Anisota

Abstract: The green-striped mapleworm. (Anisota rubicunda (Fab.)), a native of North America, is distributed widely throughout the eastern half of the United States and the southern parts of adjacent Canadian Provinces. Its southern range extends from the Carolina coast to the gulf coast in Alabama and Mississippi. It 'has been recorded as far west as Nebraska and Kansas. The insect causes heavy defoliation throughout its range but is most destructive near its southwestern limits.

Abstract: Four new species of Olidiana McKamey in the tribe Coelidiini are described from Thailand. They are spimera, anisota, nuda and paridens. A checklist of the known species from Thailand is also included. Olidiana spina (Zhang) is a new synonym of Olidiana praetexta (Distant).

Abstract: A phylogenetic analysis of 13 species of the genus Anisota was carried out using morphological data from mature larvae. Based on quantitative traits, length, and structure of scoli, 18 characters from 3 thoracic and 4 abdominal segments were characterized and coded. The phylogenetic analysis using the larval scoli yielded results in conjunction with previously proposed taxonomic relationships. For instance, the eastern North American species A. consularis, A. fuscosa, and A. manitobensis were found to share a close relationship. Similarly, A. discolor, A. virginiensis, and A. pellucida, three other eastern North American species, were found to be most closely related. However, discrepencies between expected and actual results were also observed: A. stigma and A. leucostygma fell out as sister species to all other Anisota species. This disassociation of the two species from their nearest relatives is believed to be due to the longer branched scoli found on both species and the designated outgroup,...

Abstract: Several species of Anisota (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae), collectively known as oakworms, occasionally achieve pest status in the United States and Canada, and infestations sometimes exceed 1,000 ha. For example, the orange-striped oakworm, A. senatoria (J.E. Smith), is a common pest of oaks in the northeastern United States (Hitchcock 1961b, Coffelt and Schultz 1990)), and an outbreak of yellow-striped oakworm, A. peigleri Riotte, occurred in Gainesville, Florida from 1996 to 2000 (Serrano and Foltz 2003). The Manitoba oakworm, A. manitobensis McD., was described as a sporadic pest of bur oak, Quercus macrocarpa Michaux (Fagaceae), in southern Manitoba (McGugan 1958). Criddle (1932) reported that three acres of Q. macrocarpa south of Carman was severely defoliated by A. manitobensis in 1931. Anisota manitobensis seems to maintain a low level of abundance, and was only recently located after an extensive search lasting eight years (Henne 2002). The pink-striped oakworm, A. virginiensis (Drury) occurs throughout the eastern United States and adjacent southern Canada, west to southern Manitoba (Ferguson 1971, Tuskes et al. 1996). In much of its range, A. virginiensis does not normally become sufficiently abundant to be considered a pest (Ferguson 1971). Nevertheless, it has caused occasional severe defoliation of Q. macrocarpa in Manitoba (McGugan 1958, Ives and Wong 1988) as well as in Ontario and Quebec (Hall et al. 1998). Larvae of Anisota spp. are gregarious, particularly in the early instars (Riotte and Peigler 1981) when they skeletonize leaves of their host, Quercus spp. Later instars may consume the entire leaf, except for the midvein, and are easily seen on their defoliated hosts. PARASITOID SURVEY OF Anisota virginiensis (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) AT BELAIR, MANITOBA FROM 1989-1999.