Now that spring is in full swing down here in the south there is just so much to see and photograph. This beautifully splashy caterpillar is just one example. I found this gorgeous specimen back at the beginning of March, when I had stopped to see the azalea flowers. I was quite taken with it’s colors, and I really don’t recall having seen one before, although since then a couple of my gardening friends have posted pictures of them. It turns out that it is a forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria), which is known for feeding on oaks, sweet gums, aspens, and maples as well other deciduous trees, some types of shrubs, and even occasionally vegetables. It can be found throughout North America, but is most common in the southeast.

Unlike other tent caterpillars, forest tent caterpillars don’t actually build tent-like structures. Instead, they build a silk platform where large numbers of them congregate when they are young. By congregating they can conserve body heat since they hatch early in the spring. It also helps to protect them from predators. They also use their silk to lay down pheromone laden trails to food sources. It’s speculated that they use the silk to hang onto as they move around in the trees as well as demarcating the way. Interestingly, even though the caterpillars are very colorful, the adult moths are a dull tan, sometimes with some brown markings on the forewings. Sometimes the ugly duckling becomes the swan, but other times the ugly duckling produces the swan.