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Digital Guide to Moth Identification

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

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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)  asiatica Vnukowskij, 1926 (Lymantria)  bocharae Goldschmidt, 1940 (Lymantria)  chosensis Goldschmidt, 1940 (Lymantria)  erebus (Mieg, 1886) (Ocneria)  hokkaidoensis Goldschmidt, 1940 (Lymantria)  kolthoffi Bryk, [1948] (Lymantria)  koreibia Bryk, [1948] (Lymantria)  mediterraneae Goldschmidt, 1940 (Lymantria)  praeterea Kardakoff, 1928 (Lymantria) 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 (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) 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 Species Page at iNaturalist

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

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