Erebidae, Leach, 1815

Pohl, Greg, Anweiler, Gary, Schmidt, Christian & Kondla, Norbert, 2010, An annotated list of the Lepidoptera of Alberta, Canada, ZooKeys 38 (38), pp. 1-549 : 236

60. Erebidae - quadrifine noctuoids

As currently defined, this is a very large assemblage of noctuoid moths, with an enormous diversity in size, facies, ecology and biology. Although relatively well-supported as a natural group by molecular and morphological data, the phylogeny within this group is still in its infancy – many relationships within the Erebidae are still poorly resolved, to say nothing of tropical groups that still await discovery and/or phylogenetic placement. There are however also several strongly supported groups now included within the Erebidae , such as the Lymantriinae, Arctiinae, and Herminiinae. The Erebidae as currently defined may well be split into a number of families in the future. It is diffi cult to draw generalizations on such a hyper-diverse group, and brief introductory sections are limited to subfamilies here. As it is currently constituted, Erebidae is represented by 124 species in AB.

60.1. Lymantriinae – tussock moths

Mostly medium-sized (30–80 mm wingspan) moths with robust bodies. Wing pattern and color is usually drab, and several genera have wingless ( Orgyia ) or flightless ( Gynaephora , some Lymantria ) females. Th e subfamily Lymantriinae is thought to be closely related to the Arctiinae (both groups have hairy larvae), Aganainae and Herminiinae . Like the Arctiinae , the most recent systematic arrangement of the Noctuoidea places the Lymantriinae as a subfamily of the Erebidae rather than as a separate family (Lafontaine and Schmidt in press). Larvae are predominantly arboreal, feeding on both deciduous and coniferous woody plants. Many species are host generalists, and a relatively high proportion of this subfamily are forest pests, most notably the Gypsy Moth ( Lymantria dispar ), the Satin Moth ( Leucoma salicis ) and the Douglas-fir Tussock Moth ( Orgyia pseudotsugata ).

Approximately 2500 species of Lymantriinae are known worldwide, with diversity centered in the Old World tropics: only about 200 species are known from the New World. Th irty-two species occur in North America, nine of which are reported from AB. Ferguson (1978) treated all of the North American Lymantriinae .