Eastern Tent Caterpillar

Thanks for invite, jgorneau. Ditto.

rtlawrenceii, I thought this was a gypsy mother caterpillar too at first. We used to have a big infestation in our area of them so it looked familiar. Compare this and the markings and colors to the the Gypsy Moth caterpillar, and they seem very different. I remember seeing these Tent worms (as they're called around here where I live) when I was growing up, making great silky tents where they would all be in one group on our apple trees. The Gypsy Moth caterpillar has distinguished red patches and a large yellow head. Compare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eastern_Tent_Caterpillar_(tent_close).JPG and http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Gypsy_moth_larva.jpg .