Foraging Behavior of the Caterpillar
A colony of nearly mature caterpillars defoliate a branch during two foraging bouts separated by approximately six hours.
Eastern tent caterpillars molt a number of times to faciliate growth, having a total of six larval "instars". Each successive instar consumes more leaves than the previous ones. The sixth instar consumes about 80% of all the leaves that the caterpillar consumes in its whole lifetime which is why people often don't notice the caterpillar unitl they are near to the end of their lifecycle.