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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

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

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