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 Ophiusini are a tribe of moths in the family Erebidae.
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 Ctenuchina are a subtribe of moths in the family Erebidae.
The Herminiinae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae. The members of the subfamily are called litter moths because the caterpillars of most members feed on dead leaves of plants, though others feed on living leaves, and/or the mushrooms of fungi as in the case of genus Idia.
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.
Mursa is a genus of moths of the family Erebidae.
Janseodes is a monotypic moth genus of the family Erebidae erected by Pierre Viette in 1967. Its only species, Janseodes melanospila, was first described by Achille Guenée in 1852. It is found in India, South Africa and the US state of Florida.
Euaontia is a genus of moths of the family Erebidae.
Parahypenodes is a monotypic moth genus of the family Erebidae. Its only species, Parahypenodes quadralis, the masked parahypenodes moth, is found in the Canadian province of Quebec. Both the genus and species were first described by William Barnes and James Halliday McDunnough in 1918.
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 ; 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 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.
The Boletobiinae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae, containing about 956 species. The taxon was described by Achille Guenée in 1858.
The Hypenodinae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae. Adult moths of most species of this subfamily lack small, simple eyes near the large, compound eyes and have quadrifine (four-veined) hindwing cells. The micronoctuid moths are an exception because they possess simple eyes and bifine (two-veined) hindwing cells.
Eulepidotinae is a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae. Adult males in the subfamily have midtibial tufts of hairs. Adult females have the ostial opening located between the seventh and eighth abdominal sternites instead of located anteriorly on the seventh sternite.
The Scoliopteryginae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae. Larvae have distinctive, extra setae on the first through seventh abdominal segments. Many adult moths in the subfamily have a proboscis adapted to pierce fruit skin, allowing consumption of the juice in the fruit.
The Scolecocampinae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae. The taxon was erected by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1883.
The Toxocampinae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae. Moths in the subfamily typically have a primitive form of genital claspers similar to those of some subfamilies of the Noctuidae.
The Omopterini are a tribe of moths in the family Erebidae.
