During this period of returning “social distancing”, leisure activity options have the potential to be reduced again. Crowded venues are being discouraged, whether wearing a mask or not.
As such, the lesser utilized sites in the great outdoors are now being considered as ideal vacation get-a-ways, even by those who do not normally venture far beyond the open spaces of the backyard. After all, there are bugs and snakes out there, and one must carry along everything potentially needed.
The challenge becomes even more complicated when an overnight stay under-the-stars is added to the mix. This choice will necessitate a visit to a full-service sporting goods store, or a careful search of the internet for purchasing a list of critical supplies.
One of those purchases will likely be a tent. This basic form of shelter, dating back to pre-historical times, is used as both portable sleeping quarters and a collection point when the weather delivers rain.
As primitive as this antiquated accommodation may seem to contemporary humans, it is still being employed regularly by several native insects. The eastern tent caterpillars (Malacosoma americanum) and the fall webworms (Hyphantria cunea) can be found in the trees and shrubs of panhandle Florida.
Fall webworms can be seen in hardwoods during north Florida’s late summer days. Though they may be unsightly, most will cause little to no damage.
Both structures are the temporary home for larval stage moths which are active during the warmer months of the year. The significance of these caterpillars is their defoliating capabilities.
While a single larva will eat very little, they always emerge in substantial numbers and with an insatiable appetite for tender foliage. While the webs look similar, the placement in the plant will help identify the occupant.
The eastern tent caterpillar’s web is located where the branches fork in the host plant. This species prefers plants from the rose, cherry and apple families.
They hatch in the spring and quickly spin their silky home where they were left as eggs the previous autumn. Their home is used for protection from predators and weather, and as a base of operations from which they can emerge and eat foliage in close proximity.
In extreme cases, this insect can stress their host and result in decreased growth. Usually the trees are able to regrow more leaves and recover from the experience.
The fall webworm’s residence is located on branch tips of hardwood trees. They are usually seen in pecans, hickories, sweetgums and persimmons where their exposure on the outer surface of the tree is considered an aesthetic blemish.
As with their cousins, heavy infestations can cause stress and reduced nut production in pecan trees. Their nest location at a branches’ end makes it possible to eat and never leave the protection of the web.
When within reach, they are commonly removed and destroyed. When located in the upper branches and well beyond reach, an insecticidal treatment is required to suppress the population.
The moths are from two different insect families and are easily distinguished from each other in their adult phase. The sites where they deposit eggs also differs.
Webworm females leave eggs in cottony masses beneath leaves, while the tent caterpillar moth’s eggs encircle small twigs. Both have a high survival rate during winters with the moderate temperatures typical to panhandle Florida.
The following spring will result in tents reappearing again with these species camping under-the-stars, but without any social distancing in the tents. At least all their other needs are within easy reach.
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