| Anisota virginiensis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Saturniidae |
| Genus: | Anisota |
| Species: | A. virginiensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Anisota virginiensis (Drury, 1773) | |
| Synonyms | |
Anisota virginiensis, the pink-striped oakworm moth, is a species of silk moth of the family Saturniidae.
The female's wings are purplish red with ochre-yellow. They have thin scales and are almost transparent. The male's wings are purplish brown with a large transparent space in the middle. [3] The female is larger than the male. The wing span is 4.2 to 6.6 centimeters.
The moth can be found across Canada from Nova Scotia to southeastern Manitoba, [4] and in the United States. It lives in deciduous woodlands and suburbs. [5]
Females release a pheromone which attracts males that swarm around her like bees. Mating occurs during the morning. [4] It is a rapid process. The male and female stay together for the rest of the day and then the female finds a place to lay eggs, usually under oak leaves. [4] Such mating swarms have been observed at carrion, where host plants may be higher quality due to the influx of nutrients associated with decomposition. [6]
The caterpillars are gray or greenish with dull brownish yellow or rosy stripes. There are scales on each segment and two long spines on the mesothorax. [3] The caterpillars pupate for a short time. [4] They feed on the foliage of oak trees, maples, birches, and hazels. The caterpillar overwinters in the soil as a pupa. Caterpillars that are newly hatched or are in the middle of growing feed in groups while those that are mature or nearly so feed separately. [7] The caterpillar is about an eighth of an inch long. The head is large in proportion to the body. The inside of the mouth is yellow. The legs are semi-translucent. [8]
Conservation regimes are not required for this species. [5] It is considered a pest of forests because it defoliates trees. [7] Outbreaks can be treated with an arsenical spray. [9]
Lepidoptera or lepidopterans is an order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organisms, making it the second largest insect order with 126 families and 46 superfamilies, and one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world.
The luna moth, also called the American moon moth, is a Nearctic moth in the family Saturniidae, subfamily Saturniinae, a group commonly named the giant silk moths.
Saturniidae, members of which are commonly named the saturniids, is a family of Lepidoptera with an estimated 2,300 described species. The family contains some of the largest species of moths in the world. Notable members include the emperor moths, royal moths, and giant silk moths.
Eacles imperialis, the imperial moth, is a member of the family Saturniidae and subfamily Ceratocampinae. It is found mainly in the East of South America and North America, from the center of Argentina to south Canada. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.
Antheraea polyphemus, the Polyphemus moth, is a North American member of the family Saturniidae, the giant silk moths. It is a tan-colored moth, with an average wingspan of 15 cm (6 in). The most notable feature of the moth is its large, purplish eyespots on its two hindwings. The eyespots give it its name – from the Greek myth of the cyclops Polyphemus. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1776. The species is widespread in continental North America, with local populations found throughout subarctic Canada and the United States. The caterpillar can eat 86,000 times its weight at emergence in a little less than two months. Polyphemus moths are considered to be very polyphagous, meaning they eat from a wide variety of plants.
Hyalophora cecropia, the cecropia moth, is North America's largest native moth. It is a member of the family Saturniidae, or giant silk moths. Females have been documented with a wingspan of five to seven inches or more. These moths can be found predominately across the east of North America, with occurrence's as far west as Washington and north into the majority of Canadian provinces. Cecropia moth larvae are most commonly found on maple trees, but they have also been found on cherry and birch trees among many others. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Dryocampa rubicunda, the rosy maple moth, is a small North American moth in the family Saturniidae, also known as the great silk moths. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793. The species is known for its wooly body and pink and yellow coloration, which varies from cream or white to bright pink or yellow. Males have bushier antennae than females, which allow them to sense female pheromones for mating.
The buck moth is a common insect found in oak forests, stretching in the United States from peninsular Florida to New England, and as far west as Texas and Kansas. It was first described by Dru Drury in 1773. The larvae typically emerge in a single generation in the spring. The larvae are covered in hollow spines that are attached to a poison sac. The poison can cause symptoms ranging from stinging, itching and burning sensations to nausea. Subspecies Hemileuca maia maia is listed as endangered in the US state of Connecticut. Subspecies Hemileuca maia menyanthevora, the bog buck moth, is federally endangered, and also protected by Canada and the state of New York. There were five populations known historically but only three still survive, one in the US and two in Canada.
Anisota senatoria, the orangestriped oakworm, also known as the orange-tipped oakworm, is a Nearctic moth of the family Saturniidae and subfamily Ceratocampinae. It is one of the more common Saturniids, reaching pest status occasionally in the northern parts of its range. As they are late-season feeders, however, they do little lasting damage to their hosts. It is very similar to A. finlaysoni in southern Ontario and A. peigleri in the southern US. The species was first described by James Edward Smith in 1797.
Callosamia promethea, commonly known as the promethea silkmoth, is a member of the family Saturniidae, which contains approximately 1,300 species. It is also known as the spicebush silkmoth, which refers to one of the promethea silkmoth's common host plants, spicebush. C. promethea is classified as a silk moth, which stems from its ability to produce silk, which it does in the formation of its cocoon. C. promethea lives in forests in the eastern U.S. and does not damage the trees on which it lives. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.
Citheronia sepulcralis, the pine-devil moth, is a Nearctic member of the family Saturniidae and of the subfamily Ceratocampinae. The species are blackish brown. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote and Coleman Townsend Robinson in 1865.
Hemileuca tricolor, the tricolor buckmoth, is a moth in the silkworm family Saturniidae. It is native mainly to the Sonoran Desert of the southwestern United States, including southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and Mexico.
The external morphology of Lepidoptera is the physiological structure of the bodies of insects belonging to the order Lepidoptera, also known as butterflies and moths. Lepidoptera are distinguished from other orders by the presence of scales on the external parts of the body and appendages, especially the wings. Butterflies and moths vary in size from microlepidoptera only a few millimetres long, to a wingspan of many inches such as the Atlas moth. Comprising over 160,000 described species, the Lepidoptera possess variations of the basic body structure which has evolved to gain advantages in adaptation and distribution.
Anisota stigma, the spiny oakworm moth, is a moth of the family Saturniidae. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. It is found in North America from Massachusetts and southern Ontario to Florida, west to Minnesota, Kansas and Texas.
Anisota is a genus of moths in the family Saturniidae first described by Jacob Hübner in 1820. Their caterpillars are known commonly as oakworms. They are defoliators of oaks.
Attacus is a genus of moths in the family Saturniidae. The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of Systema Naturae.
Hemileuca is a genus of North American moths in the family Saturniidae first described by Francis Walker in 1855. The Finnish University and Research Network currently lists 32 species of the genus. These moths are popular with butterfly collectors because of their variable coloration and wing patterns and their unusual lifestyle, which is an adaptation to the hot and dry habitats where most species live. Most of these moths fly in summer and autumn. The eggs are laid in ring-shaped clusters on stems or branches of the caterpillar's host plants and overwinter. The caterpillars develop to pupation before the hot summer of the following year; most pupate in summer, so that the moths emerge in the cooler late summer and autumn. The stinging hairs of the caterpillars cause a rash when touched. The rash can last from an hour to more than a week. In favorable years, the caterpillars can appear in masses.
Hemileuca lucina, the New England buck moth, is a species of moth in the family Saturniidae. This moth species is only found in the New England region of the United States. Larvae in early stages mainly feed on broadleaf meadowsweet whereas larvae in later stages show variation in food sources such as blackberry and black cherry leaves. Larvae have a black body with orange/black spines on their back that are used to deter predators. Pupation occurs during the summer and adult moths come out around September.
Anisota manitobensis, the Manitoba oakworm moth, is a species of royal moth in the family Saturniidae. It is found in North America, primarily Manitoba.
Anisota consularis, the Florida oakworm moth or consular oakworm moth, is a moth in the family Saturniidae. The species was first described by Harrison Gray Dyar Jr. in 1896. It is found in North America.
Anisota virginiensis.
Anisota virginiensis.
