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| Insects of Britain and Ireland: the families of Lepidoptera |
Liparidae, Ocneriadae
Adults diurnal, or crepuscular, or nocturnal; medium sized to large (the flightless females of Orygia about 12–18 mm long); relatively short-bodied (very much so, in Orygia), or medium-bodied, or long-bodied (sometimes hugely); medium built (wingspan more than 8 and less than 15 times the thoracic width) to heavily built (wingspan less than 8 times the thoracic width); with fully developed wings, or wingless, or with vestigial wings (some females); wings in repose packed with the forewings directed backwards to cover hindwings and abdomen.
Antennae very short to of medium length; extending to about 0.28–0.57 times the length of the forewing. Antennae of males bipectinate. Eyes glabrous. Ocelli absent. Chaetosemata absent. Maxillary palps much reduced, or absent; when present, 1 segmented. Labial palps porrect; 3 segmented. Proboscis absent.
Wingspan 25–60 mm; 6–10(–10.5) times the thoracic width. Forewings narrow to broad; 1.5–2.27 times as long as wide. The outer and hind margins angled at 95–105 degrees. The outer margin convexly curved; forewings apically blunt. Hindwings broadly rounded; similar in breadth to the forewings. Hindwing width about 0.9–1 times that of the forewings. Hindwings with a rounded apex; the upper surfaces plain (apart from a sometimes darkened border and marginal dots); with a discal spot, or with a discal spot and with transverse lines, or with neither discal spot nor transverse lines; with a frenulum.
Neuration of forewings and hindwings dissimilar. Forewings 12 veined; with 1 anal vein. The anal veins of the forewings representing 1b only. Forewings lacking a tubular vein 1c. Vein 1b of the forewings simple. The transverse vein complete. Discal cell of the forewings without a tubular media (M) vein. Hindwings 8 veined, or 9 veined; with 2 anal veins. The anal veins of the hindwings comprising 1a and 1b. Hindwings exhibiting vein 1a; lacking a tubular vein 1c. Vein 1b of the hindwings simple. The transverse vein complete to incomplete. The hindwing cell emitting more than six veins, or emitting no more than six veins. 6 veins arising from the hindwing cell (vein 4 sometimes missing), or 7 veins arising from the hindwing cell. The cell-derived hindwing veins all arising independently of one another, or 6+7 proximally joined (these connate to stalked). Vein 8 of the hindwings joined to the cell only by a bar, or anastomosing with the upper margin of the cell (before the middle); not approximating to vein 7.
Fore-legs with a tibial epiphysis (males), or without a tibial epiphysis (females). Tibiae of middle legs 2-spurred. Posterior tibiae 2-spurred (rarely), or 4-spurred (short).
Tympanal organs present; metathoracic.
Eggs, larvae and pupae. Eggs not flattened; smooth or minutely pitted. Larval prolegs 10. Larvae conspicuously, densely long-hairy; with urticating hairs (some being notorious in this connection). On divers dicotyledonous trees and shrubs, and one on Cyperaceae, Sparganium and Phragmites.
Pupae concealed; on the surface of the ground, or above the ground. Empty pupae not becoming protruded.
British representation. Genera 7 (1 extinct); 11 species. Arctornis l-nigrum (Black V Moth - rare adventive), Dicallomera fascelina (Dark Tussock), Calliteara pudibunda (Pale Tussock), Euproctis chrysorrhoea (Brown-tail), Euproctis similis (Yellow-tail), Laelia coenosa (Reed Tussock or Whittlesea Arctia: a victim of draining the fens, and long extinct in Britain), Leucoma salicis (White Satin), Lymantria dispar (The Gypsy), Lymantria monacha (The Black Arches), Orygia antiqua (The Vapourer), Orygia recens (Scarce Vapourer).
Classification. Macromoths. Suborder Ditrysia. Superfamily Noctuoidea.
Comments. Spectacular industrial melanism occurs in British populations of Lymantria monacha (see illustration).
Illustrations. • British Lymantriidae: Newman. 1a-b, Orgyia antiqua (Vapourer, male and flightless female); 2a-b, Orgyia recens (Scarce Vapourer, male and flightless female); 3, Laelia coenosa (Reed Tussock); 4, Dicallomera fascelina (Dark Tussock); 5, Calliteara pudibunda (Pale Tussock); 6, Euproctis similis (Yellow-tail); 7, Leucoma salicis (The Satin Moth); 8, Euproctis chrysorrhoea (Brown-tail); 9a-b, Lymantria monacha (Black Arches, female and male); 10a-b, Lymantria dispar (Gypsy, female and male). From Newman, 1869. • Lymantria dispar (Gypsy) and L. monacha (Black Arches): photos. 1–3, Lymantria monacha (Black Arches): pale (1) and melanic (2) forms of the male, and female (3). 4–5, Lymantria dispar (Gypsy Moth), female (4) and a typical male (5).
1, Holme Fen, near Peterborough, 5th July 1956 (L. Watson); 2, Suffolk 1951 (details unknown); 3, Abbot's Wood, near Hailsham, Sussex, 1917; 4 and 5, provenance unknown. From Watson's collection. • Laelia coenosa (Reed Tussock, imago and larva) and Leucoma salicis (White Satin, dissections): B. Ent. 68). • Arctornis L-nigrum (Black V Moth): Stephens II, 1830). • Leucoma salicis (dissections: B. Ent. 68). • Leucoma salicis and Laelia coenosa: B. Ent. 68, legend+text. • Leucoma salicis and Laelia coenosa: B. Ent. 68, text cont.. • Lymantria monacha (Black Arches): B. Ent. 767. • Lymantria monacha: B. Ent. 767, legend+text). • Lymantria monacha: B. Ent. 767, text cont.). • Orgyia recens (Scarce Vapourer: B. Ent. 378). • Orgyia recens: B. Ent. 378, legend+text. • Orgyia recens: B. Ent. 378, text cont.. • Eriogaster, Euthrix, Lymantria and Malacosoma (Humphreys). LYMANTRIIDAE: 1–3, Lymantria monacha (Black Arches, male, female and larva). LASIOCAMPIDAE: 4–6, Euthrix potatoria (The Drinker, male, female and larva). 7 and 8, Malacosoma neustria (The Lackey, and larva). 9 and 10, Eriogaster lanestris (Small Eggar, and larva). From Humphreys (1860, Plate IX). • Calliteara, Lymantria, Orgyia (and Colocasia, from Humphreys). 1–3, Lymantria dispar (The Gypsy, male, female and larva). 4 and 5, Calliteara pudibunda (Pale Tussock, male and larva). 8–10, Orgyia recens (Scarce Vapourer, male, female and larva). 6 and 7, Colocasia coryli (Nut Tree Tussock, Noctuidae-Pantheinae: male and larva). From Humphreys (1860, Plate X). • Arctornis, Euproctis, Laelia, Leucoma (from Humphreys). 1 and 2, Laelia coenosa (Reed Tussock, male and larva). 3, Arctornis L-nigrum (Black V Moth). 4 and 5, Leucoma salicis (White Satin Moth, and larva). 6–8, Euproctis chrysorrhoea (Brown-tail, male, female and larva). 9 and 10, Euproctis similis (Yellow-tail, male and larva). From Humphreys (1860, Plate XI). • Calliteara, Dicallomera, Orgyia: Kirby). 10, Orgyia recens (Scarce Vapourer Moth); 11, Orgyia antiqua (Vapourer Moth); 13, Dicallomera fascelina (Dark Tussock); 15, Calliteara pudibunda (Pale Tussock). From Kirby (1907). • Arctornis, Euproctis, Leucoma, Lymantria: Kirby. LYMANTRIIDAE. 1, Arctornis l-nigrum (Black V-moth); 2, Leocoma salicis (White Satin Moth); 3, Euproctis chrysorrhoea (Brown-tail Moth); 4, Euproctis similis (Gold-tail Moth); 5, Lymantria monacha, male (b) and female (Black Arches); 6, Lymantria dispar, male (b) and female (Gipsy Moth); 7, Parocneria detrita; 8, Ocneria rubea. LASIOCAMPIDAE. 9, Trichiura crataegi (Pale Eggar), male (b) and female (c); 10, Poecilocampa populi (December Moth), male (b) and female (c); 11, Malacosoma franconica; 12, Malacosoma castrensis (Ground Lackey), male (a) and female (b). From Kirby (1907) with names updated. • Larva, pupa, cocoon: Calliteara pudibunda (Duponchel, 1849). Lymantriidae. Calliteara pudibunda (Pale Tussock). Duponchel and Guénée, 1849. • Larva, pupa: Dicallomera fascelina (Duponchel, 1849). Lymantriidae. Dicallomera fascelina (Dark Tussock). Duponchel and Guénée, 1849. • Larvae: Euproctis chrysorrhoea, Euproctis similis (Duponchel, 1849). Lymantriidae. 1, Euproctis similis (Yellow-tail). 2, Euproctis chrysorrhoea (Brown-tail). Duponchel and Guénée, 1849. • Larvae, pupae: Leucoma salicis, Lymantria dispar (Duponchel, 1849). Lymantriidae. 1, Leucoma salicis (White Satin Moth). 2, Lymantria dispar (Gypsy Moth). Duponchel and Guénée, 1849. • Larvae, pupae (male and female): Orgyia antiqua, Orgyia recens (Duponchel, 1849). Lymantriidae. 1, Orgyia antiqua (Vapourer): a and b, male; c and d, female. 2, Orgyia recens (Scarce Vapourer), female. Duponchel and Guénée, 1849. • neuration: Calliteara, Euproctis.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. Insects of Britain and Ireland: the families of Lepidoptera. Version: 14th April 2022. delta-intkey.com’.
