Caterpillars Are Crawling Now
Caterpillars emerge from their tents and are seeking a cocoon location. Then, this fall, they will re-emerge as moths.
Have you seen those spider web-like "baskets" in tree limbs throughout the St. Louis area? Take a close look at the mostly impenetrable web structure and you'll see Eastern Tent Caterpillars, whose diet consists of leaves on the tree they have built their tents on. In recent days, many of the tent caterpillars have left their cozy abodes and are walking around on driveways and backyard decks and patios, looking for a place to build a cocoon. According to the University of Missouri Extension Service website, the Eastern Tent Caterpillar is a native defoliator that occurs as far west as the Rocky Mountains. The Extension Service website also indicates the preferred tree hosts for the caterpillar are wild cherry, apple and crabapple, but it …
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