Which insect builds a web at branch junctions and is noted for this habit?

• A. Fall webworm
• B. Gypsy moth
• C. Webworm
• D. Eastern tent caterpillar

Answer: (D)

Silk tents at branch junctions are a distinctive behavior of the Eastern tent caterpillar. In spring, these caterpillars hatch and join together to weave a communal silk tent in the crotches of hardwoods such as cherry and apple. The tent provides shelter from predators and weather while the caterpillars feed, and the colony can expand by extending the silk along the branch. This specific habit sets them apart from other caterpillars: fall webworms spin webs at the ends of branches around outer leaves in late summer, not at branch junctions, and gypsy moths do not form such communal tents. So the branch-junction web-building pattern points to the Eastern tent caterpillar.