those that do survive show reduced fecundity. The virus can be passed from parent to offspring, through direct contact, or by touching silk strands left by other larvae.
• The nucleopolyhedrovirus is regarded as the primary force behind the boom-and-bust cycles of western tent caterpillar populations, with outbreaks occurring every six to eleven years. As larval numbers rise, the virus spreads more widely, leading to a rapid crash in the population after a peak. These cycles can cause large-scale defoliation of host trees, although the trees typically regrow their leaves quickly.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Western Tent Caterpillar Moth

As the sun sets over the western wilderness, the Western Tent Caterpillar Moth takes to the skies, its delicate wings beating in a hypnotic rhythm as it dances through the twilight air. With a gentle, ethereal quality, it flits from branch to branch, its feathery antennae twitching with an otherworldly sensitivity, as if attuning itself to the subtlest whispers of the forest. In this fleeting, crepuscular world, the moth is a master of subtle navigation, weaving a intricate path through the shadows with a quiet, unassuming elegance.

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