What predators eat tent caterpillars?
The forest tent caterpillar attacks trembling aspen, oak, ash, maple and white birch. It has several natural predators such as ants, birds, vespid or yellowjacket wasps and parasitic wasps.
What kills forest tent caterpillars?
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is the most effective. Since this is a selective insecticide, it kills tent caterpillars while remaining safe to other wildlife. Apply spray directly to foliage and tent worm nests.
How do I get rid of Western tent caterpillars?
Insecticides can be used on webs as a spot treatment. Apply them in the early morning or evening to concentrate the spray on the tents when the caterpillars congregate. During the winter, smother the eggs by spraying them with dormant oil, a highly refined oil that spreads uniformly and coats dormant insects and eggs.
What kind of birds eat tent caterpillars?
According to research conducted at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station 60 birds species have been documented to eat tent caterpillars including cuckoos, orioles, jays, chickadees and nuthatches.
What are natural predators of tent caterpillars?
Bird Predators Robins, blue jays, red-winged blackbirds and cardinals all eat tent caterpillars. When the caterpillars crawl to the ground to pupate, they are also picked off by ground dwelling birds such as wild turkeys. If they fall out of the tree over water, they may also be consumed by ducks and fish.
Do bluebirds eat tent caterpillars?
The bird predator list includes bluebirds, mockingbirds, orioles, chickadees, Blue Jays, warblers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, flycatchers and waxwings. While cherry trees are the preferred hosts, tent caterpillars will feed on apples, peach, plum, birch, ash, willows, oaks and poplars.
Do tent caterpillars turn into butterflies or moths?
Like all butterflies and moths, eastern tent caterpillars undergo complete metamorphosis with four stages: Egg – The female oviposits 200–300 eggs in late spring. Larva – Caterpillars develop in just a few weeks, but remain quiescent in the egg mass until the following spring, when new leaves appear.
Do ladybugs eat tent caterpillars?
Ladybird Beetles Ladybirds will eat other type of insects, notably caterpillars. Since aphids and caterpillars are harmful to plants, gardeners use ladybirds to biologically control them. Caterpillars have fairly soft bodies; ladybirds find them very soft to munch, particularly small ones.
Do cardinals eat tent caterpillars?
Bird predators consume the tent caterpillars when they leave the nest, and as moths. Robins, blue jays, red-winged blackbirds and cardinals all eat tent caterpillars.
What do Western tent caterpillars turn into?
In five or six weeks the caterpillars go through five or six instars, which are stages of larval development, before they break up the community to form individual white cocoons. Two to three weeks later they emerge as moths, ready to mate and lay eggs for the next generation.
Do tent caterpillars turn into butterflies?
Like all butterflies and moths, eastern tent caterpillars undergo complete metamorphosis with four stages: Adult – Moths fly in search of mates in May and June, and live just long enough to reproduce.
Are there any natural controls on western tent caterpillars?
Western tent caterpillars are subject to a great many natural controls. They are heavily parasitized by tachinid flies and parasitic wasps. Outbreaks of viral disease also are commonly devastating when high populations develop. They are also susceptible to fungal diseases such as Beauveria bassiana, particularly during wet springs.
Where can I find the eastern tent caterpillar?
The eastern tent caterpillar, Malacosoma americanum (Fabricius), is an uncommon species within the region, confined to areas of northeastern Colorado and immediately adjacent areas. It is primarily associated with fruit trees and related species (e.g., hawthorn).
Which is the most common tent caterpillar in Colorado?
Western tent caterpillar is the most common and damaging tent caterpillar, sometimes producing widespread outbreaks that have killed large areas of aspen.
What kind of caterpillars live in aspen trees?
Four species of tent caterpillars occur in Colorado. The western tent caterpillar ( M. californicum) most often is seen infesting aspen and mountain-mahogany during May and early June. Many other plants, particularly fruit trees may also be infested.