Tent Caterpillar Devastation

The word devastation may sound harsh, but it's true. Take a look at this alder tree at the Shinglemill Marina with newly hatched tent caterpillars. Yes, a few leaves have been stripped down to the veins, but by and large the foliage is intact. The following picture is just two weeks later. All those green leaves have been devoured.

The caterpillars have eaten themselves out of house and home, letting the blue sky shine through where once there was a canopy of leaves.

The picture above shows two large caterpillar tents, branches, seed-bearing catkins, and not much else. Now the caterpillars are on the move looking for their next (last?) meal. The caterpillars feast for 5-6 weeks before making a cocoon to change into a pupa. They undergo metamorphosis for three weeks inside and emerge as a short-lived moth. In only five days, the moths mate and females lay clusters of about 150 eggs. New caterpillars remain suspended over winter, to emerge again in late spring to start the process all over again. -- Margy