Hyphantria cunea

930319.00 — 8140 — Hyphantria cunea (Drury, 1773) — Fall Webworm Moth

Larval Host(s)

Presumed main host
on Block Island:

Known hosts:
unclear/unknown

Polyphagous

Identification

Spilosoma spp. and Hyphantria cunea can be difficult to separate on sight. On Block Island, H. cunea is reliably identified most easily by the combination of a mostly white abdomen with minimal black markings and profemora with orange scaling. The abdomen has extensive yellow and black laterally in S. virginica and is immaculate in S. congrua, and the profemora have pink scaling in S. latipennis. If the abdomen is not visible, H. cunea may be distinguished from S. congrua by its smaller size; its forewings being more rounded near the apex; and its protarsi almost always being banded dorsally, versus white dorsally and black medially in the latter species. It may generally be distinguished from S. virginica based on the latter having some black banding on the dorsal surface of the protarsi. H. cunea varies greatly in the extent of black spotting on the forewings but with a different pattern than in S. congrua. The forewings of S. virginica are never heavily marked and usually have a single small black dot at the end of the cell, and those of S. latipennis are always immaculate.

References

  • Species Page at Moth Photographers Group
  • Barcode of Life (BOLD) - Caution: Some specimens shown may not be sequenced. DNA barcode provides evidence of relatedness not proof of identification.
  • Hall et al., 2021. The Moths of North Carolina - website (identification, habitats and life history)
  • Powell, J. A. & P. A. Opler, 2009. Moths of Western North America, Pl. 47.20m, 47.21m; p. 270. Book Review and ordering
  • Species Page at BugGuide
  • Species Page at E. H. Strickland Museum
  • Species Page at Pacific Northwest Moths