Arctiidae is a large and diverse family of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, with 6000 Neotropical species (Scoble 1995). This family includes the groups commonly known as tiger moths, which usually have bright colors, footmen, which are usually more drab, lichen moths and wasp moths.
Many of the caterpillars and adults are active during the daytime. Common folklore has it that the forthcoming severity of a winter can be predicted by the amount of black on the Isabella tiger moth's caterpillar, the most familiar woolly bear in North America; however the relative width of the black band varies among instars, not according to weather (Wagner 2005). Isabella tiger moths (Pyrrharctia isabella) overwinter in the caterpillar stage. They can survive freezing at moderate subzero temperatures by producing a cryo-protectant chemical (Layne and Kuharsky 2000). The larvae of another species, Phragmatobia fuliginosa, may be found on snow seeking a place to pupate.
Although they may be abundant, few species in this family are of economic importance. Even the fall webworm, an abundant and highly polyphagous tree-feeding species that has spread from North America to Asia and Europe, does no lasting damage to healthy hosts. |
