''Lymantria dispar'', also known as the gypsy moth or the spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwings ('' Catocala'') ...

. ''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 North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and South America. The

polyphagous Feeding is the process by which organisms, typically animals, obtain food. Terminology often uses either the suffixes -vore, -vory, or -vorous from Latin ''vorare'', meaning "to devour", or -phage, -phagy, or -phagous from Greek φαγε ...

larvae live on a variety of deciduous and

coniferous Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...

trees and can cause severe damage in years of mass reproduction. Due to these features, ''Lymantria dispar'' is listed among the world's 100 worst invasive alien species.

Etymology

The name “gypsy moth” does not have conclusive origins, however it has been in use since 1908. Moths of the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Lymantriinae are commonly called tussock moths due to the tussock-like tufts of hair on the

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

s.The Gypsy Moth: Research Toward Integrated Pest Management, United States Department of Agriculture, 1981 The name ''Lymantria dispar'' is composed of two Latin-derived words. The

generic Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...

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 The Entomological Society of America (ESA) was founded in 1889 and today has more than 7,000 members, including educators, extension personnel, consultants, students, researchers, and scientists from agricultural departments, health agencies, ...

decided to remove the name "gypsy moth" from its Common Names of Insects and Related Organisms List as "hurtful to the Romani people". In January 2022, the new common name "spongy moth" was proposed, as a translation from the French name "spongieuse" for the species, referring to the sponge-like egg masses laid by ''L. dispar''.

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 exists. 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 populations.

Subspecies

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 spongy moth, ''L. d. dispar''. A colony had been reported from Great Britain in 1995.

Biological pest control measures

In North America, several species of

parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

s and predators have been introduced as biological control agents in attempts to help control this moth. Beginning in the late 1800's, at least 10 species have become established in this way, but for nearly a century there was little regulation or research on the effectiveness or non-target effects of these introduced natural enemies. Several were generalists that offered little control of ''L. dispar'' and attacked other native insects. One such species is the tachinid fly '' Compsilura concinnata'', which attacked many other host species (over 180 known hosts documented), decimating many of the large moth species previously abundant in the Northeast. Another is the encyrtid wasp ''

Ooencyrtus kuvanae ''Ooencyrtus kuvanae'' is a species of chalcid wasp. It was introduced to North America in 1908 to control ''Lymantria'' moths. In North America, it has become an active parasitoid of the invasive spotted lanternfly The spotted lanternfly (' ...

'' which attacks ''L. dispar'' eggs but is not strictly host specific, and also parasitizes the eggs of other

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species. The most effective control agents are microbial pathogens; a virus ( LdmNPV), and a fungus (''

Entomophaga maimaiga ''Entomophaga maimaiga'' is a Japanese fungus which has shown striking success in managing spongy moth populations in North America. Etymology ''Maimaiga'' is the Japanese name for the spongy moth. History In 1908, shortly after classical e ...

'').Tom W. Coleman, Laurel J. Haavik, Chris Foelker, Andrew M. Liebhold (2020) USDA Forest Insect & Disease Leaflet 162: Gypsy Moth

Notes

References

External links

*
Gypsy moth on UKmothsBugguide.netSpecies Profile: European Gypsy Moth (''Lymantria dispar'')
from the National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural Library {{Authority control Lymantria Moths described in 1758 Moths of Japan Moths of Europe Moths of North America Moths of Asia Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus