Thaumetopoeidae

Thaumetopoeidae
A male Pine Processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Thaumetopoeidae
Genera

Aglaosoma
Axiocleta
Cynosarga
Epicoma
Mesodrepta
Ochrogaster
Tanystola
Thaumetopoea
Trichiocercus

Thaumetopoeidae (sometimes incorrectly spelled "Thaumatopoeidae") is a small family of moths in the order Lepidoptera. The genera in this family have been historically treated as a subfamily within Notodontidae instead.

The larval stage of some Thaumetopoeidae are known as processionary caterpillars, so named because they move in columns in search of food, resembling a procession. Some of the species, like the Pine and Oak Processionary, can constitute a health hazard.

Caterpillars of the Pine Processionary (Thaumetopoea pityocampa)
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