Moths of Japan represent over 6,000 known moth species. The moths (mostly nocturnal) and butterflies (mostly diurnal) together make up the taxonomic order Lepidoptera.
This page provides a link to detailed lists of moth species which have been recorded in Japan, including the Japanese common names.
All online in English here BHL and Plates in the German edition
Friedrich Joseph Adalbert Seitz, was a German physician and entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. He was a director of the Frankfurt zoo from 1893 to 1908 and is best known for editing the multivolume reference on the butterflies and larger moths of the world Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde which continued after his death.
The insect order Lepidoptera consists of moths, most of which are night-flying, and a derived group, mainly day-flying, called butterflies. Within Lepidoptera as a whole, the groups listed below before Glossata contain a few basal families accounting for less than 200 species; the bulk of Lepidoptera are in the Glossata. Similarly, within the Glossata, there are a few basal groups listed first, with the bulk of species in the Heteroneura. Basal groups within Heteroneura cannot be defined with as much confidence, as there are still some disputes concerning the proper relations among these groups. At the family level, however, most groups are well defined, and the families are commonly used by hobbyists and scientists alike.
Acronicta cuspis, the large dagger, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed through most of Europe, Northern Africa (Morocco), the European part of Russia, the Caucasus, the Russian Far East, southern Siberia, Transcaucasia, central Asia, China, Japan and the Korean Peninsula.
Aporophyla lutulenta, also known as the deep brown dart, is a moth of the family Noctuoidea. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found in Europe, primarily in central and southern Europe, near the Black Sea and the Caucasus.
Autographa pulchrina is a moth of the family Noctuoidea. It is found in Europe East to the Urals and the Caucasus.Also in the Khentii Mountains (Mongolia) and East Siberia.
Caradrina morpheus, the mottled rustic, is a moth of the superfamily Noctuoidea. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is found across the Palearctic from northern Europe to Siberia, Amur and Korea. Also in Armenia and Turkestan. It was accidentally introduced on both the east and west coasts of Canada and is so far reported in the east from New Brunswick to Ontario, and in the west from British Columbia.
Hypena obesalis, the Paignton snout, is a moth of the family Noctuoidea. It is found in Europe from the Iberian Peninsula through Central Europe in mountainous regions. To the east, the distribution area extends through the Palearctic to China. In the Alps it rises to altitudes of 2000 meters.
Hydraecia micacea, the rosy rustic, is a moth of the family Noctuoidea. It is found across the Palearctic realm from Ireland to Siberia. It reaches Japan and is introduced to eastern USA, Quebec and Ottawa.
The flame wainscot is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found from Europe and across the Palearctic to Japan, but is not found on the Iberian Peninsula, the islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Greece and central and southern Italy.
Anaplectoides prasina is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in both the Palearctic and Nearctic realms.
Enargia paleacea, the angle-striped sallow, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in the Palearctic realm from Ireland to Siberia East to Japan.
Mythimna turca, the double line, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761. It is found in Europe. The eastern expansion extends through northern Asia and central Asia to northern China, Korea and Japan. It rises to a height of about 700 metres in the Alps.
The Obtectomera is a clade of macro-moths and butterflies, comprising over 100,000 species in at least 12 superfamilies.
Lithophane semibrunnea, the tawny pinion, is a moth of the Noctuoidea family. It is found in scattered populations in North Africa, central and southern Europe and Asia Minor.
Trisateles is a monotypic moth genus of the family Erebidae described by Tams in 1939. Its only species, Trisateles emortualis, the olive crescent, was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found in most of Europe, east to Siberia, northern Iran and China.
Cossina is the name for both a section and subsection of Ditrysian insects in the order containing both butterflies and moths having a dorsal heart vessel. The section named Cossina contains two subsections: one also named Cossina having pupae with dorsal spines; and subsection Bombycina having spineless pupae.
Sedina buettneri, or Blair's wainscot, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Eduard von Hering in 1858. It is found in the Palearctic realm. Outside of Europe, it is occasionally found in temperate Asia, the coast of the Black Sea, the base of the Caucasus mountains, the Caspian Sea, Iran, Russia east to the Urals, Lake Baikal and Altai regions, and in Japan and the Kuril Islands.
Colobochyla salicalis, the European lesser belle or lesser belle, is a species of moth of the family Erebidae. It is found over almost all of the Palearctic.
Lithophane socia, the pale pinion, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is found throughout western Europe from Spain to central Scandinavia then east across the Palearctic to Siberia, the Russian Far East and Japan.
