The Aganainae are a small

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

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 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'') ...

. 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 palp The term ''labial'' originates from '' Labium'' (Latin for "lip"), and is the adjective that describes anything of or related to lips, such as lip-like structures. Thus, it may refer to: * the lips ** In linguistics, a labial consonant ** In zoolog ...

s, and the caterpillars have fully or mostly developed prolegs on the abdomen. The Aganainae are distributed across the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and

subtropics The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north and ...

of the

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...

Taxonomy

The subfamily was formerly placed in the families

Noctuidae 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 f ...

and Arctiidae by some authors. Other authors ranked it as a family by the names Aganaidae or Hypsidae. Recent phylogenetic studies have shown that the Aganainae are most closely related to the Herminiinae (litter moths), and this pair of subfamilies is most closely related to the Arctiinae (tiger and lichen moths), all within the family

Genera

*'' Agape'' Felder, 1874 *''

Asota Asota is a town near Shewa Adda and Union Councils of Pakistan, Union Council of Swabi District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at 34°14'0N 72°21'0E with an altitude of 340 metres (1118 feet). R ...

'' Hübner, 1819 *''

Digama ''Digama'' is a genus of moths in the family Erebidae described by Frederic Moore in 1858. It is distributed in South Africa, China, throughout India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Australia. Taxonomy The genus was formerly placed in the Arctiidae and ...

'' Moore, 1860 *''

Euplocia ''Euplocia'' is a monotypic moth genus in the family Erebidae erected by Jacob Hübner in 1819. Its only species, ''Euplocia membliaria'', was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1780. It is found from the northeastern Himalayas to Sundaland, t ...

'' Hübner, 1819 *''

Neochera ''Neochera'' is a genus of moths in the family Erebidae described by Jacob Hübner Jacob Hübner (20 June 1761 – 13 September 1826, in Augsburg) was a German entomologist. He was the author of ''Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge'' (1796� ...

'' Hübner, 1819 *''

Peridrome ''Peridrome'' is a genus of moths in the family Erebidae erected by Francis Walker (entomologist), Francis Walker in 1854. Species * ''Peridrome orbicularis'' Walker, 1854 * ''Peridrome subfascia'' Walker, 1854 References

Aganainae Moth ...

'' Walker, 1854 *''

Phaegorista ''Phaegorista'' is a genus of moths in the family Erebidae erected by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1836. Species * '' Phaegorista agaristoides'' Boisduval, 836 __NOTOC__ Year 836 ( DCCCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will di ...

'' Boisduval, 1836 *''

Soloe ''Soloe'' is a genus 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 16 ...

'' Walker, 1854 *''

Soloella ''Soloella'' is a genus of moths in the family Erebidae erected by Max Gaede Max Gaede (29 November 1871 – 27 October 1946) was a German engineer and entomologist of international fame who described several hundred of new species of Lepido ...

'' Gaede, 1926

References

External links

CSIRO - High resolution images
Moth subfamilies {{Aganainae-stub