Yes, you’ve read right. This is wine made from worms! How do they do it? Well…

The forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria) prefers hardwoods like sugar maples and oaks. The term “tent” caterpillar is a little misleading as these insects don’t construct large tent-nests in the crooks of trees. Instead, they spin pad-like structures on trunks and on branches where they go to rest and to molt.

While most Northlanders consider their presence unsightly, their defoliation rarely kills host trees unless the trees are already diseased or under stress due to climatic or other environmental factors.

Forest tent caterpillar larvae emerge from egg masses in mid-May to early June (about the same time most leaves begin to open) when older larvae become restless and move around trees and other vegetation to find food. Significant damage to nearby plants can also occur at this time. The caterpillars feed actively on aspen, popple, birch and other broadleaf trees for five to six weeks.