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.
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.
Acontiinae is a subfamily of bird dropping moths in the family Noctuidae. There are more than 50 genera and 430 described species in Acontiinae, found worldwide in temperate and tropical climates.
Amphipyrinae is a subfamily of owlet moths in the family Noctuidae. There are more than 50 genera and 210 described species in Amphipyrinae, although the classifications are likely to change over time.
Drasteria is a genus of moths in the family Erebidae.
Megalographa is a genus of moths of the family Noctuidae.
Ophisma tropicalis is a moth of the family Noctuidae first described by Achille Guenée in 1852. It is found in tropical and subtropical America, from the south of the United States to Uruguay, including Brazil, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Kitts, Montserrat, Saint Vincent, Grenada, the Greater Antilles, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Colombia.
Megalographa monoxyla is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found only in Peru and Bolivia and has a narrow distribution in the Andes.
Megalographa agualaniata is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in the montane areas of South America, from Venezuela and Colombia southward to Bolivia and Peru.
Megalographa culminicola is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in the páramo zone, on altitudes between 3,300 and 3,940 m in the Andes in Ecuador and northern Peru.
Megalographa bonaerensis is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found from southern Brazil and Paraguay southward to northern Argentina and Chile.
Megalographa talamanca is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is known only from the Talamanca Mountain Range of central Costa Rica where it has been collected at elevations above 3,100 meters in oak dominated cloud forests.
Pyrrhia exprimens, the purple-lined sallow, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker (entomologist) in 1857. In North America it is found from Newfoundland and Labrador west across southern Canada to southern Vancouver Island, south to Texas, Arizona and California. Outside of North America it is found in Finland, the West Siberian plain, the South Siberian Mountains and Kazakhstan.
Mesogona olivata is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found from southern coastal and interior British Columbia south through California, Colorado and Texas. It most likely also occurs in northern Mexico.
Euxoa tessellata, the tessellate dart or striped cutworm is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is the most widespread Euxoa-species in North America. It is found from Newfoundland to Alaska, south in the west to California, Arizona, New Mexico, south in the east to Florida. It seems to be absent from Texas and adjacent eastern states.
Euxoa adumbrata, the sordid dart, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Eduard Friedrich Eversmann in 1842. In North America it is found across northern Canada from Quebec to western Alaska, south to the northern parts of the United States, and in the mountains to Colorado. It is also found in Greenland, the coastal areas of Scandinavia and the Ural. It was recently recorded from Denmark, although this includes Euxoa lidia, which some authors regard to be a valid species.
Euxoa ochrogaster, the red-backed cutworm, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found from Iceland and northern Europe, through the Baltic to the Amur region. In North America, it is found from Alaska to Newfoundland and Labrador, south into the northern part of the United States, south in Rocky Mountains to Arizona and New Mexico.
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 ; 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.
William Warren was an English entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera.
