ENY 3005 Family Identification

Lepidoptera: Arctiidae

Common names: tiger moths (Arctiinae), footman moths (Lithosiinae), and wasp moths (Ctenuchinae).

Saltmarsh caterpillar, Estigmene acrea (Drury).

Identifying characteristics for the family Arctiidae include:

• Small- to medium-sized moths; wings held rooflike while at rest (Arctiinae, Lithosiinae) or horizontal over the abdomen (Ctenuchinae).
• Tiger moths often lightly or brightly colored with stripes, bands, or spots on the wings.
• Footman moths usually small, slender, and often dull colored.
• Wasp moths are slender bodied, blackish to dark-brown moths that often have a brightly colored head.

• The fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea (Drury) is a common tent caterpillar on pecan, hickories, and many other trees throughout much of North America.
• The oleandar caterpillar, Syntomeida epilais, is a common defoliator of oleandar plants.
• Some authorities classify the wasp moths as the family Ctenuchidae or Amatidae rather than as a subfamily of Arctiidae.

The Polkadot wasp moth is the adult stage of the oleandar caterpillar.

References:

• Pages 236-239 and plate 11 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field Guide to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
• Pages 301-302 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects, 3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.
• Pages 58-77 and plates 11-16 in C. V. Covell, Jr. 1984. A Field Guide to the Moths of Eastern North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
• Page 655 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing. 875 p.
• Page 554 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.

Links to other web sites

• Oleander Caterpillar - Syntomeida epilais
• Spotted oleander caterpillar, Empyreuma affinis Rothschild
• Arctiidae of the French Antilles