I found this cocoon attached to a tree limb with a small Tent Caterpillar inside. This information on the Tent Caterpillar is an excerpt from a University of Kentucky Entomology fact sheet. The larvae feed on foliage and increase the size of their web until it is a foot or more in length. In 4 to 6 weeks the caterpillars are full grown and 2 to 2-1/2 inches long. At this time, they begin to wander away individually from the nest in search of protected areas to spin a cocoon. The cocoon is about 1 inch long and made of closely woven white or yellowish silk and is attached to other objects by a few coarser threads.
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caterpillar
So this caterpillar is actually coming out of the 1ft long nest and hasn't spun its cocoon yet?
I wonder if the entire caterpillar colony will spin their cocoons on the tree that their nest was on? Or maybe they will have looked for a new location?