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Poplar Tentmaker

Clostera inclusa[3]

The poplar tentmaker is a hairy, yellow-striped caterpillar that lives in groups inside tents of leaves tied together with silk on poplar and willow, sometimes stripping trees by midsummer.[1][2]

Group
Insect
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Notodontidae
US records
28 states
Sources
3 cited
Updated
2026-10-16
Poplar tentmaker caterpillar with yellow stripes on a leaf
Poplar tentmaker caterpillar with yellow stripes on a leaf. (c) David George, some rights reserved (CC BY) — via iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0
On this page
  1. Identification
  2. Look-alikes
  3. Where it lives
  4. Biology
  5. Damage and signs
  6. Health risk
  7. Control
  8. Related profiles
  9. Common questions
  10. Sources

How to identify it

  • Full-grown caterpillars are about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches long, mottled brown-black and sparsely hairy, with four narrow yellow stripes down the back and a bright yellow line along each side.[1][2]
  • Black bumps sit on top of the first and eighth abdominal segments, and the head is black and shiny.[1][2]
  • The brownish-gray moth is about 1/2 inch long with broken white lines and blotches on each wing.[1]

Look-alikes

Look-alikeHow to tell them apart
Fall webwormPoplar tentmakers tie leaves into small tents and hide inside by day; they feed on poplar and willow.[1][2]

Where it lives

Found where poplars and willows grow, including North Carolina and Missouri.[1][2]

US map: public records from 28 states since 1990 (GBIF).

Biology and life cycle

Moths emerge from cocoons in leaf litter in late spring and lay batches of a hundred or more tiny round eggs under poplar and willow leaves.[1]

There are two generations a year, overlapping enough that caterpillars can be found from May to October.[1][2]

Caterpillars stay in their tents during the day.[1][2]

Damage and signs

  • They can completely defoliate groups of trees by midsummer, mostly trees in the open or at woods' edges, so it is often an urban pest.[1]
  • Late-season defoliation of poplar and willow does little harm to the trees' long-term health.[1]

Health risk

None reported to people or pets.[1][2]

Control

Prevention

In late summer and fall, wait to see whether caterpillars return early the next season before treating.[1]

Biological control

Bacillus thuringiensis or neem works best on young caterpillars; the tents make older ones harder to reach.[1]

Pesticides

Carbaryl or other landscape-labeled insecticides also give control when many caterpillars are present.[1]

Common questions

What caterpillar makes tents of leaves on my willow?
Often the poplar tentmaker, which ties leaves together with silk.[1][2]
Will it kill the tree?
Late-season leaf loss does little long-term harm.[1]
When are they active?
From spring to fall, with two generations a year.[1][2]

Sources

  1. NC State Extension, “Poplar Tentmaker (PDIC Factsheet).” content.ces.ncsu.edu/poplar-tentmaker (accessed 2026-10-16)
  2. University of Missouri Extension (Caterpillars in Your Yard and Garden, IPM1019), “Caterpillars in Your Yard and Garden, page 35: Poplar tentmaker.” extension.missouri.edu/publications/ipm1019-35 (accessed 2026-10-16)
  3. iNaturalist, “Clostera inclusa taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/196518 (accessed 2026-10-06)

Updated 2026-10-16. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.