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The adult moth is covered in long fur in colors ranging from dull orange to lemon yellow, with hairy legs and fuzzy black feet. [ citation needed ] The cocoons that these caterpillars emerge from vary in size from 1.3 to 2.0 centimeters and contain small hair pockets on the back and flattened front end, the latter covering the operculum at ...
As caterpillars, they tend to feed on a wide range of host plants. This includes oak, apple, birch, willow, hackberry, cherry and coniferous trees such as fir and spruce.
Caterpillars of most species eat plant material (often leaves), but not all; some (about 1%) eat insects, and some are even cannibalistic. Some feed on other animal products. For example, clothes moths feed on wool, and horn moths feed on the hooves and horns of dead ungulates.
The later-instar caterpillars are seen between July and October. [4] They feed in groups of about 100 or so in the early instars, [4] skeletonizing leaves. Older larvae are solitary. They grow up to 4.5 centimeters long before pupating. Larvae primarily feed on hickory, pecan, and walnuts, but will also eat ash, elm, oak, willow, and other ...
In early instars, the larvae feed together in groups, but beginning in the third or fourth instar the caterpillars begin to feed individually. [8] [9] The larvae eat the entire leaf blade and are capable of consuming a few leaves each. Thus, large populations of greenstriped mapleworms are capable of defoliating trees.
Spongy moths feed on foliage of many plant varieties but prefer oak trees. High populations of these moths in a small area can eat the leaves off an entire tree, and ultimately kill it.
In specific local subpopulations (studied in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Florida), it was found that eastern giant swallowtail caterpillars do better on their local host plant than on other giant swallowtail host plants. The local host caused the larva to develop faster than other plants that were also edible to the larva.
Caterpillar foraging Woolly Bear. This species is a generalist feeder, consuming many plant species, including herbs and trees. [1] Based on the caterpillars' wide range of food plants, this moth could be found almost anywhere that plants grow. [8]