. Bulletin. Agriculture -- New Hampshire. 112 THE FOREST TENT CATERPILLAR then splits open along the back, and the caterpillar crawls out, clad in a new skin that had gradually been forming beneath the old one. This skin-shedding process is called moulting: it is the general way in which insects provide for increase in size. Some of the cast skins are shown in Fig. 39. Wherever they go, these little larvas spin a silken thread which marks their pathway, although the thread is so slender that a single one is generally to be seen only through a lens, but in places where the larvae congregate to
. Bulletin. Agriculture -- New Hampshire. 112 THE FOREST TENT CATERPILLAR then splits open along the back, and the caterpillar crawls out, clad in a new skin that had gradually been forming beneath the old one. This skin-shedding process is called moulting: it is the general way in which insects provide for increase in size. Some of the cast skins are shown in Fig. 39. Wherever they go, these little larvas spin a silken thread which marks their pathway, although the thread is so slender that a single one is generally to be seen only through a lens, but in places where the larvae congregate to rest when not feed- ing, a habit that they have, it becomes quite noticeable. It is especially so after moulting, for then one can often find on the end of a forked twig such a miniature tent as is represented in the picture on the title page of this bulletin, the cast skins being intermingled with the silken threads. Soon after the first moult the caterpillars begin feeding again, eating, of course, more and more of the foli- age as they become larger. A week or so later they again moult, a process which is repeated twice, thereaf- ter, at similar intervals. At the time of the later moults, the caterpillars are in the habit of congregating upon the trunks or larger limbs of the tree, often not far from the ground. Beneath the mass of larvae there is an inconspicuous web, in which the feet are more or less entangled. The ap- pearance of the caterpillars at such times is well shown in the photograph repro- duced in Fig. 40. At the end of about five weeks from the time of hatching from the egg, the Forest Tent Caterpillars become full grown in this,. Fig. 41.—Cocoons in Apple Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station. [Hanover, N. H. ] : New Hampsh
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