The Phaudidae are a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s. Species occur from India to East and Southeast Asia, and include '' Phauda flammans'', a significant horticultural pest on ''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family (biology), family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few spe ...

'' spp. trees in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Formerly known as subfamily Phaudinae within the

Zygaenidae The Zygaenidae moths are a family of Lepidoptera. The majority of zygaenids are tropical, but they are nevertheless quite well represented in temperate regions. Some of the 1000 or so species are commonly known as burnet or forester moths, ofte ...

, it has since been elevated to the

taxonomic rank In biology, taxonomic rank (which some authors prefer to call nomenclatural rank because ranking is part of nomenclature rather than taxonomy proper, according to some definitions of these terms) is the relative or absolute level of a group of or ...

of family, with

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

research placing the family as

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to the Zygenidae within superfamily Zygenoidea.

Taxonomic history

Phaudidae was established as subfamily Phaudinae within the Zygaenidae in 1892 by

William Forsell Kirby William Forsell Kirby (14 January 1844 – 20 November 1912) was an English entomologist and folklorist. He specialized in the study of the stick insects, describing nearly 70 species and 22 genera. His collection filled 120 cabinets and clai ...

. Elevation to the rank of family was proposed in 1998 by Harald Fänger et al. Phylogenetic research in 2006 and 2010 supports placement outside Zygenidae, and most though not all subsequent authors have followed this placement. Further phylogenetic research in the 2020s confirms placement outside the Zygenidae, finding the Phaudidae as

to the Zygenidae, and the grouping (Phaudidae+Zygaenidae) as sister group to the

Limacodidae The Limacodidae or Eucleidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Zygaenoidea or the Cossoidea;Scoble, M.J. (1992). ''The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity.'' Oxford University Press. the placement is in dispute. They are often ca ...

Distribution

Species occur from

east to

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

and

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

Genera

*'' Alophogaster'' Hampson, 1892 *'' Phauda'' Walker, 1854 *'' Phaudopsis'' Hampson, 1900

References

Phaudidae Moth families {{Zygaenoidea-stub