The Drepanidae are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 ...

s with about 660

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

described worldwide. They are generally divided in three

subfamilies 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 ...

) which share the same type of hearing organ.

Thyatirinae The Thyatirinae, or false owlet moths, are a subfamily of the moth family Drepanidae with about 200 species described. Until recently, most classifications treated this group as a separate family called Thyatiridae. Taxonomy References * ...

, previously often placed in their own family, bear a superficial resemblance to

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 othe ...

. Many species in the drepanid family have a distinctively hook-shaped apex to the fore wing, leading to their common name of hook-tips. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

e of many species are very distinctive, tapering to a point at the tail and usually resting with both head and tail raised. They usually feed on the leaves of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s and shrubs,

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

ting between leaves spun together with silk.

Taxonomy

*Subfamily

Drepaninae Drepaninae are by far the largest subfamily of the Drepanidae moths. While it is usually split into two tribes, Drepanini and Oretini, its internal systematics and phylogeny are not well resolved. Systematics The following list is provisional a ...

– hook-tips *Subfamily

– false owlets *Subfamily

Cyclidiinae Cyclidiinae is a small subfamily of the Drepanidae moths. They occur in Southeast Asia. Their caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). ...

*Unassigned to subfamily **'' Hypsidia'' Rothschild, 1896 **''

Yucilix ''Yucilix'' is a monotypic moth genus in the family Drepanidae described by Yang in 1978. Its only species, ''Yucilix xia'', described by the same author in the same year, is found in China. References

Drepanidae Monotypic moth genera Mo ...

'' Yang, 1978

References

* Chinery, Michael (1986): ''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe'' * Minet, J. & Scoble, M.J. (1999): The Drepanoid/Geometroid Assemblage. ''In:'' Kristensen, N.P. (ed.): ''Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies'' Volume 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography, chapter 17. ''Handbuch der Zoologie. Eine Naturgeschichte der Stämme des Tierreiches / Handbook of Zoology. A Natural History of the phyla of the Animal Kingdom.'' vol. IV: Arthropoda: Insecta. Part 35. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin & New York. * Skinner, Bernard (1984): ''Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles''

External links

CSIRO
Images Taxa named by Edward Meyrick Moth families {{Drepanidae-stub

Taxonomy

See also

References

External links