Urticating-setae
Guides
Apatelodidae
American silkworm moths
Apatelodidae is a family of medium-sized bombycoid moths endemic to the New World, with highest diversity in the Neotropical region. The family contains approximately 14 genera and 222+ species following recent taxonomic revisions, though generic boundaries remain in flux due to ongoing phylogenetic studies. Adults typically exhibit cryptic coloration in greyish, straw-yellow, or reddish-brown tones with darker wing markings. Larvae of at least some species possess urticating setae, a trait first documented in the family in 2025. The family was elevated from subfamily status within Bombycidae in recent decades and continues to undergo substantial taxonomic restructuring.
Euproctis
tussock moths
Euproctis is a genus of tussock moths in the family Erebidae, described by Jacob Hübner in 1819. The genus has cosmopolitan distribution across the Palearctic, African, Oriental, and Australian regions. Molecular phylogenetic studies indicate the genus is paraphyletic, comprising numerous unrelated lineages that require taxonomic revision. Some species are significant agricultural and forest pests, including Euproctis pseudoconspersa (tea tussock moth) and Euproctis chrysorrhoea (brown-tail moth).