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Digital Guide to Moth Identification

Saturniidae
890017 – 7723   Anisota virginiensis (Drury, 1773)
             Pink-striped Oakworm

© Carol Wolf
Distribution: Eastern US and Canada. The southern boundary is unknown. Anisota virginiensis (Drury, 1773) and the related species A. discolor Ferguson, 1971 and A. pellucida (Smith, 1797) are all similar and have been variously treated as separate species, synonyms, or subspecies of a wide-ranging A. virginiensis. Since we cannot independently verify the identities of all specimens representing data points for A. virgienis sensu lato on MPG, all populations are treated together on the map above.
Similar Species:
  • 7723 A. virginiensis, 7723.1 A. pellucida and 7723.2 A. discolor may not be identifiable by external morphological characters.
  • Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.)
Synonymy:
  • virginiensis (Drury, 1773) (Phalaena) - MONA 1983: 7723
  • astynome (Olivier, 1790) (Bombyx)
  • Taxonomic Notes: Anisota virginiensis (Drury, 1773) included as a subspecies [7723.1] A. v. pellucida (Smith, 1797) and [7723.2] A. v. discolor Ferguson, 1971 in Hodges et al. (1983) (Checklist). Kitching et al. (2018) treats both as full species following Burke & Peigler (2009).
    References
    • Barcode of Life (BOLD) - Caution: DNA barcode provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification, and some BOLD specimens shown may not be sequenced.
    • Burke, J.T. & R.S. Peigler, 2009. Phylogenetic Analysis of Anisota (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) Based on Scolus Size and Structure of Mature Larvae. Southeastern Naturalist, 8(4): 739-745.
    • Ferguson, D. C., 1971. Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 20.2a: p. 80; pl. 5.19-20, 22-23. order or free PDF
    • Hall et al., 2021. The Moths of North Carolina - website (identification, habitats and life history)
    • Kitching, I., R. Rougerie, A. Zwick, C. Hamilton, R. St Laurent, S. Naumann, L. Ballesteros Mejia, A. Kawahara, 2018. A global checklist of the Bombycoidea (Insecta: Lepidoptera). Biodiversity Data Journal, 6: e22236.
    • Species Page at BugGuide.Net
    • Species Page at Mass Moths
    Anisota virginiensis
    © Lynette Schimming
    Anisota virginiensis
    © Machele White
    Anisota virginiensis
    © Lewis Scharpf - m.
    Anisota virginiensis
    © Ken Childs
    Anisota virginiensis
    LG - – © Jim Troubridge
    Anisota virginiensis
    LG - – © Jim Troubridge
    Anisota virginiensis
    - 52mm - LG – © Jim Vargo
    Anisota virginiensis
    - 35mm – © Jim Vargo
    Anisota virginiensis
    © Bob Webster LG

    Anisota virginiensis
    © Yurika Alexander LG

    Anisota virginiensis
    © Josée Quimper (Quebec.ca) LG
    on Betula papyrifera
    Anisota virginiensis
    © Charles Lewallen

    Anisota virginiensis
    © Canadian National Collection LG

    Anisota virginiensis
    © Roxanne Bertrand (Quebec.ca) LG
    on Betula papyrifera
    Anisota virginiensis
    © McGuire Center LG

    Anisota virginiensis
    © Machele White


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