Daily foraging schedule of field colonies of the eastern tent caterpillar Malacosoma americanum

Summary

The daily foraging patterns of seven colonies of the eastern tent caterpillar, Malacosoma americanum, were monitored photoelectronically during the last three larval stadia to provide the first detailed record of the foraging behavior of a gregarious caterpillar under field conditions. Colonies were active an average of 49.3% of each day. Three bouts of foraging, centered about 0600 h, 1500 h and 2000 h (EST), occurred daily during the fourth and fifth stadia. Although ambient temperatures were less favorable for foraging and food processing than at other times of the day, the caterpillars were most active at dusk and dawn, and spent comparatively little time away from the tent during the daylight hours. In the last (sixth) stadium, the caterpillars foraged only under the cover of darkness. A lack of relationship between the rate at which the caterpillars processed food and the spacing of their feeding bouts, indicates that this species follows a schedule of feeding and growth shaped by factors other than those directly related to feeding efficiency and ambient temperature. Colony foraging patterns may reduce caterpillar mortality by minimizing contact between larvae and day-active predators and parasitiods.