Biology:Lymantria dispar

Short description: Species of moth

Gypsy moth
Mounted Lymantria dispar dispar male
Mounted Lymantria dispar dispar female
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Erebidae
Genus:	Lymantria
Species:	L. dispar
Binomial name
Lymantria dispar (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Phalaena dispar Linnaeus, 1758 Ocneria dispar (Linnaeus, 1758) Porthetria dispar (Linnaeus, 1758)

A Lymantria dispar caterpillar

Lymantria dispar, sometimes known as the gypsy moth, is a species of moth in the Erebidae family. Lymantria dispar is subdivided into several subspecies, with subspecies such as L. d. dispar and L. d. japonica being clearly identifiable without ambiguity. Lymantria dispar has been introduced to several continents and is now found in Europe, Africa, Asia, North America and South America. The polyphagous larvae live on a variety of deciduous and coniferous trees and can cause severe damage in years of mass reproduction. Due to these features, Lymantria dispar is listed among the world's 100 most invasive alien species.

Subspecies

Common name	Subspecies	Distribution	Identifying characteristics
European gypsy moth	Lymantria dispar dispar	Europe, western Asia and north Africa, introduced to Eastern North America	Females winged but flightless
Asian gypsy moth	Lymantria dispar asiatica	Eastern Asia, introduced to western North America	Females winged and capable of flight; attracted to lights
Japanese gypsy moth	Lymantria dispar japonica	All of Japan	Large males, very dark brown color

The European subspecies (Lymantria dispar dispar) is native to temperate forests in western Europe. It had been introduced to the United States in 1869, and to Canada in 1912.

The Asian subspecies (Lymantria dispar asiatica) is native to temperate Asia east of the Ural mountains. Since the early 1990s it has also been detected along the West Coast of temperate North America. From southern Europe it is spreading northwards into Germany and other countries, where it hybridizes with the European gypsy moth, L. d. dispar. A colony had been reported from Great Britain in 1995.

Pest control measures

In North America, the parasitoid chalcid wasp Ooencyrtus kuvanae was introduced as a biological control agent against the gypsy moth. The egg-parasitizing wasp is, however, not strictly host specific, as it also parasitizes the eggs of other Lepidoptera species.

Etymology

Moths of the subfamily Lymantriinae are commonly called tussock moths due to the tussock-like tufts of hair on the caterpillars.

The name Lymantria dispar is composed of two Latin-derived words. The generic name Lymantria means 'destroyer'. The species epithet dispar means 'to separate' in Latin; it refers to the sexual dimorphism observed in the male and female imagines.

In July 2021 the Entomological Society of America decided to remove the name "gypsy moth" from its Common Names of Insects and Related Organisms List as "hurtful to the Romani people. A replacement name for Lymantria dispar is currently under consideration.

Taxonomy

The North American and European Lymantria dispar moths are considered to be the same subspecies, usually referred to as Lymantria dispar dispar. Confusion over the classification of species and subspecies still remains. The U. S. Department of Agriculture defines the Asian subspecies as "any biotype of L. dispar possessing female flight capability", despite L. d. asiatica not being the only accepted subspecies that is capable of flight. Traditionally, L. dispar has been referred to as "gypsy moth" even when referring to Japanese, Indian and Asiatic gypsy moth populations.

External links

• Gypsy moth on UKmoths
• Gypsy moth in Morocco
• Bugguide.net
• Species Profile: European Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar) from the National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural Library

Wikidata ☰ Q45532 entry