Lymantria dispar Insect Nocturnal Butterfly Lichen Tiger Moth Erebidae

Lymantria dispar one wing lenght cm 2-2.5 Insect Nocturnal Butterfly Lichen Tiger Moth Erebidae.
Family: Erebidae, subfamily Lymantrinae.
Common name: The Odd Bombyx.
Syn. Phalaena dispar, Ocneria dispar, Porthetria dispar.

Lymantria dispar (Linnaeus, 1758), is a moth belonging to the family Erebidae, subfamily Lymantrinae, widespread in Eurasia, North Africa and North America.
It is a polyphagus of fruit-bearing plants (such as apple trees, vines, etc.) and, above all, of ornamental and forest plants.
Adults are characterized by sexual dimorphism; the males are hazel-brownish, with a wingspan of about 40 mm, the females are whitish with variegated brown wings and with larger dimensions (about 60 mm of wingspan).
The larvae (caterpillars) are hairy, greyish in color with a typical double row of dorsal blue tubercles towards the head and reddish towards the back of the body; at maturity they can reach 70-80 mm in length.
The damage is caused by larval stadiums, voracious defoliators. Adults appear in July.
It is listed among the 100 most invasive invasive species in the world.
The main criteria for combating Lymantria dispar are based on the use of products based on Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. kurstaki and various biotechnological products. The interventions, however, are to be carried out only in the case of confirmed progradation of the infestation.