Poplars, ''Populus'' species, are used as food plants by the larvae of a large number of

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:

Monophagous

Species which feed exclusively on ''Populus'' *

Bucculatricidae Bucculatricidae or (Bucculatrigidae) is a family of moths. This small family has representatives in all parts of the world. Some authors place the group as a subfamily of the family Lyonetiidae. Adults of this family are easily overlooked, bein ...

** ''

Bucculatrix staintonella ''Bucculatrix staintonella'' is a moth in the family Bucculatricidae. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, South Dakota and West ...

'' * Gelechiidae ** '' Chionodes terminimaculella'' * Drepanidae ** ''

Tethea ocularis ''Tethea ocularis'', the figure of eighty, is a moth of the family Drepanidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is found throughout Continental Europe and has a scattered di ...

'' (figure of eighty)

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 ...

Species which feed on ''Populus'' and other plants *

Batrachedridae The Batrachedridae are a small family of tiny moths. These are small, slender moths which rest with their wings wrapped tightly around their bodies. Taxonomy The taxonomy of this and related groups is often disputed. This group was first propos ...

** ''

Batrachedra praeangusta ''Batrachedra praeangusta'' is a moth of the family Batrachedridae which is native to Europe. It is also found in North America. It was first described by Adrian Haworth in 1828 from the type specimen found in England. The foodplants of the lar ...

'' – recorded on white poplar (''P. alba'') and common aspen (''P. tremula'') * Coleophoridae ** ''

Coleophora malivorella The pistol casebearer (''Coleophora multipulvella'') is a moth of the family Coleophoridae. It is found in North America, from Virginia to Kansas and northward to Canada. It is also known from California and Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in ...

'' ** ''

Coleophora pruniella The cherry casebearer moth (''Coleophora pruniella'') is a moth of the family Coleophoridae. It is found in North America, including New York, Oklahoma, Utah, Ontario and British Columbia. The wingspan is about 11 mm. The larvae feed ...

'' * Geometridae ** '' Agriopis marginaria'' (dotted border) ** ''

Cabera exanthemata The common wave (''Cabera exanthemata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in his 1763 ''Entomologia Carniolica''. It is found throughout the Palearctic region and the Near East. ...

'' (common wave) – recorded on aspens ** ''

Cabera pusaria The common white wave (''Cabera pusaria'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is found throughout the Palearctic region .The habitat is decid ...

'' (common white wave) – recorded on aspens ** ''

Colotois pennaria The feathered thorn (''Colotois pennaria'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761. Etymology The common name derives from the very strong feathering on the antennae of the male. Also the species n ...

'' (feathered thorn) – recorded on

black poplar ''Populus nigra'', the black poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar, the type species of section ''Aigeiros'' of the genus ''Populus'', native to Europe, southwest and central Asia, and northwest Africa.Flora Europaea''Populus nigra''/ref> ...

(''P. nigra'') ** '' Crocallis elinguaria'' (scalloped oak) – recorded on aspens ** '' Ectropis crepuscularia'' (engrailed) ** ''

Epirrita autumnata The autumnal moth (''Epirrita autumnata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen in 1794. It is found throughout the Palearctic region and the Near East and has a much wider distri ...

'' (autumnal moth) ** '' Eupithecia subfuscata'' (grey pug) ** '' Lomaspilis marginata'' (clouded border) ** '' Odontopera bidentata'' (scalloped hazel) ** '' Operophtera brumata'' (winter moth) ** ''

Selenia tetralunaria The purple thorn (''Selenia tetralunaria'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767. It is a species of northern and central Europe. It has a scattered distribution in Britain b ...

'' (purple thorn) – recorded on black poplar (''P. nigra'') * Hepialidae ** '' Korscheltellus gracilis'' (conifer swift) ** '' Sthenopis purpurascens'' * Lymantriidae ** ''

Euproctis chrysorrhoea The brown-tail moth (''Euproctis chrysorrhoea'') is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is native to Europe, neighboring countries in Asia, and the north coast of Africa. Descriptions of outbreaks, i.e., large population increases of several year ...

'' (brown-tail) ** ''

Lymantria dispar ''Lymantria dispar'', also known as the gypsy moth or the spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. ''Lymantria dispar'' is subdivided into several subspecies, with subspecies such as ''L. d. dispar'' and ''L. d. japonica'' bei ...

'' (gypsy moth) *

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other f ...

** ''

Acronicta leporina The miller (''Acronicta leporina'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found throughout Europe apart from the far south-east. The range extends from the South of Spain, Central Italy and Bulgaria to Scotland and Central Scandinavia, cross ...

'' (miller) ** ''

Acronicta megacephala The poplar grey (''Acronicta megacephala'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found throughout Europe. Technical description and variation ''A. megacephala'' F. (3b). Forewing pale grey, suffused with dark, except in a patch beyond cell ...

'' (poplar grey) ** ''

Acronicta psi The grey dagger (''Acronicta psi'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. Distribution This species can be found from Europe and North Africa to northern Iran, central Asia, southern and central Siberia and Mongolia. In the Levant it is found in ...

'' (grey dagger) ** ''

Agrochola circellaris ''Agrochola circellaris'', or The Brick, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is distributed throughout most of Europe, Asia Minor and Armenia. This is a variabl ...

'' (brick) ** ''

Amphipyra berbera Svensson's copper underwing (''Amphipyra berbera'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Charles E. Rungs in 1949. It is distributed throughout Europe including Russia east to the Urals. This species has a wings ...

'' (Svensson's copper underwing) – recorded on aspens ** ''

Amphipyra tragopoginis The mouse moth (''Amphipyra tragopoginis'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is a widespread species with a Holarctic distribution. Distribution Europe (except the extreme north, and not occurring in the south of Spain, Sicily, or the Balka ...

'' (mouse moth) ** ''

Catocala cara ''Catocala cara'', the darling underwing, is an moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1852. It can be found in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains; it occurs west at least to Oklahoma and no ...

'' (darling underwing) ** ''

Catocala junctura __NOTOC__ ''Catocala junctura'', the joined underwing or Stretch's underwing, is a moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1858. It is found throughout temperate North America, ranging from New York an ...

'' (joined underwing) – recorded on

Fremont cottonwood ''Populus fremontii'', commonly known as Frémont's cottonwood, is a cottonwood (and thus a poplar) native to riparian zones of the Southwestern United States and northern through central Mexico. It is one of three species in ''Populus'' sect. ...

(''P. fremontii'') ** ''

Discestra trifolii The nutmeg (''Hadula trifolii'' or ''Anarta trifolii''), also known as the clover cutworm, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. Distribution It is found in the Western Palearctic (western Europe, Tunisia, Iran), Niger, and Quebec in North Ameri ...

'' (nutmeg) ** ''

Orthosia cerasi The common Quaker (''Orthosia cerasi'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. Some authors prefer the synonym ''Orthosia stabilis'' ( Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775). It is distributed througho ...

'' (common Quaker) ** ''

Orthosia gothica The Hebrew character (''Orthosia gothica'') is a moth in the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is found throughout Europe. Both the common and binomial name ...

'' (Hebrew character) * Notodontidae ** ''

Furcula bifida The poplar kitten (''Furcula bifida'') is a species of moth in the family Notodontidae. The species was first described by Nikolaus Joseph Brahm in 1787. They are found throughout Europe and in North Africa, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Xinjiang. D ...

'' (poplar kitten) ** ''

Nadata gibbosa The rough prominent (''Nadata gibbosa'') is a moth of the family Notodontidae, subfamily Phalerinae. It is also known as the white-dotted prominent and the tawny prominent. The species was first described by James Edward Smith in 1797. This c ...

'' (rough prominent) ** '' Phalera bucephala'' (buff-tip) ** ''

Ptilodon capucina The coxcomb prominent (''Ptilodon capucina'') is a moth of the family Notodontidae. It is a common species throughout the Palearctic realm from Ireland to Japan. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Natur ...

'' (coxcomb prominent) * Nymphalidae ** ''

Limenitis archippus The viceroy (''Limenitis archippus'') is a North American butterfly. It was long thought to be a Batesian mimic of the monarch butterfly, but since the viceroy is also distasteful to predators, it is now considered a Müllerian mimic instead. ...

'' (viceroy butterfly) ** ''

Limenitis arthemis ''Limenitis arthemis,'' the red-spotted purple or white admiral, is a North American butterfly species in the cosmopolitan genus ''Limenitis''. It has been studied for its evolution of mimicry, and for the several stable hybrid wing patterns wi ...

'' (American white admiral/red-spotted purple) – prefers quaking aspen (''P. tremuloides'') over Ontario balsam poplar (''P. balsamifera''),

eastern cottonwood ''Populus deltoides'', the eastern cottonwood or necklace poplar, is a cottonwood poplar native to North America, growing throughout the eastern, central, and southwestern United States as well as the southern Canadian prairies, the southernm ...

(''P. deltoides'') and bigtooth aspen (''P. grandidentata'') ** '' Nymphalis antiopa'' (Camberwell beauty/mourning cloak) * Oecophoridae ** '' Epicallima formosella'' – recorded in dead wood of poplars and aspens * Papilionidae ** '' Papilio glaucus'' (eastern tiger swallowtail) – recorded on cottonwoods ** ''

Papilio rutulus ''Papilio rutulus'', the western tiger swallowtail, is a swallowtail butterfly belonging to the ''Papilionidae'' family. The species was first described by Hippolyte Lucas in 1852. Like the other tiger swallowtails, the western tiger swallowt ...

'' (western tiger swallowtail) – recorded on quaking aspen * Saturniidae ** ''

Coloradia pandora The Pandora moth or Pandora pinemoth (''Coloradia pandora'') is an insect belonging to the moth genus ''Coloradia''. The species was first described by C. A. Blake in 1863. It is native to the western United States. The larvae of the Pandora mot ...

'' (Pandora pinemoth) – recorded on aspens ** '' Pavonia pavonia'' (emperor moth) – recorded on aspens * Sphingidae ** ''

Laothoe populi ''Laothoe populi'', the poplar hawk-moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is found throughout the Palearctic region and the Near East and ...

'' (poplar hawk-moth) ** ''

Smerinthus jamaicensis ''Smerinthus jamaicensis'', the twin-spotted sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773. Distribution It is widely distributed across North America. It has been taken as far north as the ...

'' (twin-spotted sphinx)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Lepidoptera That Feed On Poplars

Populus ''Populus'' is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar (), aspen, and cottonwood. The we ...

+Lepidoptera