---
title: "Western Tent Caterpillar Moth"
description: "Malacosoma californica — Insekten & Spinnen. Malacosoma californicum, the western tent caterpillar, is a moth of the family Lasiocampidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/de/animal/western-tent-caterpillar-moth
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Western Tent Caterpillar Moth

> Malacosoma californica — Insekten & Spinnen. Malacosoma californicum, the western tent caterpillar, is a moth of the family Lasiocampidae.

- Scientific name: *Malacosoma californica*
- Category: `insects` (Insekten & Spinnen)
- Habitats: `forest` (Wald)
- iNaturalist observations: 14131
- Wikidata: [Q13810044](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q13810044)
- iNaturalist taxon: [359294](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/359294)

## Names

- en: Western Tent Caterpillar Moth
- es: Polilla de tienda del oeste

## Countries with the most observations

US (5917), CA (3599), MX (3)

## Summary

Malacosoma californicum, the western tent caterpillar, is a moth of the family Lasiocampidae. It is a tent caterpillar. The Western Tent Caterpillar is found in southern Canada, the western United States, and parts of northern Mexico. There are currently six recognized subspecies of M. californicum.  Western tent caterpillars are gregarious and will spend a large portion of their time with other caterpillars in silken tents constructed during their larval stage.
Western tent caterpillars are univoltine, going through a single generation per year. Adults emerge in the late summer to copulate and lay eggs. Adult moths…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malacosoma_californicum

## Photo

![Western Tent Caterpillar Moth](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/western-tent-caterpillar-moth/medium.jpg)

Photo: funnieanimals · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/281605984

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/western-tent-caterpillar-moth?lang=de` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).