Sewage Sludge Application Linked To Increase In Eastern Tent Caterpillar Populations (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae)

Numbers of Malacosoma americanum caterpillar tents were positively correlated with average numbers and biomass of cherry trees as well as with amount of sludge applied. The enhancing effect of sewage sludge on amounts of black cherry biomass and foliar nitrogen may have been the principal factors leading to higher tent caterpillar populations on fertilized plots.