Caterpillars That Are Not The Gypsy Moth Caterpillar. Some Forest Lepidoptera In Florida

The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), is not known to be established in Florida even though one or more life stages have been observed in 49 counties (1971-1991). Most gypsy moth detections are male moths caught in pheromone traps. As the gypsy moth-infested areas approach Florida, residents will become more aware of the gypsy moth threat In addition, they will more frequently question whether a caterpillar in their tree is a gypsy moth caterpillar. Several forest caterpillars (Figs. 1-4) that may be mistaken for the gypsy moth caterpillar (Fig. 5) are shown below and described in the accompanying text. FDACS-DPI Entomology Circular No. 270 describes the gypsy moth in detail (Dixon and Foltz 1985).