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Digital Guide to Moth Identification

Megalopygidae 57a0040 – 4647   Megalopyge opercularis (Smith, 1797)              Southern Flannel Moth

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Similar Species: Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.) Synonymy: subcitrina (Walker, 1869) (Miresa) opercularis (Smith, 1797) (Phalaena) - MONA 1983: 4647 ssp. a. opercularis (Smith, 1797) (Phalaena); TL: Georgia.  lanuginosa (Clemens, 1860) (Pimela) ssp. b. bissesa Dyar, 1911 (Megalopyge) - MONA 1983: [4646]; TL: Cuernavaca, MX; Santa Rosa, MX; southern Arizona; Oracle, AZ. Taxonomic Notes: Megalopyge opercularis (Smith, 1797) includes as a subspecies 4646 Megalopyge bissesa Dyar, 1911 in Becker (1995:119).

References (Caution: DNA barcoding at BOLD provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; some BOLD specimens shown may not be sequenced.)

Barcode of Life (BOLD) (bissesa) Barcode of Life (BOLD) (opercularis) Becker, V.O., 1995. 73. Megalopygidae. Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera. Volume 3. Checklist: Part 2. Hyblaeoidea - Pyraloidea - Tortricoidea. Association for Tropical Lepidoptera and Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, FL, 118-122. Dyar, H.G., 1911. Descriptions of some new species and genera of Lepidoptera from Mexico. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 38(1742): 267. Hall et al., 2021. The Moths of North Carolina - website (identification, habitats and life history) Powell, J. A. & P. A. Opler, 2009. Moths of Western North America, Pl. 20.24m; p. 165. Book Review and ordering Sancio, E.P., C.H. Kratzer, J.C. Carlson, 2024. Geographical and temporal distribution of Megalopygidae in the United States and Puerto Rico. Toxicon, X (2024). (Journal Pre-proof) Smith, J.E., 1797. The natural history of the rarer lepidopterous insects of Georgia, 2: 105. Species Page at BugGuide.Net Species Page at iNaturalist

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