Lymantria dispar: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Lymantria dispar lives – recorded in 26 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Lymantria dispar
Group	Butterflies & moths
Found in	26 countries
Continents	Asia, Europe, North America
Class	Insect
Order	Lepidoptera
Family	Erebidae

Where does the Lymantria dispar live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Lymantria dispar in 26 countries and territories across Asia, Europe and North America. In Belgium, Canada, China, France, United Kingdom, Netherlands it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the Lymantria dispar?

The Lymantria dispar (Lymantria dispar) is an insect in the order Lepidoptera and the family Erebidae, genus Lymantria. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Lymantria dispar

Lymantria dispar, also known as the gypsy moth, and in the United States, the spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae native to Europe and Asia. Lymantria dispar is subdivided into several subspecies, with subspecies such as L. d. dispar and L. d. japonica being clearly identifiable without ambiguity. Lymantria dispar has been introduced to several continents and is now additionally found as an invasive species in Africa, North America and South America. The polyphagous larvae live on a variety of deciduous and coniferous trees and can cause severe damage in years of mass reproduction. Due to these features, Lymantria dispar is listed among the world's 100 worst invasive alien species.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Lymantria dispar (revision 1380474186), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q45532 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).