Tent caterpillars are densely hairy and often brightly colored. The long, downy setae of varying lengths are not clustered into compact tufts or tussocks. The crochets are of 2 lengths in an incomplete ellipse whose axis runs parallel to the body axis.
Early instars are gregarious.
Caterpillars of the eastern tent caterpillar form communal silken nests. Tent caterpillars are widely polyphagous eating many forest shrubs and trees.