Eastern Tent Caterpillar

Well, here it is -- this chubby fuzzy guy is what those pesky tent caterpillars turn into if you don't get rid of the tents in your trees. Kind of cute, isn't he?

Tent caterpillars like wild cherry trees, as well as a variety of other shrubs and trees including apple, flowering crabapple, and roses. One year we had a few tents in our black walnut tree.

Tent caterpillars only have one brood per year. Their eggs are laid in a black mass surrounding a piece of twig. We found one of those in the lilacs.