Found a nest of these guys while out for a walk

silversx80

Literally hundreds of these things in a silk basket. Unfortunately, I found it on my way back from the walk and the Sun had already gone below the horizon so I had to use my built-in flash. I still think the pic turned out well though. C&C more than welcome.

Robinivich

I'd say it turned out pretty nicely! I love the curve!

I believe these guys are called "tent caterpillars." They're a pest in orchards since their silky home makes them pretty resistant to predators, and they take over trees munching all the way. Where I live we get them a fair bit, in apple orchards but more commonly in poplars. The nests can get pretty huge!

Skippy

silversx80 wrote:

Literally hundreds of these things in a silk basket. Unfortunately, I found it on my way back from the walk and the Sun had already gone below the horizon so I had to use my built-in flash. I still think the pic turned out well though. C&C more than welcome.

Good Find on your part
I was wondering what the shining silky looking surface was when the image opened.

Do you know what type of caterpillar they are?
Will they turn into moths or butterflies do you know?

It's a great shot SilversX80 ..... Skippy
.

silversx80

Thanks Robin and Skippy. I haven't had a chance to look up what kind of caterpillars they are but Robin may be right. I'll also keep an eye on the nest to see if there are any cocoons developing (the nest is a 2 minute walk from my apartment). I'm not too sure about the moths or butterflies but I'll definitely have to look these guys up so I can seize another opportunity . If it helps with figuring out what these things are, here is a pic of the nest.

Robinivich

Did a little research on these guys, I'm now 99.99% certain these are tent caterpillars, funny thing is, the "tent caterpillars" I know locally are actually fall webworms, go figure!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tent_caterpillar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_webworm

Gotta love wikipedia!

Skippy

Robinivich wrote:

Did a little research on these guys, I'm now 99.99% certain these are tent caterpillars, funny thing is, the "tent caterpillars" I know locally are actually fall webworms, go figure!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tent_caterpillar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_webworm

Gotta love wikipedia!

Ahhhhhhhhaha and they turn into MOTHS, found my book
... Skippy
.

DonRicklin

Yup, common name Tent Caterpillars. Can be quite distructive of trees. See them along roadways around here. Not as bad as Gypsy Moth caterpillars, though. Not hoping to photo one od those and time soon or their distruction!

Don