The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing about 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and tropical Asia with some varieties in the more northern regions of North America and Eurasia. Most pierid butterflies are white, yellow, or orange in coloration, often with black spots. The pigments that give the distinct coloring to these butterflies are derived from waste products in the body and are a characteristic of this family. The family was created by William John Swainson in 1820.
Melanism is the congenital excess of melanin in an organism resulting in dark pigment.
The pasture day moth is a species in the moth family Noctuidae which is active during the day, as its common name implies, making it unlike most other noctuid species. It is found in most southern areas of Australia, ranging from lower Queensland to Tasmania. The species was first described by George French Angas in 1847. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Apina, erected by Francis Walker in 1855.
The buff ermine is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is sometimes placed in the genus Spilosoma. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is found throughout the temperate belt of the Palearctic region south to northern Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan, southern Siberia, eastern Mongolia, Amur Region, China, Korea and Japan.
The lesser yellow underwing is a moth of the family Noctuidae.
The beet armyworm or small mottled willow moth is one of the best-known agricultural pest insects. It is also known as the asparagus fern caterpillar. It is native to Asia, but has been introduced worldwide and is now found almost anywhere its many host crops are grown. The voracious larvae are the main culprits. In the British Isles, where it is an introduced species and not known to breed, the adult moth is known as the small mottled willow moth.
Pterostoma palpina, the pale prominent, is a moth from the family Notodontidae. The species was first described by Carl Alexander Clerck in 1759.
Abraxas sylvata, the clouded magpie, is a Palearctic moth of the family Geometridae that was named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1763.
Noctua janthe, the lesser broad-bordered yellow underwing, is a moth of the family Noctuoidea. Some authors consider Noctua janthe and Noctua janthina to be the same species. It is found in Europe and North Africa.
Emmelina monodactyla is a moth of the family Pterophoridae found in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
Xylena exsoleta, the sword-grass, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae.
Spilosoma lubricipeda, the white ermine, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found throughout the temperate belt of Eurasia from Europe through Kazakhstan and southern Siberia to Amur Region, China, Korea and Japan. In China several sibling species occur.
Haploa clymene, the Clymene moth, is a moth of the tiger moth subfamily - Arctiinae, tribe Arctiini. The species was first described to Western science by Peter Brown in 1776. It is found in eastern North America.
The brown rustic is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe. then East across the Palearctic to the Sayan Mountains in Central Asia.
Estigmene acrea, the salt marsh moth or acrea moth, is a moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773. It is found in North America, and southwards from Mexico to Colombia.
Spectroreta is a monotypic moth genus belonging to subfamily Drepaninae erected by Warren in 1903. Its only species, Spectroreta hyalodisca, was described by George Hampson in 1896.
Eudesmia menea, the lunar eudesmia, is a moth of the subfamily Arctiinae. It was described by Drury in 1782. It is found from Brazil and Colombia, through Central America, to the southern United States, where it is found from southern Texas to Florida.
Crameria is a monotypic moth genus in the family Noctuidae erected by Jacob Hübner in 1819. Its only species, Crameria amabilis, was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.
Falcaria bilineata, the two-lined hooktip moth, is a moth in the family Drepanidae. It was described by Packard in 1864. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from Newfoundland to New Jersey, west to Oregon and north to British Columbia. The habitat consists of deciduous woodlands.
Epinotia subocellana is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in Asia and Europe and was first described by Edward Donovan in 1806.
