Family Apatelodidae - American Silkworm Moths

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Tiger moth caterpillar? - Apatelodes pudefacta

spotted apatelodes - Apatelodes torrefacta

Possible Tussock Caterpillar - Apatelodes torrefacta

Pennsylvania Caterpillar - Apatelodes torrefacta

Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Superfamily Bombycoidea (Silkworm, Sphinx, and Royal Moths)

Family Apatelodidae (American Silkworm Moths)

Explanation of Names

From the type genus Bombyx, Greek meaning "silkworm." (1)

Apate was a Greek goddess of deceit. She was a daughter (by parthenogenesis!) of Nyx, Night, who was daughter of Chaos. Lodes is Greek (?) for veins, as in lodes of ore. So these are "deceitfully veined" moths? (Based on Internet searches, it makes sense, but this is somewhat speculative.)

Numbers

5 species in 2 genera in North America

2 species in Canada (CBIF)

Size

wingspan 32-45 mm

Remarks

Previously treated as a subfamily of Bombycidae by Lemaire and Minet in 1999. This classification was followed by Moths of Canada and Charles Covell on page xiii of the 2005 edition of A Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America (2). Zwick (2008) reinstated Apatelodidae as a valid family.

Print References

Franclemont, J.G. 1973. The Moths of America North of Mexico. Fascicle 20.1. Mimallonoidea (Mimallonidae) and Bombycoidea (Apatelodidae, Bombycidae,..(3)

Kitching et al. 2018. A global checklist of the Bombycoidea (Insecta: Lepidoptera). Biodiversity Data Journal, 6: e22236. (4)

Lemaire, C. & J. Minet 1999. The Bombycoidea and their relatives. Pages 321-353 in: Lepidoptera: Moths and Butterflies. 1. Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Handbook of Zoology. Vol. IV, Part 35. N. P. Kristensen, ed. De Gruyter, Berlin and New York.

Zwick, A. (2008), Molecular phylogeny of Anthelidae and other bombycoid taxa (Lepidoptera: Bombycoidea). Systematic Entomology, 33: 190-209. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2007.00410.x

Internet References

pinned adult images of three species occurring in Canada (CBIF)

Works Cited

1.	An accentuated list of the British Lepidoptera, with hints on the derivation of the names. Anonymous. 1858. The Entomological Societies of Oxford and Cambridge.

2.	Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America Charles V. Covell, Jr. 2005.

3.	The Moths of America North of Mexico. Fascicle 20.1. Mimallonoidea (Mimallonidae) and Bombycoidea..... J. G. Franclemont. 1973. E.W. Classey Ltd. & R.B.D. Publications Inc.

4.	A global checklist of the Bombycoidea (Insecta: Lepidoptera) Kitching, I., R. Rougerie, A. Zwick, C. Hamilton, R. St Laurent, S. Naumann, L. Ballesteros Mejia, A. Kawahara. 2018. Biodiversity Data Journal, 6: e22236.

Contributed by Cotinis on 12 July, 2004 - 2:46pm
Additional contributions by john and jane balaban, Steve Nanz, Robin McLeod, Maury Heiman, Ryan St Laurent, marcie oconnor, Randy Hardy
Last updated 19 August, 2018 - 5:59am

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