66.003 : 1634 : 6743
Lasiocampidae : Malacosomatinae

Lackey

MALACOSOMA (Trichodia) neustria (Linnaeus, 1758)
Picture
Life Cycle Guide
Picture
Description
 TWingspan: Male - 25-35mm Female - 30-40mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - (excluding - Azores,Balearic Is.,Canary Is.,Cyprus & Madeira) : S Palearctic zone
UK Distribution: Well distributed in southern England to Yorkshire,rarer to west of Penines : Wales - lowland and coastal : Isle of Man - rare : Scotland - scattered records to west coast : Ireland - widespread : Channel Isles - widespread and frequent
UK Conservation Status -
  • Common = > 300 10km squares
European Conservation Status -
  • Least Concern
Original Species Name -
  • Phalaena neustria (Linnaeus, 1758)
Type Species - Malacosoma
  • Bombyx franconica Schiffermüller, 1775
Type Locality -
  • Europe
Flight Period: south - June - August : Elsewhere July - August - univoltine
Habitat: Open Woodland : Gardens : Hedgerows
Similar Species -
  • Ground Lackey - Malacosoma castrensis -  (Linnaeus, 1758)
Larva: The 55mm final instar larva is blue with thin white dorsal line bordered by stripes in black and orange red.
The head is darker blue with two black markings. Hairs along the spriracular line are long and ginger.
Pupa: Pupates inside a tough yellow cocoon
Overwinters as: Ovum
Observations: The forewing of this moth varies between straw yellow and reddish brown and is an easily recognisable moth with its darker median fascia, which remains at a constant width between costa and dorsum as opposed to the simailar species M.castrensis where the fascia converges towards the middle of the wing.
The termen has white and brown chequered fringes,the former being very distinct. Hindwing is same colour as forewing or slightly paler.
Both sexes are attracted to light or though more males are liable to appear at the moth trap.
Photo Gallery
Larvae
In April the small larva firstly construct a silken web in which they all live gregariously.(Photo 1) They grow rapidly so that by June they are fully grown and wander off to find sites where they can safely pupate,the time when most are found traveling over land.(Photo 2)
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website where further information like photos,physical characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
Larval Food Plants
Taxonomy
Kingdom:
Subkingdom:
Phylum:
Subphylum:
Class:
Order:
Superfamily:
Family:
Subfamily:
Tribe:
Genus:
Subgenus:
Accepted Species Name:

Type Species - MALACOSOMA:

Original Species Name:
Species Names:











































Nominotypical Subspecies:

Literary Ref:

Type Locality:

Subspecies:


Forms:
Animalia
Eumetozoa
Arthropoda
Hexapoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Lasiocampoidea
Lasiocampidae
Malacosomatinae
Malacosomatini
MALACOSOMA Hübner 1820
Trichodia Stephens, 1827
Malacosoma  (Trichodia) neustria (Linnaeus, 1758)
-
Bombyx franconica Schiffermüller, 1775
-
PHALAENA neustria (Linnaeus, 1758)
= Malacosoma neustrium (Linnaeus, 1758)
= Malacosoma mauginii Turati, 1924
= Malacosoma neustrium neustrium
= Malacosoma alba Closs 1913
= Malacosoma annularis Geoffroy 1785
= Malacosoma approximata Lempke 1960
= Malacosoma bicolor Sibille 1927
= Bombyx bilineatus Haworth, 1900
= Malacosoma brevipennis Lempke 1960
= Malacosoma brunnea Krulikovski 1908
= Malacosoma castrensioides Lempke 1964
= Malacosoma nigrapici De Lajonquière 1972
= Malacosoma cervina Tutt 1900
= Malacosoma cervina-confluens Tutt 1900
= Malacosoma cervina-fracta Tutt 1900
= Malacosoma cervina-unicolor Tutt 1900
= Malacosoma cervina-virgata Tutt 1900
= Malacosoma cinnamomea Turati & Verity 1912
= Malacosoma concolor Grünberg 1911
= Malacosoma confluens Selys 1857
= Malacosoma contrasta Lempke 1960
= Malacosoma coreana Matsumura
= Malacosoma distria Hübner 1816/27
= Malacosoma flava Krulikovski 1908
= Malacosoma flavescens Grünberg 1911
= Dendrolimus formosana Matsumura, 1927
= Malacosoma fracta Tutt 1900
= Malacosoma intermedia Stephan 1924
= Malacosoma interrupta Matsumura 1921
= Malacosoma maculifera Kolisko 1908
= Malacosoma maculifera Tutt, 1900
= Malacosoma ochracea-fracta Tutt 1900
= Malacosoma ochracea-unicolor Tutt 1900
= Malacosoma ochracea-virgata Tutt 1902
= Malacosoma palicrina Rostagno 1912
= Malacosoma pallida Stephan 1924
= Clisiocampa testacea Motschulsky, 1860
= Bombyx unicolor Cyrillo, 1787
= Malacosoma unicolor Tutt 1900
= Malacosoma virgata Tutt 1900
= Malacosoma vulgaris Borkhausen 1793
= Malacosoma x-strigata Romaniszyn 1942
= Malacosoma mauginii Turati 1924
-
PHALAENA neustria neustria (Linnaeus, 1758)
-
Syst. Nat. (Edn 10) 1 : Title page : p.500 - n.19
-
Europe
-
M.n.neustria Linnaeus, 1758 - nominate subspecies
M.n.flavescens Grünberg, 1911 - Algeria - very pale yellow in male
-
M.n.f.unicolor Tutt, 1913 - lines obscured
M.n.f.virgata Tutt, 1913 - background very pale
M.n.f.pyri Scopoli, 1763 - background rusty brown