Lymantriidae
Encyclopedia
Lymantriidae is a family
of moth
s. Many of its component species are referred to as "Tussock moths" of one sort or another. The caterpillar, or larval, stage of these species often has a distinctive appearance of alternating bristles and haired projections. Like other families of moths, many Tussock Moth caterpillars have urticating hair
s (often hidden among longer, softer hairs) which can cause painful reactions if they come into contact with skin.
The family Lymantriidae includes about 350 known genera
and over 2,500 known species
found all over the world, in every continent except Antarctica. They are particularly concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa
, India
, Southeast Asia
and South America
; one estimate lists 258 species in Madagascar
alone (Schaefer, 1989). Apart from oceanic
islands, notable places that do not host Lymantriids include New Zealand
, the Antilles
, and New Caledonia
(Schaefer , 1989).
s (Scoble, 1995). They are mostly nocturnal, but Schaefer (1989) lists 20 confirmed diurnal species and 20 more likely diurnal species (based on reduced eye size).
The larva
e are also hairy, often with hairs packed in tufts, and in many species the hairs break off very easily and are extremely irritating to the skin (especially members of the genus Euproctis
; Schaefer, 1989). This highly effective defence serves the moth throughout its life cycle as the hairs are incorporated into the cocoon, from where they are collected and stored by the emerging adult female at the tip of the abdomen
and used to camouflage and protect the eggs
as they are laid. In others, the eggs are covered by a froth that soon hardens, or are camouflaged by material the female collects and sticks to them (Schaefer, 1989). In the larvae of some species, hairs are gathered in dense tufts along the back and this gives them the common name of tussocks or tussock moths.
Lymantria means "defiler", and several species are important defoliators of forest trees, including the gypsy moth
Lymantria dispar, the douglas-fir tussock moth Orgyia pseudotsugata, and the Nun Moth Lymantria monacha. They tend to have broader host plant ranges than most Lepidoptera. Most feed on trees and shrubs, but some are known from vines, herbs, grasses and lichens (Schaefer, 1989).
s. This owes to the fact that the diversity and phylogeny of tropical lymantriids is not well known (Ferguson 1978, Holloway 2006).
The following description clarifies the standing of the name "Lymantriidae" relative to e.g. Liparidae and other currently unacceptable alternatives. It authoritatively explains the status of the family name Lymantriidae and its various alternatives as matters stood towards the end of the 20th century:
As pointed out, "Liparidae" once was an alternative family name for the Lymantriidae, but nowadays "Liparidae
" is firmly established as the name of a family of fish , and according to the conventions of Zoological taxonomy, family names have to be unique, even though they are permitted to coincide with botanical names.
Of course, taxonomy is a dynamic discipline, and recent work by Zahiri et al. (2010), place the "Lymantriidae" as a subfamily of the newly formed family Erebidae
.
Genera incertae sedis - that is, not assigned to a tribe - include:
by Arundhati Roy
, the character Pappachi discovers a new species of lymantriid with "unusually dense dorsal tufts". At first, his discovery is misclassified as a race of an existing species. After Pappachi retires from the post of Imperial Entomologist, a taxonomic revision makes his moth the type species of a new genus. Pappachi's original claim is forgotten and the new genus is named for a former subordinate. The disappointment embitters Pappachi:
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s. Many of its component species are referred to as "Tussock moths" of one sort or another. The caterpillar, or larval, stage of these species often has a distinctive appearance of alternating bristles and haired projections. Like other families of moths, many Tussock Moth caterpillars have urticating hair
Urticating hair
Urticating hairs, i.e. stinging hairs, are one of the primary defense mechanisms used by numerous plants, some New World tarantulas, and various lepidopteran caterpillars. Urtica is Latin for "nettle", and hairs that urticate are characteristic of this type of plant, and many other plants in...
s (often hidden among longer, softer hairs) which can cause painful reactions if they come into contact with skin.
The family Lymantriidae includes about 350 known genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
and over 2,500 known species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
found all over the world, in every continent except Antarctica. They are particularly concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
; one estimate lists 258 species in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
alone (Schaefer, 1989). Apart from oceanic
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
islands, notable places that do not host Lymantriids include New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, the Antilles
Antilles
The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
, and New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
(Schaefer , 1989).
Description
Adult moths of this family do not feed. They usually have muted colours (browns and greys), although some are white, and tend to be very hairy. Some females are flightless, and some have reduced wings. Usually the females have a large tuft at the end of the abdomen. The males, at least, have tympanal organTympanal organ
A tympanal organ is a hearing organ in insects, consisting of a membrane stretched across a frame backed by an air sac and associated sensory neurons...
s (Scoble, 1995). They are mostly nocturnal, but Schaefer (1989) lists 20 confirmed diurnal species and 20 more likely diurnal species (based on reduced eye size).
The larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e are also hairy, often with hairs packed in tufts, and in many species the hairs break off very easily and are extremely irritating to the skin (especially members of the genus Euproctis
Euproctis
Euproctis is a genus of moths in the family Lymantriidae.-Species:*Euproctis acatharta Turner, 1906*Euproctis acrita Joicey & Talbot, 1917*Euproctis actor Turner, 1920*Euproctis aganopa Turner, 1921...
; Schaefer, 1989). This highly effective defence serves the moth throughout its life cycle as the hairs are incorporated into the cocoon, from where they are collected and stored by the emerging adult female at the tip of the abdomen
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
and used to camouflage and protect the eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
as they are laid. In others, the eggs are covered by a froth that soon hardens, or are camouflaged by material the female collects and sticks to them (Schaefer, 1989). In the larvae of some species, hairs are gathered in dense tufts along the back and this gives them the common name of tussocks or tussock moths.
Lymantria means "defiler", and several species are important defoliators of forest trees, including the gypsy moth
Gypsy moth
The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, is a moth in the family Lymantriidae of Eurasian origin. Originally ranging from Europe to Asia, it was introduced to North America in the late 1860s and has been expanding its range ever since...
Lymantria dispar, the douglas-fir tussock moth Orgyia pseudotsugata, and the Nun Moth Lymantria monacha. They tend to have broader host plant ranges than most Lepidoptera. Most feed on trees and shrubs, but some are known from vines, herbs, grasses and lichens (Schaefer, 1989).
Systematics
Unusually, this family is not divided into subfamilies but only into tribeTribe (biology)
In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...
s. This owes to the fact that the diversity and phylogeny of tropical lymantriids is not well known (Ferguson 1978, Holloway 2006).
The following description clarifies the standing of the name "Lymantriidae" relative to e.g. Liparidae and other currently unacceptable alternatives. It authoritatively explains the status of the family name Lymantriidae and its various alternatives as matters stood towards the end of the 20th century:
"Lymantriidae Hampson, [1893], Fauna Br. India (Moths) 1 : 432.
This family was first separated under the name Lariidae Newman, 1832, Sphinx vespiformis, an essay : 40, 44 (as Lariae), based on the nominal genus Laria Schrank, 1802, a junior homonym of Laria Scopoli, 1763. The next name established for this family was Liparidae Boisduval, 1834, Icon. hist. Lepid. nouv. ou peu connus 2 : 134 (as Liparides), based on the nominal genus Liparis Ochsenheimer, 1810, a junior homonym of Liparis Scopoli, 1777. Neither of these family-group names may be used as a valid name, the type-genus in each case being a junior homonym.
The following names have also been established for the family
(a) Orgyiidae Wallengren, 1861, K. svenska Fregatten Eugenies Resa . . . C.A. Virgin aren 1851-1853 (Zool.) 1 (10, Lepidoptera) : 369 (as Orgyides), based on the nominal genus Orgyia Ochsenheimer, 1810;
(b) Dasychiridae Packard, 1864, Proc. ent. Soc. Philad. 3 : 331 (as Dasychirae), based on the nominal genus Dasychira Hübner, [1809];
(c) Lymantriidae Hampson, 11893], Fauna Br. India (Moths) 1 : 432, based on the nominal genus Lymantria Hübner, [1819];
(d) Leucomidae Grote, 1895, Mitt. Roemermus. Hildesh. 1 : 3, based on the nominal genus Leucoma Hübner, 1822;
(e) Ocneriidae Meyrick, 1895, Handbk Br. Lepid. : 169 (as Ocneriadae), based on the nominal genus Ocneria Hübner, [1819];
(f) Hypogymnidae Grote, 1896, Mitt Roemermus. Hildesh. 7 : 3, based on the nominal genus Hypogymna Billberg, 1820.
Of the family-group names listed in the last paragraph Liparidae was the most widely used during the nineteenth century; Orgyiidae and Dasychiridae had minor usage, but neither name became widely adopted. During the present century Orgyiidae has been used occasionally in contrast with Lymantriidae, which has been used many hundreds of times throughout the world. In North America the use of Liparidae has continued until, in the most recent revision of the family by Ferguson, 1978, in Dominick et al., Moths Am. N. of Mexico 22 (2), the family name Lymantriidae has been adopted.
Because of the overwhelming worldwide use of the name Lymantriidae an application has been submitted by D. S. Fletcher, I. W. B. Nye and D. C. Ferguson to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature requesting them to rule that the family-group name Lymantriidae Hampson [1893] is to be given nomenclatural precedence over the family-group names Orgyiidae Wallengren. 1861, and Dasychiridae Packard, 1864, when applied to the same taxon."
As pointed out, "Liparidae" once was an alternative family name for the Lymantriidae, but nowadays "Liparidae
Snailfish
Snailfish are scorpaeniform marine fish of the family Liparidae. Widely distributed from the Arctic to Antarctic Oceans including the northern Pacific, the snailfish family contains 30 genera and 361 species. They are closely related to the sculpins of the family Cottidae and the lumpfish of the...
" is firmly established as the name of a family of fish , and according to the conventions of Zoological taxonomy, family names have to be unique, even though they are permitted to coincide with botanical names.
Of course, taxonomy is a dynamic discipline, and recent work by Zahiri et al. (2010), place the "Lymantriidae" as a subfamily of the newly formed family Erebidae
Erebidae
The Erebidae are a family of moths, most of which were formerly classified in the family Noctuidae, plus all of the former members of the families Arctiidae and Lymantriidae...
.
Genera incertae sedis - that is, not assigned to a tribe - include:
- BirnaraBirnaraBirnara is a genus of moths in the family Lymantriidae.-References:*...
- CispiaCispiaCispia is a genus of moths in the family Lymantriidae.-References:*...
- LocharnaLocharnaLocharna is a genus of moths in the family Lymantriidae.-References:*...
- ParapellucensParapellucensParapellucens is a genus of moths in the family Lymantriidae.-References:*...
- ParvaroaParvaroaParvaroa is a genus of moths in the family Lymantriidae.-References:*...
- PseudarctiaPseudarctiaPseudarctia is a genus of moth in the family Arctiidae.-References:*...
- SitviaSitviaSitvia is a genus of moths in the family Lymantriidae.-References:*...
- TamsitaTamsitaTamsita is a genus of moth in the family Arctiidae.-References:*...
Notable species and genera
- Brown-tailBrown-tailThe brown-tail is a moth of the family Lymantriidae. It is distributed throughout Europe.The wings of this species are pure white, as is the body, apart from a tuft of brown hairs at the end of the abdomen. The brown coloration extends along most of the back of the abdomen in the male...
, Euproctis chrysorrhoea - Yellow-tailYellow-tailThe Yellow-tail, Goldtail Moth or Swan Moth is a moth of the family Lymantriidae. It is distributed throughout Europe.This species has a wingspan of 35-45 mm, the female usually noticeably larger than the male...
, Euproctis similis - Gypsy mothGypsy mothThe gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, is a moth in the family Lymantriidae of Eurasian origin. Originally ranging from Europe to Asia, it was introduced to North America in the late 1860s and has been expanding its range ever since...
, Lymantria dispar - Nun Moth, Lymantria monacha
- Pale tussock moth, Calliteara pudibunda
- Pine tussock moth, Dasychira plagiata
- Arctic woollybear moth, Gynaephora groenlandica
- Rusty tussock moth or Vapourer, Orgyia antiqua
- Western tussock mothWestern tussock mothThe western tussock moth, Orgyia vetusta, formerly Hemerocampa vetusta, is a moth found in the Pacific States and British Columbia, as well as an isolated population in Boise County, Idaho.-References:*...
, Orgyia vetusta - White-marked tussock moth, Orgyia leucostigma
- Douglas-fir tussock moth, Orgyia pseudostugata
- Satin mothLeucoma salicisThe White Satin Moth or Satin Moth is a moth of the Lymantriidae family. It is found in Europe.The wingspan is 37–50 mm. The moth flies from June to August.The larvae feed on Salix and Populus species.-External links:*...
, Leucoma salicis - Coca moth, Eloria noyesi
- Painted apple mothPainted Apple MothPainted Apple Moth is a moth native to Australia. It is notable as a pest in pine forests, and is classified as a pest in New Zealand....
, Teia anartoides - RahonaRahonaRahona is a genus of moths in the family Lymantriidae. It was named by Griveaud in 1975. In 1998, the name was inadvertently used again for a fossil species of Mesozoic bird, Rahona ostromi, by Catherine Forster and colleagues. When they discovered that the name had already been used by Griveaud,...
Literary references
In The God of Small ThingsThe God of Small Things
The God of Small Things is the debut novel of Indian author Arundhati Roy. It is a story about the childhood experiences of fraternal twins whose lives are destroyed by the "Love Laws" that lay down "who should be loved, and how. And how much." The book is a description of how the small things in...
by Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy is an Indian novelist. She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel, The God of Small Things, and has also written two screenplays and several collections of essays...
, the character Pappachi discovers a new species of lymantriid with "unusually dense dorsal tufts". At first, his discovery is misclassified as a race of an existing species. After Pappachi retires from the post of Imperial Entomologist, a taxonomic revision makes his moth the type species of a new genus. Pappachi's original claim is forgotten and the new genus is named for a former subordinate. The disappointment embitters Pappachi: