The Macroheterocera are a well supported clade of moths that are closely related to

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

and other macro-moths.

Taxonomy

The Macroheterocera includes the following superfamilies: *

Mimallonoidea Mimallonidae Burmeister (mimallonids), sometimes known as "sack-bearer" moths for the larval case-building behavior, are a family of Lepidoptera containing over 300 named species in 43 genera. These moths are found only in the New World, with mos ...

– sack bearers (variously included in basal position or excluded) *

Drepanoidea Drepanoidea is the superfamily of "hook tip moths". See Minet and Scoble (1999) for a comprehensive overview. References * Minet, J. and Scoble, M.J. (1999). The Drepanoid/Geometroid Assemblage. Ch. 17 in Kristensen, N.P. (Ed.). ''Lepidoptera, ...

– drepanids *

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 ...

– owlet moths *

Geometroidea The Geometroidea are the superfamily of geometrid moths in the order Lepidoptera. It includes the families Geometridae, Uraniidae, Epicopeiidae, Sematuridae, and the recently established family Pseudobistonidae. The monotypic genus ''Apoprogones ...

– inchworms *

Lasiocampoidea The Lasiocampidae are a family of moths also known as eggars, tent caterpillars, snout moths (although this also refers to the Pyralidae), or lappet moths. Over 2,000 species occur worldwide, and probably not all have been named or studied. It ...

– lappet moths *

Bombycoidea Bombycoidea is a superfamily of moths. It contains the silk moths, emperor moths, sphinx moths The Sphingidae are a family of moths ( Lepidoptera) called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars ...

– bombycoid moths The macroheteroceran superfamilies were previously place in the

Macrolepidoptera 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 monoph ...

, but recent molecular studies have failed to recover the Macrolepidoptera as a monophyletic group. The latter grouping also included true butterflies (

Papilionoidea The superfamily Papilionoidea (from the genus '' Papilio'', meaning "butterfly") contains all the butterflies except for the moth-like Hedyloidea. The members of the Papilionoidea may be distinguished by the following combination of character ...

), New World butterfly-moths (

Hedylidae Hedylidae, the "American moth-butterflies", is a family of insects in the order Lepidoptera, representing the superfamily Hedyloidea. They have traditionally been viewed as an extant sister group of the butterfly superfamily Papilionoidea. In 198 ...

), and Old World butterfly-moths ( Calliduloidea).

References

Moth taxonomy Obtectomera {{moth-stub