# What are these critters? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 14, 2006, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-critters/368667 "2006-08-14T14:33:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Placid\_Liver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e99b99/32.png) [@Placid\_Liver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Placid_Liver)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-critters/368667/1 "2006-08-14T14:33:33Z")
[http://user.it.uu.se/~svens/larverna/normal.html](http://user.it.uu.se/~svens/larverna/normal.html) Kinda freaky. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-critters/368667/2 "2006-08-14T14:36:53Z")
They look like tent worms to me. Google images for tent worms and check it out. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-critters/368667/3 "2006-08-14T14:37:57Z")
Those are the same images in the link from [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=383905) thread. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-critters/368667/4 "2006-08-14T14:39:58Z")
Some species of [tent caterpillar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tent_Caterpillars). The cobwebbed bike shots are pretty freaky! ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-critters/368667/5 "2006-08-14T15:04:46Z")
Wow…I’ve never gotten ill looking at tent caterpillars before. I’ve onl;y ever seen them make a few dozen tents up in the branches. Cobwebbing over the ground and engulfing a whole bicycle man that’s…freaky. ---
**Author:** ![solkoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@solkoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solkoe)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-critters/368667/6 "2006-08-14T15:14:20Z")
Could you tell me where these pictures were taken. I have never seen such an infestation of tent caterpillars. Did this happen overnight?? ---
**Author:** ![Silence\_of\_the\_clams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Silence\_of\_the\_clams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silence_of_the_clams)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-critters/368667/7 "2006-08-14T16:19:51Z")
The pictures seem to be at a Swedish website. The larvae could be larvae of [ermine moths](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ermine_moth) who tend to form webs. [Here](http://www.entomologi.se/cgi-bin/enter.cgi?iljwhat=2025) are a [couple](http://www.myra.nu/spinnmalar.html) of links to photos at Swedish websites of what in Sweden is called Häggspinnmal (_Iponomeuta evonymella_) which does the same. ---
**Author:** ![Placid\_Liver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e99b99/32.png) [@Placid\_Liver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Placid_Liver)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-critters/368667/8 "2006-08-14T17:25:15Z")
[QUOTE=solkoe] Could you tell me where these pictures were taken. I have never seen such an infestation of tent caterpillars. Did this happen overnight?? [/QUOTE] Unfortunately all I can reply is that I have the same two pressing (burning! burned in my mind, I had a wrteched dream about these images) questions.