Eastern tent caterpillars live in sizable groups in silk nests, ortents, which t

Question

Eastern tent caterpillars live in sizable groups in silk nests, ortents,
which they construct in trees. They are among the first insects tobecome active in the spring,
emerging very early in the season – a time when dailytemperature fluctuates from freezing to very
hot. Observing a colony over the course of a day, you observestriking differences in group behavior:
early in the morning, the black caterpillars rest in a tightlypacked group on the east-facing surface of
the tent. In mid-afternoon, the group is found on the tentundersurface, each caterpillar individually
hanging from the tent by just a few of its legs, Propose ahypothesis to explain this behavior. How
could you test your hypothesis?

Explanation / Answer

As far as a hypothesis goes it would seem that the caterpillars try to reduce the SA:V ratio by packing tightly together and also maximize sunlight absorbance (east-faced resting). Based on the description I would say that this is based on the time of day. So you could test to see if these caterpillars exhibit these behaviors at different times when you keep the climate constant.

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