Lymantria monacha Insect Nocturnal Butterfly Lichen Tiger Moth Erebidae

Lymantria monacha one wing lenght cm 2-2.5 Insect Nocturnal Butterfly Lichen Tiger Moth Erebidae.
Family: Erebidae, subfamily Lymantrinae.
Common name: The black Arches or Nun Moth.
Syn. halaena monacha, Liparis monacha, Ocneria monacha, Porthetria monacha, Psilura monacha.

Lymantria monacha is a small Palearctic Moth. It is considered a forest pest.
Lymantria monacha moths have a wingspan of 40 to 50 mm. They have white forewings with black wavy arches that give the moth its name. The light brown hind wings have white fringes with black spots. They also have a characteristic brown abdomen with a black band. Females are larger and have elongated wings.
This moth can be found in most of Europe and in temperate regions from the eastern Palearctic to Japan and India.
The caterpillars feed preferentially on spruce (Picea abies) and pine (Pinus sylvestris). They also feed on silver fir (Abies alba), larch (Larix decidua), aspen (Populus tremula), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), beech (Fagus sylvatica), oak (Quercus robur), apple (Malus domestica), sycamore ( Acer pseudoplatanus), blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) and blueberry (Vaccinium uliginosum). In spring the larvae consume the first shoots, then subsequently the needles. A single caterpillar eats about 200 pine needles or 1000 spruce needles, and twice as many are damaged by bites. Spruces die with 70% needle loss, and pine - 90%. It also increases the risk of secondary infections by beetles, bark beetles, fungi or other pathogens. Therefore, epidemics can cause serious damage to forestry.