In polymer chemistry, polymerization is a process of reacting monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form polymer chains or three-dimensional networks. There are many forms of polymerization and different systems exist to categorize them.
The thistle caterpillar is the larval stage of the painted lady butterfly. The adult insect migrates into Iowa each year from Texas and Mexico. Eggs are laid on both thistle and soybeans. The caterpillar is easily identified by the spines that resemble Christmas trees that have lost all their needles.
They leave the tent during the day to feed and return to it at night. As the caterpillars eat and grow larger, the tent grows larger also. It can get to be about two feet long. Eastern Tent Caterpillar Moths especially prefer Black Cherry as a host plant (food plant for caterpillars).Other common host plants include trees and shrubs in the Roseaceae family, such as hawthorns.he eggs overwinter and hatch the following Spring. When the larvae (caterpillars) hatch, they are small. They immediately climb up the tree to a crotch of branches and build a silk tent. Eastern Tent Caterpillars use the tent for protection.