Attributes of Lymantria dispar
Gypsy Moth
Lymantria dispar (Linnaeus, 1758)
Family: Erebidae
Subfamily: Lymantriinae
Identification: Sexually dimorphic: female much larger and lighter in color. Forewing brown with yellowish overlay in male. Hindwing yellowish to reddish brown. Reniform spot consists of three black spots (usually merged) in both sexes; black orbicular dot also present. Wings whitish in female, with deeply scalloped gray lines and black spots. Terminal line a series of black dots on forewing and hindwing.
Wing Span: 3-4 cm in males; 5.6-6.7 cm in females.
Life History: Larvae can defoliate large tracts of forests in peak years. In woods where larvae are numerous, you can actually hear them feeding.
Flight:
Caterpillar Hosts: Oaks are preferred. Also alder, apple, basswood, birches, box elder, hawthorn, hazelnut, larch, mountain-ash, poplars, rose bushes, sumac, willows, and witch-hazel.
Adult Food:
Habitat: Forests.
Range: Deliberately introduced from Europe at Medford, Massachusetts in 1868 or 1869 by Leopold Trouvelot, who hoped to raise this moth for silk production. Now, established from Nova Scotia to North Carolina and Florida, west to Michigan, Illinois, and Missouri. Range is expanding.
Conservation:
NCGR:
Management Needs:
Taxonomy Notes:
Images of Lymantria dispar
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The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.
Instructions: Click on the map and move your mouse to pan.
Zoom by using the plus [+] and minus [-] on the left side of the map.
To change which map layers are displayed, click on the plus sign [+] on the right side of the map.
By default, the fifty most recently verified sightings are below. Sort by Observation Date to see the most recent sightings, or filter the sightings by region to get a regional list.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
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July 21, 2012 | Lula Field | Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States | June 15, 2013 | Details |
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August 09, 2009 | Lula Field | Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States | June 15, 2013 | Details |
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July 07, 2009 | Ilona L. | Dane County, Wisconsin, United States | April 21, 2013 | Details |
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June 21, 2012 | caterpillarrescue | Summit County, Ohio, United States | April 14, 2013 | Details |
| August 02, 2005 | curtis.lehman (Paul Dennehy) | Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States | March 02, 2013 | Details | |
| June 22, 2012 | curtis.lehman | Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, United States | February 16, 2013 | Details | |
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July 29, 2012 | doris potter | Quebec, Canada | November 06, 2012 | Details |
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July 01, 2011 | Wallflower91 | Ontario, Canada | October 14, 2012 | Details |
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July 20, 2012 | curtis.lehman | Nicholas County, West Virginia, United States | October 07, 2012 | Details |
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August 13, 2012 | juliems | Chittenden County, Vermont, United States | September 23, 2012 | Details |
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June 15, 2012 | curtis.lehman | McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States | September 16, 2012 | Details |
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July 28, 2012 | sandyt1231 | Steuben County, New York, United States | September 12, 2012 | Details |
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July 21, 2012 | Kyle Jones | Windsor County, Vermont, United States | September 11, 2012 | Details |
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July 15, 2012 | Stylurus | Wayne County, Michigan, United States | August 31, 2012 | Details |
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June 14, 2012 | curtis.lehman | Elk County, Pennsylvania, United States | August 08, 2012 | Details |
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July 23, 2012 | BPB | Ontario, Canada | July 27, 2012 | Details |
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July 19, 2012 | dendroica5 | Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States | July 26, 2012 | Details |
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July 12, 2012 | johnrwhitney | Erie County, New York, United States | July 23, 2012 | Details |
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July 22, 2012 | edenny | Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States | July 23, 2012 | Details |
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July 22, 2012 | deweidemann | Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States | July 23, 2012 | Details |
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July 04, 2012 | dendroica5 | Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States | July 22, 2012 | Details |
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July 03, 2012 | Larry522 | Washington County, Vermont, United States | July 21, 2012 | Details |
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July 15, 2012 | curtis.lehman (Nancy Baker) | Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States | July 15, 2012 | Details |
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July 06, 2012 | Bowbender | Ashland County, Ohio, United States | July 14, 2012 | Details |
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July 08, 2012 | AngelaCoco | Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States | July 13, 2012 | Details |
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July 05, 2012 | shaed | Ontario, Canada | July 06, 2012 | Details |
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June 19, 2012 | dyclarke | Nova Scotia, Canada | July 04, 2012 | Details |
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June 23, 2012 | Nuttyninny | Chittenden County, Vermont, United States | June 30, 2012 | Details |
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June 17, 2012 | Larry522 | Chittenden County, Vermont, United States | June 27, 2012 | Details |
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June 18, 2012 | Suna | Ontario, Canada | June 21, 2012 | Details |
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June 16, 2012 | Kyle Jones | Windsor County, Vermont, United States | June 18, 2012 | Details |
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May 30, 2012 | eal79 | Forest County, Pennsylvania, United States | June 04, 2012 | Details |
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May 30, 2012 | iashbaugh | Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States | June 02, 2012 | Details |
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June 20, 2007 | aussererjk | Rockingham County, Virginia, United States | May 02, 2012 | Details |
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July 30, 1995 | curtis.lehman (David Wright) | Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States | January 31, 2012 | Details |
| June 09, 2006 | curtis.lehman | Bedford County, Pennsylvania, United States | January 18, 2012 | Details | |
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August 10, 2009 | Dwaine Wagoner | Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States | December 07, 2011 | Details |
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July 16, 2011 | rogerdowner | Wayne County, Ohio, United States | December 01, 2011 | Details |
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July 15, 2011 | curtis.lehman | Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States | October 16, 2011 | Details |
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July 18, 2011 | nancyleeg | Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States | September 07, 2011 | Details |
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July 24, 2011 | Amanda Fulton | Medina County, Ohio, United States | August 24, 2011 | Details |
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June 30, 2011 | wencar01 | Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States | August 23, 2011 | Details |
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August 11, 2011 | JLingard | Nova Scotia, Canada | August 11, 2011 | Details |
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July 17, 2011 | curtis.lehman (Rory Bower) | Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, United States | August 02, 2011 | Details |
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July 28, 2011 | pluchkowsky | Erie County, Ohio, United States | July 28, 2011 | Details |
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July 25, 2011 | missg777 | Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States | July 25, 2011 | Details |
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July 23, 2011 | lfurman | Forest County, Pennsylvania, United States | July 23, 2011 | Details |
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July 21, 2011 | simonjmarie8201@yahoo.com | Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, United States | July 22, 2011 | Details |
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July 16, 2010 | Jim Robinson | Ontario, Canada | July 06, 2011 | Details |
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June 08, 2011 | maarhuis | Ontario, Canada | June 10, 2011 | Details |
