Thaumetopoea

{{Short description|Genus of moths}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Thaumetopea.pityocampa.01.jpg

| image_caption = A Thaumetopoea species, pine processionary caterpillars

| taxon = Thaumetopoea

| authority = Hübner, 1820

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision =

| synonyms =

• Cnethocampa Stephens, 1828
• Traumatocampa Wallengren, 1871
• Helianthocampa de Freina & Witt, 1985

| type_species=Phalaena processionea{{cite book |last1=Kirby |first1=W. F. |title=Sphinges and Bombyces |date=1892 |publisher=Gurney & Jackson |location=London |page=591 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/9693652 |series=A synonymic catalogue of Lepidoptera Heterocera (Moths) |volume=1}}

| type_species_authority=Linnaeus, 1758

}}

Thaumetopoea is a genus of moths belonging to the family Notodontidae. It was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1820.

In their caterpillar form, they bear the vernacular name of processionary because their gregarious larvae conspicuously move in single file. The adults live a few days without feeding.

Some Thaumetopoea species, for example Thaumetopoea pityocampa, are expanding their range towards higher latitudes and altitudes due to the current climate warming.{{Cite journal |last1=Gschloessl |first1=Bernhard |last2=Vogel |first2=Heiko |last3=Burban |first3=Christian |last4=Heckel |first4=David |last5=Streiff |first5=Réjane |last6=Kerdelhué |first6=Carole |title=Comparative analysis of two phenologically divergent populations of the pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) by de novo transcriptome sequencing |journal=Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology |volume=46 |pages=31–42 |doi=10.1016/j.ibmb.2014.01.005 |pmid=24468684 |year=2014}} The caterpillars carry urticating hairs which cause health problems in humans.{{Cite journal |last1=Battisti |first1=Andrea |last2=Larsson |first2=Stig |last3=Roques |first3=Alain |date=31 January 2017 |title=Processionary Moths and Associated Urtication Risk: Global Change–Driven Effects |journal=Annual Review of Entomology |volume=62 |issue=1 |pages=323–342 |doi=10.1146/annurev-ento-031616-034918 |pmid=27860523 |issn=0066-4170}}