The Rivulinae are a

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'') ...

described by

Augustus Radcliffe Grote Augustus Radcliffe Grote (February 7, 1841 – September 12, 1903) was a British entomologist who described over 1,000 species of butterflies and moths.Osborn, H. 1937. Fragments of Entomological History. Columbus, OH: Published by the autho ...

in 1895. Caterpillars in the subfamily typically have long, barbed hairs and have full

proleg A proleg is a small, fleshy, stub structure found on the ventral surface of the abdomen of most larval forms of insects of the order Lepidoptera, though they can also be found on other larval insects such as sawflies and a few other types of in ...

s on abdominal segments 3 through 6. The adults have a unique microsculpturing proboscis.

Taxonomy

This subfamily was previously classified as part of the subfamily

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 ...

or within

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 ...

. Recent

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 did not discover a close relationship with the Hypeninae but keep it within the Erebidae.

Genera

*'' Alesua'' *'' Bocula'' *'' Oxycilla'' *'' Oglasa'' *'' Rivula'' *'' Zebeeba'' *'' Zelicodes''

References

Moth subfamilies {{Erebidae-stub