Noctuoidea is the superfamily of noctuid (Latin "night owl") or "owlet" moths, and has more than 70,000 described species, the largest number of any Lepidopteransuperfamily. 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.
Briefly, the disputes center on the fact that in old treatments (which were just as unable to reach a general consensus) the distinctness of some groups, such as the Arctiinae or Lymantriidae, was overrated due to their characteristic appearance, while some less-studied lineages conventionally held to be Noctuidae are in fact quite distinct. This requires a rearrangement at least of the latter family (by simply including anything disputed within it). This is quite unwieldy, and various more refined treatments have been proposed in response to it. While there is general agreement on what the basal families of Noctuoidea are, the more diverse advanced group may be treated as one all-encompassing Noctuidae, two huge and two smaller, or even (if Arctiinae or Lymantriidae are kept distinct) more than four families, which are in some cases still quite sizeable.
Recent developments
There are several recent studies suggesting a radical change in the traditional family level classification. Recent works in redefining the families within the Noctuoidea has been carried out by Kitching (1984), Poole (1995), Kitching and Rawlins [1998], Speidel et al. (1996), Mitchell et al. (1997, 2000, 2006), Fibiger and Lafontaine (2005), Lafontaine and Fibiger (2006), Zahiri et al. (2010), Kobayashi & Nonaka (2016), and Zahiri et al. (2023).
The Noctuoidea can be divided into two broad groups, those with a trifid forewing venation (Oenosandridae, and Notodontidae), and those with a quadrifid forewing venation (e.g., Arctiinae, Lymantriidae, Nolidae, Noctuidae). What has emerged from these investigations is that the quadrifid Noctuoidea form a monophyletic group. In 2005, Fibiger and Lafontaine arranged the quadrifid (forewing) group into several families, including the quadrifine (hindwing) Erebidae and trifine (hindwing) Noctuidae, based on evidence that suggested that the trifine noctuid subfamilies were derived from within the quadrifine subfamilies, so the family Erebidae would not be strictly monophyletic.
Lafontaine and Fibiger in 2006 then redefined the Noctuidae to include the entire quadrifid group, believing the Arctiinae, Lymantriidae, and Nolidae to be derived from within this expanded concept of Noctuidae (and closely related to the subfamily Catocalinae). In essence, groups such as the Arctiinae, which had previously been treated as a separate family, were more closely related to groups within the Noctuidae than to non-noctuid families. In order to address this, a revised classification would have meant either recognizing over 20 (often weakly defined) families, or a single well-defined family with numerous subfamilies. The latter was adopted (Lafontaine and Fibiger 2006).
More recent evidence from nuclear genes (Zahiri et al. 2010) confirms that the quadrifid (forewing) noctuoids form a monophyletic group, but also that this group can be further arranged into four monophyletic subgroups: 1) the quadrifine subfamilies; 2) the trifine subfamilies; 3) the Nolinae; and 4) the Euteliinae. Considering the massive size of the family, and the large number of subfamilies, tribes, and subtribes to arrange into a classification, Zahiri et al. (2010) chose the option of recognizing these four groups as families, namely Erebidae, Noctuidae, Nolidae, and Euteliidae, in addition to the basal trifid families.
Subsequent research has largely followed suit, with refinements such as the exclusion of Doidae from the superfamily, and the addition of a new family, Scranciidae.[1]
Systematics
This largely follows Zahiri et al. (2023)[1] and references cited therein, plus Kobayashi & Nonaka (2016)[2] for groupings within Notodontidae. Note that the placement of Arctiinae, Erebidae, Euteliidae, Lymantriinae, and Nolidae as groups within Noctuidae has been largely rejected by recent authors, and that former families such as Dilobidae, Micronoctuidae, and Thyretidae are no longer recognized at ranks above subfamily, while Doidae is placed in the superfamily Drepanoidea.
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.
Agrotis is a genus of moths of the family Noctuidae. The genus was erected by Ferdinand Ochsenheimer in 1816. A number of the species of this genus are extinct.
The Calpinae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1840. This subfamily includes many species of moths that have a pointed and barbed proboscis adapted to piercing the skins of fruit to feed on juice, and in the case of the several Calyptra species of vampire moths, to piercing the skins of mammals to feed on blood. The subfamily contains some large moths with wingspans longer than 5 cm (2 in).
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.
The Hypeninae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae. The taxon was first described by Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer in 1851. A notable species is Mecistoptera griseifusa, which lives solely on tears it drinks with its proboscis.
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.
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.
Hadenini is a tribe of cutworm or dart moths in the family Noctuidae. There are more than 140 genera and 1,000 described species in Hadenini, found worldwide.
Condicinae is a subfamily of moths in the family Noctuidae. The subfamily was erected by Robert W. Poole in 1995.
Isogona is a genus of moths of the family Erebidae. The genus was erected by Achille Guenée in 1852.
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).
Drasteria is a genus of moths in the family Erebidae.
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.
Stiriinae is a subfamily of owlet moths in the family Noctuidae. There are more than 20 genera and 130 described species in Stiriinae.
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.
Stiriini is a tribe of owlet moths in the family Noctuidae. There are about 16 genera and more than 90 described species in Stiriini.
Metoponiinae is a subfamily of owlet moths in the family Noctuidae. There are about 16 genera and more than 70 described species in Metoponiinae.
References
1 2 Ryan A. St Laurent, Paul Z. Goldstein, Scott E. Miller, Robert K. Robbins (2023) Hiding in plain sight: Phylogenomics reveals a new branch on the Noctuoidea tree of life. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.03.10.529269
↑ Hideki Kobayashi & Masaru Nonaka (2016) Molecular phylogeny of the Notodontidae: Subfamilies inferred from 28S rRNA sequences (Lepidoptera, Noctuoidea, Notodontidae). Tinea 23, suppl. 1: 1-83
Hacker, Hermann H. & Zilli, Alberto (2007). Esperiana Buchreihe zur EntomologieMemoir 3: 179–246.
Kitching, Ian J. & Rawlins, John E. (1999). "The Noctuoidea". In: Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies, Volume 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography, ed. N. P.Kristensen, pp.355–401. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin.
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