The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other families of the Noctuoidea. It was considered the largest family in Lepidoptera for a long time, but after regrouping Lymantriinae, Catocalinae and Calpinae within the family Erebidae, the latter holds this title now. Currently, Noctuidae is the second largest family in Noctuoidea, with about 1,089 genera and 11,772 species. This classification is still contingent, as more changes continue to appear between Noctuidae and Erebidae.
The Arctiinae are a large and diverse subfamily of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical species. This subfamily includes the groups commonly known as tiger moths, which usually have bright colours, footmen, which are usually much drabber, lichen moths, and wasp moths. Many species have "hairy" caterpillars that are popularly known as woolly bears or woolly worms. The scientific name Arctiinae refers to this hairiness. Some species within the Arctiinae have the word "tussock"' in their common names because they have been misidentified as members of the Lymantriinae subfamily based on the characteristics of the larvae.
The Lymantriinae are a subfamily of moths of the family Erebidae. The taxon was erected by George Hampson in 1893.
The Catocalini are a tribe of moths in the family Erebidae. Adults of many species in the tribe are called underwing moths due to their vividly colored hindwings that are often covered by contrastingly dark, drab forewings.
The Phaegopterina are a subtribe of tiger moths in the tribe Arctiini, which is part of the family Erebidae. The subtribe was described by William Forsell Kirby in 1892. 469 species of Phaegopterina are present and 52 that are recently discovered in Brazil.
The Herminiinae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae. The members of the subfamily are called litter moths because the caterpillars of most members feed on dead leaves of plants, though others feed on living leaves, and/or the mushrooms of fungi as in the case of genus Idia (moth).
The Aganainae are a small subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae. The adults and caterpillars of this subfamily are typically large and brightly colored, like the related tiger moths. Many of the caterpillars feed on poisonous host plants and acquire toxic cardenolides that make them unpleasant to predators. Like the closely related litter moths, the adults have long, upturned labial palps, and the caterpillars have fully or mostly developed prolegs on the abdomen. The Aganainae are distributed across the tropics and subtropics of the Old World.
Chytolita is a monotypic litter moth genus of the family Erebidae erected by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1873. Its only species, Chytolita morbidalis, the morbid owlet moth or morbid owlet, was first described by Achille Guenée in 1854. It is found in large parts of North America, from coast to coast in the north and south to North Carolina, Texas and Florida in the west. The habitat consists of deciduous woods and edges.
Janseodes is a monotypic moth genus of the family Erebidae erected by Pierre Viette in 1967. Its only species, Janseodes melanospila, was first described by Achille Guenée in 1852. It is found in India, South Africa and the US state of Florida.
Asota is a genus of moths in the family Erebidae first described by Jacob Hübner in 1819. Species are widely distributed throughout Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, the Malayan region and tropical parts of the Australian region.
Heliothinae is a small, cosmopolitan subfamily of moths in the family Noctuidae, with about 400 described species worldwide. It includes a number of economically significant agricultural pest species, such as Helicoverpa armigera and Helicoverpa zea.
The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwings (Catocala); litter moths (Herminiinae); tiger, lichen, and wasp moths (Arctiinae); tussock moths (Lymantriinae), including the arctic woolly bear moth ; piercing moths ; micronoctuoid moths (Micronoctuini); snout moths (Hypeninae); and zales, though many of these common names can also refer to moths outside the Erebidae. Some of the erebid moths are called owlets.
The Erebinae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae erected by William Elford Leach in 1815. Erebine moths are found on all continents except Antarctica, but reach their greatest diversity in the tropics. While the exact number of species belonging to the Erebinae is not known, the subfamily is estimated to include around 10,000 species. Some well-known Erebinae include underwing moths (Catocala) and witch moths (Thermesiini). Many of the species in the subfamily have medium to large wingspans, up to nearly 30 cm in the white witch moth, which has the widest wingspan of all Lepidoptera. Erebine caterpillars feed on a broad range of plants; many species feed on grasses and legumes, and a few are pests of castor bean, sugarcane, rice, as well as pistachios and blackberries.
The Micronoctuini are a tribe of moths in the family Erebidae that includes about 400 described species. Typical species in the tribe have bifine hindwing venation and are smaller than those in other noctuoid moths. Micronoctua karsholti is the smallest of all species in the superfamily Noctuoidea.
Apantesis anna, the Anna tiger moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It was described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1863. It is found from Maine to the mountains of North Carolina, west to Nebraska and Arkansas.
Apantesis incorrupta is an arctiine moth in the family Erebidae, described by Henry Edwards in 1881. It is found from southern Colorado and south-eastern Kansas south through Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas into Mexico and west to south-eastern California. The habitat consists of grasslands and open woodlands.
Apantesis phyllira, the phyllira tiger moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It was described by Dru Drury in 1773. It is found in North America from Quebec and New England south to Florida and west to Texas, Colorado and Alberta. The habitat consists of dry, open woodland and grassland. The species is listed as endangered in Connecticut.
Apantesis speciosa is a moth of the family Erebidae. It was described by Heinrich Benno Möschler in 1864. It is found from Labrador west to British Columbia and Alaska. The habitat consists of wetlands, bogs and sub-Arctic tundra. The species is listed as endangered in Connecticut.
The Boletobiinae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae, containing about 956 species. The taxon was described by Achille Guenée in 1858.
The Poaphilini are a tribe of moths in the family Erebidae.
