Forest Strict Caterpillars Research Paper

The Forest Tent Caterpillars latin name is Malacosoma disstria Hubner and is native to North America. They can be found through forests that contain hardwoods and are most prolific in the eastern parts. Trees that the Forest Tent Caterpillar attacks in New York are basswood, ash, sugar maple, alder, cherry, elm, apple, aspen, birch, and oaks. Trees that are not hosts for this pest are conifers, red maple, and sycamore. The New York State of Department of Environmental Conservation also says that in the Western US and Canada, that trembling aspen are hosts to the FTC (Kraus). The Forest Tent Caterpillar goes through 4 different life stages, the egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The egg has an incubation time of 10 months which begins in July and goes to early spring. When a new egg mass is formed, it has a shiny and dark brown appearance compared to old egg masses that are dull, lighter, and a whitish color. For an egg mass to be healthy, it should be about ½ inches in length and each egg mass
These outbreaks for the most part last for 3 years at a time, but could last anywhere from 2 to 9 years. When a massive defoliation at a site occurs, it is rare that they will last more than 2 years there. The defoliation effects are sorted into 3 categories; light, moderate, and heavy. Light defoliation occurs in less than 30% of the tree and barely effects the health of the tree. During moderate defoliation, 31-50% of the tree is effected and causes foliage loss, there is a low mortality rate. When heavy defoliation occurs more than 50% of the tree is effected, tree death can occur in hemlock, spruce, and pine. Trees that are deciduous can take a heavy year of defoliation and be okay. When there is reoccurring defoliation, twigs and branches can dieback as well as tree death. Death can happen when there are other problems going on such as shallow soils, drought, and defoliation late in the season