Malacosoma castrense

Malacosoma castrense
Ground Lackey
Malacosoma castrense
Female
Male
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lasiocampidae
Genus: Malacosoma
Species: M. castrense
Binomial name
Malacosoma castrense
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
  • Malacosoma castrensis
  • Phalaena castrensis Linnaeus, 1758
  • Malacosoma tianshanica Daniel, 1949

The Ground Lackey (Malacosoma castrense) is a moth of the family Lasiocampidae. It is found in Europe.

Malacosoma castrensis-01 (xndr).jpg
Malacosoma castrensis-02 (xndr).jpg
Illustration from John Curtis's British Entomology Volume 5

The length of the forewings is 13–16 mm for males and 17–21 mm for females. The moth flies from June to August depending on the location.

The caterpillars feed on various shrubs and herbaceous plants such as Calluna, Lotus and Cypress Spurge.

Subspecies

  • Malacosoma castrense castrense
  • Malacosoma castrense kirghisicum (Staudinger, 1879) (Asia Minor, Kazakhstan, Turkmenia, Uzbekistan)
  • Malacosoma castrense thomalae Gaede, 1932 (Tien-Shan)

External links


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