The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. Taxonomically, 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 geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek geo γεω, and metron μέτρον "measure" in reference to the way their larvae, or inchworms, appear to measure the earth as they move along in a looping fashion. Geometridae is a very large family, containing around 23,000 described species; over 1400 species from six subfamilies are indigenous to North America alone. A well-known member is the peppered moth, Biston betularia, which has been the subject of numerous studies in population genetics. Several other geometer moths are notorious pests.
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.
Notodontidae is a family of moths with approximately 3,800 known species. The family was described by James Francis Stephens in 1829. Moths of this family are found in all parts of the world, but they are most concentrated in tropical areas, especially in the New World.
The Lymantriinae are a subfamily of moths of the family Erebidae. The taxon was erected by George Hampson in 1893.
Nolidae is a family of moths with about 1,700 described species worldwide. They are mostly small with dull coloration, the main distinguishing feature being a silk cocoon with a vertical exit slit. The group is sometimes known as tuft moths, after the tufts of raised scales on the forewings of two subfamilies, Nolinae and Collomeninae. The larvae also tend to have muted colors and tufts of short hairs.
Noctuoidea is the superfamily of noctuid or "owlet" moths, and has more than 70,000 described species, the largest number of any Lepidopteran superfamily. Its classification has not yet reached a satisfactory or stable state. Since the end of the 20th century, increasing availability of molecular phylogenetic data for this hugely successful radiation has led to several competing proposals for a taxonomic arrangement that correctly represents the relationships between the major lineages.
The Lasiocampidae are a family of moths also known as eggars, tent caterpillars, snout moths, or lappet moths. Over 2,000 species occur worldwide, and probably not all have been named or studied. It is the sole family in superfamily Lasiocampoidea.
The Limacodidae or Eucleidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Zygaenoidea or the Cossoidea; the placement is in dispute. They are often called slug moths because their caterpillars bear a distinct resemblance to slugs. They are also called cup moths because of the shape of their cocoons.
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.
Diphtherinae is a monotypic subfamily of moths in the family Nolidae erected by Michael Fibiger and J. Donald Lafontaine in 2005. Its only genus, Diphthera, was erected by Jacob Hübner in 1809. The genus was moved from Noctuidae in 2013 after the phylogenetic analysis of Reza Zahiri et al. (2013).
Autographa precationis is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in eastern and central North America.
Trigonodes hyppasia, the triangles or semi-looper, is a moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1779. It is largely cosmopolitan, found throughout Borneo, Fiji, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, São Tomé and Príncipe, Taiwan, Thailand, Zimbabwe, northern Australia, and almost all African countries.
Amyna axis, the oriental eight-spot, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1852.
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, footman and wasp moths (Arctiinae); tussock moths (Lymantriinae), including the arctic woolly bear moth ; fruit-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 Rivulinae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1895. Caterpillars in the subfamily typically have long, barbed hairs and have full prolegs on abdominal segments 3 through 6. The adults have a unique microsculpturing proboscis.
Barasa acronyctoides is a moth of the family Nolidae first described by Francis Walker in 1862. It is found in Oriental region and east to Sulawesi and Fiji.
Maceda mansueta is a moth of the family Nolidae first described by Francis Walker in 1857. It is found in Japan, Sri Lanka, Borneo, India (Andamans), Malaysia, New Guinea, Fiji, Australia, Réunion and the Seychelles.
Amyna stricta, the eight-spot moth, is a species of owlet moth in the family Noctuidae. It is found in North, Central, and South America.
