Lymantria dispar asiatica, the LDA moth or Asian spongy moth,[1][2] also known as the Asian gypsy moth,[lower-alpha 1] is a moth in the family Erebidae of Eurasian origin. It is similar to Lymantria dispar dispar in appearance, but adult females can fly. It is classified as a pest and is host to over 500 species of trees, shrubs and plants.
Lymantria dispar asiatica has several common names including the Asian gypsy moth, persimmon caterpillar or persimmon tussock moth.[4]:23 USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) replaced the common name for regulated Lymantria moths. APHIS changed “Asian gypsy moth” (Lymantria dispar asiatica, L. dispar japonica, L. albescens, L. postalba, and L. umbrosa) with “flighted spongy moth complex.”[5]
Taxonomy
Lymantria dispar asiatica was originally described as a subspecies of Lymantria dispar by Vnukovskij in 1926.[4]:29 It was synonymized with Lymantria dispar dispar by Schintlmeister in 2004.[4]:29L. d. asiatica is treated as a subspecies of L. dispar.[4]:29
The species has undergone the same reclassification of the family as Lymantria dispar, moving from Lymantriidae to Noctuidae to Erebidae.[6]
Lymantria dispar asiatica was found in North America in late 1991.[7] It was first found in British Columbia, Canada.[7] It also was found in the Pacific Northwest[1]Washington[2][1] and Oregon, United States.[7] Transportation was suspected to have been from ships from Russia that had become infested with egg masses, with the eggs having been hatched and the larvae then blown ashore.[7] This infestation was eradicated.[7] It reappeared in Washington in 1997 and was found in Oregon in 2000.[7] It was reported that these infestations were eradicated in 2005.[7]
Lymantria dispar asiatica has four stages of life: egg, larvae, pupae and moth.[7]
Adult moths
The adult female moth is dirty- to creamy-white, with dark bands across the forewings.[4]:24 The hindwings are white.[4]:24 The female's body is stout and densely covered with hairs, and the antennae are dark brown and thread-like.[4]:24
The adult male moth is smaller than the female moth, and the wings are dark brown with black bands across the forewings.[4]:24 The hindwings are brown and may possess a crescent-shaped discal spot.[4]:24 Its head's front vertex and scape are light brown. The antennae are light brown and feathery.[4]:24
Adult moths are incapable of eating: the adult only mates and lays eggs.[7] Adult moths will die within one to three weeks after emerging.[7]
Eggs
A close-up view of an egg mass
Eggs are laid in clusters that are about the size of a dime.[7] The eggs are dormant during the winter.[7] Larvae will hatch from the eggs in the spring.
Egg placement
In China and Korea, egg masses are placed high up on the under-surfaces of branches of large pine trees.[4]:26 In Russia and Mongolia, eggs are laid on rock outcrops or on the soil under boulders.[4]:24 Egg masses are laid on top of other egg masses or the remains of previous years' egg masses.[4]:24 In far eastern Russia, egg masses are laid on undersides of leaves of deciduous trees.[4]:24 When the leaves fall, the eggs are covered with snow and become insulated from temperatures which would otherwise kill them.[4]:24
Larvae
Full grown larvae are 50–55mm long and a ground-color gray, laterally irrorated with an irregular pattern of white.[4]:24 Larvae can also be yellow or black.
When larvae hatch, they disperse by ballooning away.[4]:27 Larvae spin silk threads and hang from them, waiting for the wind to blow them to a suitable host.[4]:27 In central Asia, hatching larvae balloon off the ridges.[4]:27 In Mongolia, dispersal is done by ballooning from rock faces or pine trees.[4]:27 Distances vary from a hundred meters up to a kilometer or more, assuming the conditions are right.[4]:27 In China and Korea and larvae disperse to suitable tree species to feed, but adults fly back to the large pines for oviposition, a cycle which is repeated yearly.[4]:27
Pupae
Larvae will enter the pupae stage in June or July.[7] Adult moths will emerge from the pupae in ten to fourteen days.[7]
Efforts to prevent spread
Shipping
Egg masses found on merchant vessels in 2019
Regulations vary, but it is recommended to obtain inspections for all vessels which are active in far eastern Russia, Japan, Korea, and northern China.[9] All shipping vessels could have egg masses, inside or outside the ship.[9] As of August 2012, ships in the Pacific have had interceptions, while the Atlantic has had none.[10]
Notes
↑ In July, 2021, the Entomological Society of America removed "gypsy moth" from its Common Names of Insects and Related Organisms List, and is seeking community input on a new common name.[3]
Lymantria dispar, also known as the gypsy moth or the spongy moth, is an Eurasian 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 being clearly identifiable without ambiguity. Lymantria dispar has been introduced to several continents and is now found in Europe, Africa, Asia, North America and South America. The polyphagous larvae live on a variety of deciduous and coniferous 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.
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