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The following description of the tent caterpillar life cycle is based on that of the eastern tent caterpillar, the best-known species. The details of the life histories of other species vary to a small extent. Tent caterpillars hatch from their eggs in the early spring at the time the leaves of their host trees are just unfolding.
Some caterpillars, like early instars of the tomato hornworm and tobacco hornworm, have long "whip-like" organs attached to the ends of their body. The caterpillar wiggles these organs to frighten away flies and predatory wasps. [18] Some caterpillars can evade predators by using a silk line and dropping off from branches when disturbed.
Caterpillars pupate in early fall, which means they enter a stage of their life cycle where they become a pupa and undergo transformation into a moth. [7] After pupation, M. quinquemaculata overwinter in the soil near their host plants, with adults emerging the following summer. [9] [4]
Gynaephora groenlandica, the Arctic woolly bear moth, is an erebid moth native to the High Arctic in the Canadian archipelago, Greenland and Wrangel Island in Russia. [2] [4] It is known for its slow rate of development, as its full caterpillar life cycle may extend up to 7 years, with moulting occurring each spring. [5]
The larvae are defoliators, skeletonizing the leaves they feed on, but only the late summer batch of caterpillars is plentiful enough to do much damage to crops. This species tends to have two to three life cycles per year, with one hibernating for the winter in temperate climates. [5]
Life cycle of the monarch butterfly. Butterflies in their adult stage can live from a week to nearly a year depending on the species. Many species have long larval life stages while others can remain dormant in their pupal or egg stages and thereby survive winters. [36] The Melissa Arctic (Oeneis melissa) overwinters twice as a caterpillar. [37]
Throughout its life as a larva the saddleback caterpillar will go through a series of growths and molts. During the period between each molt the larva is regarded as an instar to indicate its progression into adulthood. The first instar: Caterpillar larvae vary in size and are capable of being between 1.5-2.0mm in length. [3]
Like most caterpillars, the mopane worm's life cycle starts when it hatches in the summer, after which it proceeds to eat the foliage in its immediate vicinity. As the larva grows, it moults four times in its five larval stages, after which the mopane worm is considered most desirable for harvesting.