Moth Photographers Group – Lymantria dispar – 19461

Highly polyphagous. Throughout it's native and invasive range, L. dispar dispar, Quercus spp. (Fagaceae) is the “most preferred food plant group, followed by Salix (Salicaceae) and Crataegus (Rosaceae). Preferred food plants considered characteristic of L. d. japonica, in Japan, include Diospyros kaki (Ebenaceae), Rhododendron sp (Ericaceae), Wisteria floribunda (Leguminosae) and Zelkova serrata (Ulmaceae). A dominant food plant of L. d. asiatica in its native range is Siberian larch (Pinaceae: Larix sibirica).

However, in all areas within the range of L. dispar sensu lato (which includes Japan), many species of Quercus are preferred.

in general, larvae have been found on most shrubs and trees, with preference for oaks, birch, alder, poplar, willow, sumac, basswood, larch, apple, hawthorn, shadbush, mountain ash, rose, box-elder, hazelnut, and witch hazel. Later instarts are less particular, feeding on chestnut, beech, pine, hemlock, and spruce. Pogue and Schaefer (2007) expand on this in detail.

Pogue and Schaefer (2007) describe a difference in the area between the D verrucae on the abdomens of larval L. dispar dispar and L. d. asiatica follows:
     - L. d. dispar prominent white pattern on less evident solid color. “The small D1 verruca has a black primary seta”.
     - L. d. asiatica white pattern less evident and solid color prominent. The small D1 verruca has a white primary seta. Furthermore, there is a pair of “irregularly shaped white spots with gray centers along the anterior margin of the abdominal segments 1-7. These spots are absent in L. d. dispar”.