A Service of UA Little Rock
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Nature In The Natural State: Tent Caterpillars And Webworms

In the spring, tent caterpillars build tents around the nodes of young leaves and feed on these leaves, particularly on wild cherry trees. But at this time of year, fall webworms build their tents around mature leaves.

You’ll find lots of information on the internet about how to kill them. But they’re a valuable part of the ecosystem. Almost always, trees whose spring leaves are eaten bounce back. And in the autumn, the leaves will soon fall anyway. Their decay process is accelerated by being eaten.

Both tent caterpillars and webworms eventually become moths, if they are not eaten beforehand. Cuckoos, red-shouldered hawks, orioles, bluejays, scissor-tailed flycatchers, bats, squirrels, and bears are just a few of the animals that eat tent caterpillars and webworms.