Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is paraphyletic with respect to butterflies and neither subordinate taxa are used in modern classifications. Moths make up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of which have yet to be described. Most species of moth are nocturnal, although there are also crepuscular and diurnal species.
The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many classifications, the grass moths (Crambidae) are included in the Pyralidae as a subfamily, making the combined group one of the largest families in the Lepidoptera. The latest review by Eugene G. Munroe and Maria Alma Solis retain the Crambidae as a full family of Pyraloidea.
The Calpinae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1840. This subfamily includes many species of moths that have a pointed and barbed proboscis adapted to piercing the skins of fruit to feed on juice, and in the case of the several Calyptra species of vampire moths, to piercing the skins of mammals to feed on blood. The subfamily contains some large moths with wingspans longer than 5 cm (2 in).
Spilomelinae is a very species-rich subfamily of the lepidopteran family Crambidae, the crambid snout moths. With 4,135 described species in 344 genera worldwide, it is the most speciose group among pyraloids.
Apantesis is a genus of tiger moths in the family Erebidae first described by Francis Walker in 1855. They are found in North and Central America.
Orthonama obstipata, the gem, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1794. It is a cosmopolitan species. In continental Europe though in the northeast, its range does not significantly extend beyond the Baltic region and it is absent from northern Russia. This well-flying species is prone to vagrancy and able to cross considerable distances of open sea; it can thus be regularly found on the British Isles and even on Iceland.
The brown-dotted clothes moth is a species of tineoid moth. It belongs to the fungus moth family (Tineidae), and therein to the nominate subfamily Tineinae. It is the type species of its genus Niditinea.
Clepsis melaleucana, the black-patched clepsis, is a moth of the family Tortricidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1863. It is found in North America from Alberta to Newfoundland, south to North Carolina and Missouri.
Lycimna is a monotypic moth genus of the family Erebidae. Its only species, Lycimna polymesata, is found in the north-eastern Himalayas, Borneo, Sumatra and Java. Both the genus and the species were first described by Francis Walker in 1860.
Nigetia is a monotypic moth genus in the family Erebidae. Its only species, Nigetia formosalis, the thin-winged algibelle or thin-winged owlet moth, has a scattered distribution in eastern North America from Ontario to Connecticut, south to Florida and Texas. Both the genus and the species were first described by Francis Walker in 1866.
Mesothea is a monotypic moth genus in the family Geometridae described by Warren in 1901. Its only species, Mesothea incertata, the day emerald or plain emerald, was first described by Walker in 1863. It is found in North America.
Zermizinga is a moth genus in the family Geometridae erected by Francis Walker in 1863. Species within this genus include Zermizinga sinuata, the lucerne looper or spider moth, which was described by Warren in 1897, as well as Zermizinga indocilisaria, which was described by Walker in 1863.
Callidrepana is a genus of moths belonging to the subfamily Drepaninae.
Gabara subnivosella, the wet sand savannah moth, is a moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1866. It is found in North America from Manitoba south to Maryland, Massachusetts and New York.
Sabatinca incongruella is a species of moth of the family Micropterigidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found only in the northern parts of the South Island. It is a day flying moth and is on the wing from mid January until late February. The larvae of this species feed on liverworts and the adult moths feed on the spores of fern species in the genus Pneumatopteris. This species can be confused with S. chalcophanes as it is very similar in appearance.
Drepana arcuata, the arched hooktip or masked birch caterpillar, is a moth of the family Drepanidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1855. It is found from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island, south to at least North Carolina, South Carolina and California.
Praeacedes is a monotypic moth genus in the family Tineidae first described by Hans Georg Amsel in 1954. Its only species, Praeacedes atomosella, was first described by Francis Walker in 1863. It has a wide range and has been recorded from Europe, Australia, Hawaii, India, Malaysia, Solomon Islands, Easter Island, Mauritius, Madagascar, Réunion, South America and North America. The species has commonly been misidentified in various parts of the world.
Micropterigoidea is the superfamily of "mandibulate archaic moths", all placed in the single family Micropterigidae, containing currently about twenty living genera. They are considered the most primitive extant lineage of lepidoptera, and the sole superfamily in the suborder Zeugloptera. The name comes from the Greek for mikros, little and pterux, a wing. Unique among the Lepidoptera, these moths have chewing mouthparts rather than a proboscis, and are seen feeding, often in large aggregations, on the pollen of the flowers of many herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees. The fossil record of the group goes back to the middle-late Jurassic with the earliest known species being Auliepterix from the Karabastau Formation in Kazakhstan.
Anticlea multiferata, the many-lined carpet, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1863. It is known from all of North America, including Alaska and the Arctic regions of Canada.
Macaria aemulataria, the common angle moth, is a moth in the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1861. It is found from Nova Scotia to Florida, west to Texas, north to Oregon and Alberta.
