[Edited_by_A._Ciancio,_C.N.R.,_Bari,_Italy_and_K.(Bookos.org)

AERIAL BT TREATMENTS
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skin inject istamine, causing irritation, sometimes severe, and wide itching rash
(Southcott, 1978).
Lepidoptera families including urticating species are present and spread in almost
every continent except the most cold regions. Among them the Limantriidae is the most
important one, due to the genus Euproctis. In addition to the two species E. chrysorrhoea
(Fig. 2) and E. similis (Fuessly), worth mention are also E. edwardsii (Newman) in
Australia on Eucalyptus spp., E. lunata Walker on Acacia trees in the Indian region,
E. scintillans (Walker) on Robinia pseudoacacia L., E. bipunctapex Hampson in
Singapore and E. pseuconspersa (Strand) in Japan (Ooi, Goh, Loe, & Goh, 1991; Dunlop
& Freeman, 1997; Ohtaki & Takino, 1998; Balit, Ptolemy, Geary, Russel, & Isbistes,
2001; Subramanian & Krishnamurthy, 2002; Kalia & Pandey, 2004).
Figure 2. Euproctis chrysorrhoea: detail of a tuft of urticating hairs with tri-cuspidate tips.
Many authors reported reactions of “tussockosis” to irritating setae of the
Douglas Fir Tussock Moth larvae, Orgyia pesudotugata (McDunnough) in the US
Northwest (Perlman, Press, Googins, Malley, & Poareo, 1976; Press et al., 1977).
Moreover, in some species, adult females rather than larvae exhibit urticating hairs
such as in African and South American species belonging to the genus Anaphe
(Family Notodontidae) and to the genus Hylesia (Family Saturniidae), like A. panda
(Boisduval), H. urticans Floch & Abonnenc, H. iola Dyar and H. lineata (Druce)
(Lamy, Pastureaud, Novak, & Ducombs, 1984). The reactions caused by adult moths
or butterflies are called “Lepidopterism”. Damages to people and animals are caused
in this case by barbed setae in the anal tuft (Fig. 2), the tips of which show glands
secreting a toxin, normally released by female on egg clusters as an effective
deterrent against egg predators and parasitoids, like i.e. the Lycenidae Eumaeus
atala florida Rueber (Rotschild, Reichstein, Von Euw, Aplin, & Harman, 1970) and
the Thaumetopoeidae Ochrogaster lunifer Herrich-Schäffer (Floater, 1998).