Moths of North Carolina
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Sole representative of Galacticidae in NC
61 NC Records

Homadaula anisocentra Meyrick, 1922 - Mimosa Webworm Moth


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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Galacticoidea Family: GalacticidaeSubfamily: [Galacticinae]Tribe: [Galacticini]P3 Number: 600001.00 MONA Number: 2353.00
Species Status: The Mimosa Webworm Moth is native to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and mainland China (Heppner, 2011) and can be a minor pest on ornamental trees in this country.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The adults are easily recognizable based on their silvery gray forewings that are spotted with numerous round black spots.
Wingspan: ca. 14 mm
Adult Structural Features: Heppner (2011) has illustrations of the male and female genitalia.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The females lay clusters of eggs on Honey Locust or Mimosa and the caterpillars feed communally in silken webs that are spun over the tree's foliage. The larvae are leaf skeletonizers and can eventually cause significant damage and browning of leaflets within the webs (Webster and St. George, 1947). The first generation caterpillars pupate within the webs, and the females that emerge tend to preferentially oviposit in or near the webs. As a result, the second and third generations often expand the size of the webbed nest seasonally. It is not uncommon for a nest to contain larvae with two size cohorts that represent two broods that share a nest. Second and third generation larvae may also create new webs away from the first-generation webs. The mature larvae are light brown with five longitudinal white stripes. Larvae in the final brood leave the webs on silk strands, then pupate and overwinter beneath bark or in other cryptic places.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: This species was introduced into North America around the Washington, DC area sometime around 1940 (Clarke, 1943) and has since spread throughout much of the eastern US and portions of California (Heppner, 2011). In North Carolina it is locally common in the Piedmont, and seen occasionally in the western Coastal Plain and the lower valleys in the mountains.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

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