Malacosoma americana
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The eastern tent caterpillar (Malacosoma americanum) is a species of moth in the family Lasiocampidae, the tent caterpillars or lappet moths. It is univoltine, producing one generation per year. It is a tent caterpillar, a social species that forms communal nests in the branches of trees. It is sometimes confused with the spongy moth (whose larvae look similar) and the fall webworm (which also builds tents), and may be erroneously referred to as a bagworm, which is the common name applied to unrelated caterpillars in the family Psychidae. The moths oviposit almost exclusively on trees in the plant family Rosaceae, particularly cherry (Prunus) and apple (Malus). The caterpillars are hairy with areas of blue, white, black and orange. The blue and white colors are structural colors created by the selective filtering of light by microtubules that arise on the ball cuticle.
Tent caterpillars are among the most social of larvae. The adult moth lays her eggs in a single batch in late spring or early summer. An egg mass contains about 200 to 300 eggs. Embryogenesis proceeds rapidly, and within three weeks, fully formed caterpillars can be found within the eggs. The... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Tent Caterpillar Moth sighting in Orlando on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 240th most-seen of the 294 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and March
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Tent Caterpillar Moth in Orlando on a given day, against under 5% in April to January, the lowest months. Those are among Orlando's driest months, with about 65 mm of rain a month against 210 mm in June.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Tent Caterpillar Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
8th of 9
Of the 9 cities where we can rate Eastern Tent Caterpillar Moth sightings, Orlando ranks 8th at under 5%. The best odds are in Boston (United States, about 20%), Washington (United States, about 10%) and Baltimore (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Tent Caterpillar Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Orlando (6 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
