Copy of: Wiggly rite of spring
Each spring, cottony blobs appear in the branches of desert almond bushes across the Mojave. The silken colonies are spun by Western tent caterpillars. The caterpillars eat newly sprouted leaves and grow to about two inches in length. After a month or two, they will leave their tents to spin cocoons. A few weeks later, they will emerge as nondescript brown moths.