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Dr. Biology
Anonymous
Looks like you get yerself a pretty damn productive population of Eastern Tent Caterpillars there, OP. Kind of like locusts, these guys have years where they have huge populations booms. Every couple of springs, you can see these guys crawling over the roads and sidewalks and everything, pretty bizarre infestation.
As for your problem, I imagine they started weaving their big nest (which is where they will end up pupating before turning into rather plain-looking moths) right about the time your tree started to leaf out this spring. The caterpillars will probably keep eating and growing until probably late-may when they'll pupate. A few weeks later they'll emerge as moths, fuck like crazy, the females will lay their eggs, and they'll all keel over. The nest/web/tent will biodegrade after that.
Aside from being kind of creepy (that's a pretty heavy infestation) I don't see why you'd want to remove them. Seriously, they won't be around for much longer, maybe a month or so, so I am inclined to suggest that you just leave them alone until they pack up and head out.
Also: I read that you're in Pennsylvania. We're experiencing a lot of these guys down here in the DC metro area. I'm over at Maryland in College Park, myself.
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