Lymantria Dispar Dispar - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

Linnaeus first described the species Lymantria dispar in 1758. The subject of classification has changed throughout the years, resulting in confusion surrounding the species taxonomy. This caused many references to describe this one species in different ways. The family has jumped between Lymantriidae, Noctuidae and Erebidae. The species Lymantria dispar has been split into sub-species such as Lymantria dispar asiatica and Lymantria dispar japonica. Differences between the subspecies are poorly understood even at the government level.