WWW MPG website only

Digital Guide to Moth Identification

Erebidae 930141 – 8318   Lymantria dispar (Linnaeus, 1758)              Spongy Moth

Photographs are the copyrighted property of each photographer listed. Contact individual photographers for permission to use for any purpose.

© Stephen Cresswell Large Map & Chart Report Errors About Maps

Distribution: Introduced from Europe to Massachusetts in 1869 and first detected in BC in 1912 and California the 1976, L. dispar is now widespread in Eastern US and Canada and British Columbia to southern California. Similar Species: Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.) Synonymy: dispar (Linnaeus, 1758) (Phalaena) - MONA 1983: 8318  andalusiaca Reinig, 1938 (Lymantria) (synonym of ssp. dispar)  asiatica Vnukowskij, 1926 (Lymantria) (synonym of ssp. dispar)  bocharae Goldschmidt, 1940 (Lymantria) (synonym of ssp. dispar)  chosensis Goldschmidt, 1940 (Lymantria) (synonym of ssp. dispar)  erebus (Mieg, 1886) (Ocneria) (synonym of ssp. dispar)  hokkaidoensis Goldschmidt, 1940 (Lymantria) (synonym of ssp. dispar)  kolthoffi Bryk, [1948] (Lymantria) (synonym of ssp. dispar)  koreibia Bryk, [1948] (Lymantria) (synonym of ssp. dispar)  mediterraneae Goldschmidt, 1940 (Lymantria) (synonym of ssp. dispar)  praeterea Kardakoff, 1928 (Lymantria) (synonym of ssp. dispar) Taxonomic Notes: Lymantria dispar (Linnaeus, 1758): the common name "Gypsy Moth", long considered an ethnic slur for the Romani people of Europe, is replaced with "Spongy Moth" by the ESA Governing Board (2021).

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. ESA, 2021. Entomological Society of America Discontinues Use of Gypsy Moth, Ant Names. Entomological Society of America - website (retrieved 17 October 2023). Ferguson, D. C., 1978. Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 22.2: p. 90; pl. 1.9-12. order or free PDF Powell, J. A. & P. A. Opler, 2009. Moths of Western North America, Pl. 49.9m, 49.10f; p. 274. Book Review and ordering Species Page at Block Island Moths Species Page at BugGuide.Net Species Page at Mass Moths Species Page at Pacific Northwest Moths

© Bob Patterson © Tom Murray © Bob Moul

ssp. japonica – © Christi Jaeger ssp. asiatica – © Christi Jaeger - 40mm – © Jim Vargo

© Canadian National Collection LG © Canadian National Collection LG © Canadian National Collection LG © Chris Adam LG © Jason Dombroskie © Jason Dombroskie © Seth Ausubel LG © John G. Franclemont CUIC LG © Nolie Schneider © Nolie Schneider © Jason Dombroskie © Jason Dombroskie pupae

Moth Photographers Group  at the  Mississippi Entomological Museum  at the  Mississippi State University

Send suggestions, or submit photographs to Webmaster — Moth Photographers Group

Database design and scripting support provided by Mike Boone