Noctuoidea

Josia gigantea, copyright Gail Hampshire.

Belongs within: Macroheterocera.
Contains: Euteliidae, Noctuidae, Erebidae, Nolinae, Chloephorinae, Pygaerinae, Thaumetopoeinae, Heterocampinae, Notodontinae.

The Noctuoidea are a diverse group of moths characterised by the presence of metathoracic tympanal organs, usually with a large counter-tympanal cavity with a projecting hood at the base of the abdomen. The tympanum is directed ventrally in members of the Notodontidae and Oenosandridae but obliquely posteriorly in other families (Nielsen & Common 1991). The classification of the Noctuoidea has historically been chaotic but six well-supported clades were regarded as warranting family status by Zahiri et al. (2011). The basal families Notodontidae and Oenosandridae retain a trifid fore wing venation (with M₂ arising about midway between M₁ and M₃) in contrast to the derived quadrifid venation (with M₂ closer to M₃ than M₁) of Euteliidae, Noctuidae, Erebidae and Nolidae. However, the Australian Oenosandridae are associated with the quadrifid families by the possession of a posteriorly facing tympanal membrane in contrast to the ventrally facing tympanal membrane of Notodontidae.

Characters (from Nielsen & Common 1991): Small to large; ocelli present or absent; chaetosemata absent; proboscis often strong, sometimes reduced or absent; maxillary palps very small, l–4-segmented or absent; fore wing without CuP; hind wing with frenulum, CuP absent, 1A+2A sometimes forming anal fork; metathorax with tympanal organs, rarely reduced or lost, tympanum directed ventrally or obliquely posteriorly; abdomen with basal counter-tympanal cavities, usually with prominent hood, with abdominal spiracle 1 either on anterior face (hood postspiracular) or at posteroventral angle (hood pre-spiracular). Eggs of upright type. Larva sometimes with dense secondary setae, crochets uniordinal, rarely biordinal, in a mesoseries.

<==Noctuoidea [Noctuae, Noctuites, Notodontoidea] GE05
    |  i. s.: Anthophila [Anthophilidae] WM66
    |           |--A. numida Lucas 1849 E12
    |           `--A. roseifascia WM66
    |         Strepsimanes Meyrick 1930 [Strepsimanidae, Strepsimaninae] FL05
    |         Kenguichardia ZK11
    |         Plagerepne ZK11
    |         Clytophylla ZK11
    |         Crebus odorus G20
    |--+--Oenosandridae ZK11
    |  |    |--Oenosandra Walker 1856 FL05
    |  |    |    `--O. boisduvalii NC91
    |  |    `--Discophlebia catocalina ZK11, NC91
    |  `--+--+--Euteliidae ZK11
    |     |  `--Noctuidae ZK11
    |     `--+--Erebidae ZK11
    |        `--Nolidae ZK11
    |             |  i. s.: Risoba Moore 1881 [Risobinae] FL05
    |             |         Collomena Möschler 1890 [Collomeninae] FL05
    |             |         Afrida Möschler 1886 [Afridinae] FL05
    |             |--Nolinae ZK11
    |             `--+--Chloephorinae ZK11
    |                `--+--Westermanniinae ZK11
    |                   |    |--Negeta sigmata ZK11
    |                   |    `--Westermannia Hübner 1821 FL05
    |                   `--+--Selepa molybdea ZK11
    |                      `--Eligma Hübner 1819 FL05 [Eligminae ZK11, Eligmini]
    |                           `--E. narcissus ZK11
    `--Notodontidae ZK11
         |  i. s.: Gallaba M03
         |         Schizura GE05
         |         Scea auriflamma GE05
         |         Lyces striata GE05
         |         Gangarides Moore 1866 [incl. Thermojana Yang in Yang & Chen 1995] NO08
         |           `--‘*Thermojana’ sinica Yang in Yang & Chen 1995 NO08
         |         Lephopteryx camelina P01
         |         Destolmia NC91
         |         Sorama NC91
         |         Antimima cryptica N91
         |         Cerurites wagneri RJ93
         |         Symmerista S96
         |           |--S. albifrons S96
         |           `--S. fulgens Druce 1901 D01a
         |         Edema audax Druce 1901 D01a
         |         Rosema Walker 1855 [Rosemini] FL05
         |           `--R. dolorosa Druce 1901 D01a
         |         Ichthyura rubida Druce 1901 D01a
         |         Blera peruda Druce 1901 D01a
         |         Cleapa psecas Druce 1901 D01a
         |         Rifargia nubila Druce 1901 D01b
         |         Macrurocampa marthesia S96
         |         Lophopteryx eumeta Druce 1900 D00
         |         Somera viridifusca D00
         |         Platychasma Butler 1881 [Platychasmatinae] FL05
         |         Hemiceras Guenée 1852 [Hemiceratinae] FL05
         |         Ceira Walker 1865 [Ceirinae] FL05
         |--+--Pygaerinae ZK11
         |  `--Dudusinae ZK11
         |       |  i. s.: Crinodes ZK11
         |       |           |--C. besckei ZK11
         |       |           `--C. minuta Druce 1900 D00
         |       |--Dudusini FL05
         |       |    |--Dudusa Walker 1865 FL05
         |       |    |    `--D. sphingiformis P01
         |       |    `--Tarsolepis Butler 1872 [Tarsolepidinae] FL05
         |       `--Scrancia Holland 1893 [Scranciini] FL05
         `--+--+--Thaumetopoeinae ZK11
            |  `--Phalera Hübner 1819 FL05 [Phaleridae, Phalerinae ZK11]
            |       |--P. bucephala (Linnaeus 1758) L-SSY04
            |       `--P. bucephaloides Ochsenheimer 1808 B08
            `--+--Heterocampinae ZK11
               `--+--Notodontinae ZK11
                  `--+--Nystaleinae ZK11
                     |    |--Nystalea Guenée 1852 FL05
                     |    |    `--N. striata ZK11
                     |    `--Notoplusia minuta KP19
                     `--Dioptinae [Dioptidae] ZK11
                          |--Scotura leucophleps ZK11
                          |--Dioptis Hübner 1818 FL05
                          |--Phryganidia RD77
                          |--Polypoetes nox Druce 1900 D00
                          `--Josia Hübner 1819 [Josiidae] FL05
                               |--J. gigantea GE05
                               `--J. tessmani GE05

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B08] Bálint, Z. 2008. Lepidoptera collections of historical importance in the Hungarian Natural History Museum. Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici 100: 17–35.

[D00] Druce, H. 1900. Descriptions of some new genera and species of Heterocera from tropical South America. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, series 7, 5: 507–527.

[D01a] Druce, H. 1901a. Descriptions of some new species of Heterocera. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, series 7, 7: 74–79.

[D01b] Druce, H. 1901b. Descriptions of some new species of Lepidoptera from east Africa and tropical America. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, series 7, 7: 432–444.

[E12] Evenhuis, N. L. 2012. Publication and dating of the Exploration Scientifique de l’Algérie: Histoire Naturelle des Animaux Articulés (1846–1849) by Pierre Hippolyte Lucas. Zootaxa 3448: 1–61.

[FL05] Fibiger, M., & J. D. Lafontaine. 2005. A review of the higher classification of the Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera) with special reference to the Holarctic fauna. Esperiana 11: 7–92.

[G20] Goldfuss, G. A. 1820. Handbuch der Naturgeschichte vol. 3. Handbuch der Zoologie pt 1. Johann Leonhard Schrag: Nürnberg.

[GE05] Grimaldi, D., & M. S. Engel. 2005. Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press: New York.

[KP19] Kawahara, A. Y., D. Plotkin, M. Espeland, K. Meusemann, E. F. A. Toussaint, A. Donath, F. Gimnich, P. B. Frandsen, A. Zwick, M. dos Reis, J. R. Barber, R. S. Peters, S. Liu, X. Zhou, C. Mayer, L. Podsiadlowski, C. Storer, J. E. Yack, B. Misof & J. W. Breinholt. 2019. Phylogenomics reveals the evolutionary timing and pattern of butterflies and moths. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 116 (45): 22657–22663.

[L-SSY04] López-Sebastián, E., J. Selfa & J. Ylla. 2004. Primeros datos del parasitismo de Ooencyrtus pityocampae (Mercet, 1921) sobre Graellsia isabelae (Graells, 1849) en condiciones de laboratorio. Graellsia 60 (1): 121–123.

[M03] McQuillan, P. B. 2003. The giant Tasmanian ‘pandani’ moth Proditrix nielseni, sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutoidea: Plutellidae s. l.) Invertebrate Systematics 17: 59–66.

[NO08] Nässig, W. A., & R. G. Oberprieler. 2008b. Errata et addenda. Senckenbergiana Biologica 88 (2): 124.

[NC91] Nielsen, E. S., & I. F. B. Common. 1991. Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers 2^nd ed. vol. 2 pp. 817–915. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).

[N91] Norris, K. R. 1991. General biology. In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers 2^nd ed. vol. 1 pp. 68–108. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).

[P01] Pável, J. 1901. Lepkék [Lepidopteren]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 171–177. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[RD77] Richards, O. W., & R. G. Davies. 1977. Imms' General Textbook of Entomology 10^th ed. vol. 2. Classification and Biology. Chapman and Hall: London.

[RJ93] Ross, A. J., & E. A. Jarzembowski. 1993. Arthropoda (Hexapoda; Insecta). In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 363–426. Chapman & Hall: London.

[S96] Smith, D. R. 1996. Trigonalyidae (Hymenoptera) in the eastern United States: seasonal flight activity, distribution, hosts. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 98 (1): 109–118.

[WM66] Wallace, A. R., & F. Moore. 1866. List of lepidopterous insects collected at Takow, Formosa, by Mr. R. Swinhoe. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 355–365.

[ZK11] Zahiri, R., I. J. Kitching, J. D. Lafontaine, M. Mutanen, L. Kaila, J. D. Holloway & N. Wahlberg. 2011. A new molecular phylogeny offers hope for a stable family level classification of the Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera). Zoologica Scripta 40 (2): 158–173.

Last updated: 24 April 2022.