Erebidae
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The Erebidae are a
family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
of
moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
s in the superfamily
Noctuoidea Noctuoidea is the superfamily of noctuid (Latin "night owl") or "owlet" moths, and has more than 70,000 described species, the largest number of for any Lepidopteran superfamily. Its classification has not yet reached a satisfactory or stable st ...
. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known
macromoth Macrolepidoptera is a group within the insect order Lepidoptera. Traditionally used for the larger butterflies and moths as opposed to the "microlepidoptera", this group is artificial. However, it seems that by moving some taxa about, a mo ...
groups. The family includes the underwings ('' Catocala''); litter moths (
Herminiinae 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 mushroom ...
); tiger, lichen, and wasp moths (
Arctiinae The Arctiinae (formerly called the family Arctiidae) are a large and diverse subfamily of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical species.Scoble, MJ. (1995). ''The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and D ...
); tussock moths (
Lymantriinae The Lymantriinae (formerly called the Lymantriidae) are a subfamily of moths of the family Erebidae. The taxon was erected by George Hampson in 1893. Many of its component species are referred to as "tussock moths" of one sort or another. The ca ...
), including the arctic woolly bear moth (''
Gynaephora groenlandica ''Gynaephora groenlandica'', the Arctic woolly bear moth, is an erebid moth native to the High Arctic in the Canadian archipelago, Greenland and Wrangel Island in Russia. It is known for its slow rate of development, as its full caterpillar li ...
''); piercing moths ( Calpinae and others); micronoctuoid moths (
Micronoctuini 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 (unlike most of the related subfamily Hypenodinae) and are smaller than those in ...
); snout moths (
Hypeninae 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 ...
); and zales, though many of these common names can also refer to moths outside the Erebidae (for example, crambid snout moths). Some of the erebid moths are called owlets. The sizes of the adults range from among the largest of all moths (> wingspan in the
black witch The erebid moth ''Ascalapha odorata'', commonly known as the black witch, is a large bat-shaped, dark-colored nocturnal moth, normally ranging from the southern United States to Brazil. ''Ascalapha odorata'' is also migratory into Canada and mos ...
) to the smallest of the
macromoth Macrolepidoptera is a group within the insect order Lepidoptera. Traditionally used for the larger butterflies and moths as opposed to the "microlepidoptera", this group is artificial. However, it seems that by moving some taxa about, a mo ...
s ( wingspan in some of the
Micronoctuini 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 (unlike most of the related subfamily Hypenodinae) and are smaller than those in ...
). The coloration of the adults spans the full range of dull, drab, and camouflaged (e.g., ''
Zale lunifera ''Zale lunifera'', the bold-based zale or pine barrens zale, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1818. It occurs primarily east and south of the Appalachian Mountains, from southern Maine south ...
'' and
litter moth 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 mushro ...
s) to vivid, contrasting, and colorful (e.g.,
Aganainae 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 an ...
and tiger moths). The moths are found on all continents except Antarctica.


Subfamilies

*
Aganainae 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 an ...
* Anobinae *
Arctiinae The Arctiinae (formerly called the family Arctiidae) are a large and diverse subfamily of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical species.Scoble, MJ. (1995). ''The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and D ...
– tiger, lichen, and wasp moths *
Boletobiinae The Boletobiinae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae, containing about 956 species. The taxon was described by Achille Guenée in 1858. Taxonomy Phylogenetic analysis has determined that several subfamilies of the family Erebidae t ...
* Calpinae – piercing moths *
Erebinae 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 spe ...
– underwings and kin *
Eulepidotinae 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 ante ...
*
Herminiinae 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 mushroom ...
– litter moths *
Hypeninae 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 ...
– snout moths *
Hypenodinae 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 a ...
– includes the micronoctuoids *
Hypocalinae Hypocalinae is a subfamily of moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximate ...
*
Lymantriinae The Lymantriinae (formerly called the Lymantriidae) are a subfamily of moths of the family Erebidae. The taxon was erected by George Hampson in 1893. Many of its component species are referred to as "tussock moths" of one sort or another. The ca ...
– tussock moths *
Pangraptinae The Pangraptinae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae. Taxonomy Phylogenetic analysis only weakly supports the subfamily as a clade but determines that the clade containing the Aganainae, Herminiinae (litter moths), and Arctiinae (t ...
*
Rivulinae The Rivulinae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1895. Caterpillars in the subfamily typically have long, barbed hairs and have full prolegs on abdominal segments 3 through 6. The adults have ...
* Scolecocampinae * Scoliopteryginae – piercing moths * Tinoliinae * Toxocampinae


Classification

Among the
Noctuoidea Noctuoidea is the superfamily of noctuid (Latin "night owl") or "owlet" moths, and has more than 70,000 described species, the largest number of for any Lepidopteran superfamily. Its classification has not yet reached a satisfactory or stable st ...
, the Erebidae can be broadly defined by the wing characteristics of the adults with support from phylogenetic studies. The cubital forewing vein, which runs outward from the base of a wing to the outer margin, splits into two (bifid), three (trifid), or four (quadrifid) veins from the medial area to the outer margin. These split veins are named M2, M3, CuA1, and CuA2 in order toward the inner margin. A trifid forewing has either a reduced or vestigial M2 vein or the M2 vein does not connect to the cubital veins, while M2 is as thick as M3 and connects or nearly connects to M3 in a quadrifid forewing. The same splitting of the hindwing cubital vein has analogous terms bifine, trifine, and quadrifine. The Erebidae typically have quadrifid forewings and quadrifine hindwings, though the
Micronoctuini 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 (unlike most of the related subfamily Hypenodinae) and are smaller than those in ...
are exceptional with their bifine hindwings. Among the related families, most Erebidae are quadrifid moths like the
Euteliidae Euteliidae is a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family was erected by Augustus Radcliffe Grote Augustus Radcliffe Grote (February 7, 1841 – September 12, 1903) was a British entomologist who described over 1,000 species o ...
,
Nolidae Nolidae is a family of moths with about 1,700 described species worldwide. They are mostly small with dull coloration, the main distinguishing feature being a silk cocoon with a vertical exit slit. The group is sometimes known as tuft moths, aft ...
, and Noctuidae and unlike the trifid
Oenosandridae Oenosandridae is a family of Australian noctuoid moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thou ...
and
Notodontidae Notodontidae is a family of moths with approximately 3,800 known species. The family was described by James Francis Stephens in 1829. Moths of this family are found in all parts of the world, but they are most concentrated in tropical areas, espe ...
. And among the quadrifid moths, the Erebidae have quadrifine hindwings like the typical
Nolidae Nolidae is a family of moths with about 1,700 described species worldwide. They are mostly small with dull coloration, the main distinguishing feature being a silk cocoon with a vertical exit slit. The group is sometimes known as tuft moths, aft ...
and
Euteliidae Euteliidae is a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family was erected by Augustus Radcliffe Grote Augustus Radcliffe Grote (February 7, 1841 – September 12, 1903) was a British entomologist who described over 1,000 species o ...
and unlike the typical Noctuidae.
Phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...
studies in the present century have helped to clarify the relationships between the structurally diverse lineages within the
Noctuoidea Noctuoidea is the superfamily of noctuid (Latin "night owl") or "owlet" moths, and has more than 70,000 described species, the largest number of for any Lepidopteran superfamily. Its classification has not yet reached a satisfactory or stable st ...
and within the Erebidae. Morphological studies had led to a classification in which the monophyletic
Arctiinae The Arctiinae (formerly called the family Arctiidae) are a large and diverse subfamily of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical species.Scoble, MJ. (1995). ''The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and D ...
,
Lymantriinae The Lymantriinae (formerly called the Lymantriidae) are a subfamily of moths of the family Erebidae. The taxon was erected by George Hampson in 1893. Many of its component species are referred to as "tussock moths" of one sort or another. The ca ...
, and
Micronoctuini 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 (unlike most of the related subfamily Hypenodinae) and are smaller than those in ...
were treated as families, and the other erebid lineages were largely grouped within the Noctuidae. Recent studies combining genetic characteristics with the morphological ones revealed that the former Noctuidae were paraphyletic, and some of the lineages within the Noctuidae were more closely related to the
Arctiinae The Arctiinae (formerly called the family Arctiidae) are a large and diverse subfamily of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical species.Scoble, MJ. (1995). ''The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and D ...
,
Lymantriinae The Lymantriinae (formerly called the Lymantriidae) are a subfamily of moths of the family Erebidae. The taxon was erected by George Hampson in 1893. Many of its component species are referred to as "tussock moths" of one sort or another. The ca ...
, and
Micronoctuini 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 (unlike most of the related subfamily Hypenodinae) and are smaller than those in ...
families than to the other lineages within the Noctuidae. The determination of these phylogenetic relationships has led to the present classification scheme in which several clades were rearranged while kept mostly intact and others were split apart. The Erebidae are one
monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
family among six in the
Noctuoidea Noctuoidea is the superfamily of noctuid (Latin "night owl") or "owlet" moths, and has more than 70,000 described species, the largest number of for any Lepidopteran superfamily. Its classification has not yet reached a satisfactory or stable st ...
. A more strictly defined family Noctuidae is also monophyletic, but the family lacks the quadrifine moths now placed as part of the Erebidae. Some subfamilies of the Noctuidae, such as the
Herminiinae 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 mushroom ...
, were moved as a whole to Erebidae. Other subfamilies, including the
Acontiinae 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. Genera These 52 genera belong to the subfamily ...
and Calpinae, were each split apart. The
Arctiinae The Arctiinae (formerly called the family Arctiidae) are a large and diverse subfamily of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical species.Scoble, MJ. (1995). ''The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and D ...
became an erebid subfamily placed next to the closely related
Herminiinae 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 mushroom ...
. The
Lymantriinae The Lymantriinae (formerly called the Lymantriidae) are a subfamily of moths of the family Erebidae. The taxon was erected by George Hampson in 1893. Many of its component species are referred to as "tussock moths" of one sort or another. The ca ...
became another erebid subfamily placed near the
Pangraptinae The Pangraptinae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae. Taxonomy Phylogenetic analysis only weakly supports the subfamily as a clade but determines that the clade containing the Aganainae, Herminiinae (litter moths), and Arctiinae (t ...
. The rank of the
Micronoctuini 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 (unlike most of the related subfamily Hypenodinae) and are smaller than those in ...
was changed from family to tribe to include the clade as a lineage within the
Hypenodinae 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 a ...
. The Erebidae are currently divided into 18 subfamilies, some of which are strongly supported by phylogenetic analysis and may persist through further study, while others are weakly supported and may be redefined again.


References


External links


Images of Erebidae moths in New Zealand

Images of Erebidae in Bugguide.net
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2068481 Moth families