eastern tent caterpillars stay in their cocoons for about two weeks.
eastern tent caterpillars stay in their cocoons for about two weeks.
how long do eastern tent caterpillars stay in their cocoons?
about two weeks
the newly hatched caterpillars initiate the construction of a silk tent soon after emerging. they typically aggregate at the tent site throughout their larval stage, expanding the tent each day to accommodate their increasing size. under field conditions, the caterpillars feed three times each day, just before dawn, at midafternoon, and in the evening after sunset. during each bout of feeding, the caterpillars emerge from the tent, add silk to the structure, move to distant feeding sites "en masse", feed, and then return immediately to the tent where they rest until the next activity period. the exception to this feeding pattern occurs in the last instar, when the caterpillars feed only at night. the insect has six larval instars. at the last stage, the caterpillars disperse and each constructs a cocoon in a protected place. the adult moths, or imagoes, emerge about two weeks later. they are strictly nocturnal and start flying after nightfall, coming to rest within a few hours of dawn. mating and oviposition typically occur on the day the moths emerge from their cocoons; the females die soon thereafter.
eastern tent caterpillar
the eastern tent caterpillar is toxic to horses. it has been linked to mare reproductive loss syndrome in horses, but the exact mechanism by which the caterpillar triggers abortion has yet to be determined. experimental studies have shown that when pregnant mares are fed eastern tent caterpillars, they abort. the caterpillars of this species often feed on the highly cyanogenic black cherry tree ("prunus serotina") and the mares were originally thought to abort in response to the cyanide they consumed along with the caterpillars. however, that hypothesis was disproved. in another study, the necropsy of a mare fed eastern tent caterpillars showed fragments of the caterpillar's setae had embedded in the gut wall, and it was hypothesized that they may facilitate the passage of infective agents from the horse's gut into the bloodstream and then to the placenta, triggering abortion.
eastern tent caterpillar