Larval hostplant data

I have now entered larval substrate or hostplant data for all species on massmoths.org. All substrates recorded specifically from Massachusetts are now denoted by an asterisk(*). Please report any possible errors or additional Massachusetts data.

The larval biologies of 483 species (about 17%) are unknown (of which 97 are considered to be common to very common in the State) and many more have been only poorly documented. There is therefore plenty of scope for discovering and documenting new life histories. On iNaturalist, many larvae are photographed, but invariably no substrate information is given and often the larvae are photographed on a hand or on a road (or other man-made object). When posting a larval observation, please always try to enter the larval hostplant information, if known. Rearing wild-found larvae through to the adult is often the only way to confirm the species' identity and can provide valuable new information on the biology of a species.

Posted on November 27, 2021 02:37 PM by swhitebread