The Lithosiini are a

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

of lichen moths in the family

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family (biology), 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 underwin ...

. The taxon was described by

Gustaf Johan Billberg Gustaf Johan Billberg (14 June 1772, Karlskrona – 26 November 1844, Stockholm) was a Sweden, Swedish botanist, zoologist and anatomist, although professionally and by training he was a lawyer and used science and biology as an avocation. The pl ...

in 1820.

Systematics

The tribe was previously treated as a higher-level taxon, the subfamily Lithosiinae, within the lichen and tiger moth family,

Arctiidae The Arctiinae (formerly called the family Arctiidae) are a large and diverse subfamily of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical species.Scoble, MJ. (1995). ''The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and D ...

. The ranks of the family and its subdivisions were lowered in a recent reclassification while keeping the contents of the family and its subdivisions largely unchanged. These changes in rank triggered changes in the suffixes in the names. The family Arctiidae as a whole was reclassified as the subfamily

Arctiinae The Arctiinae (formerly called the family Arctiidae) are a large and diverse subfamily of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical species.Scoble, MJ. (1995). ''The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and D ...

within the family

. The original subfamily Lithosiinae was lowered to tribe status as Lithosiini, and its original tribes were lowered to subtribe status by changing the -ini suffix to -ina (e.g., Acsalini became

Acsalina ''Acsala'' is a monotypic genus of lichen moth in the monotypic subtribe Acsalina of the family Erebidae. Its single species, ''Acsala anomala'', has Hodges number 8104.1 and is known from the US (Alaska) and Canada (Yukon). Behavior Eggs are d ...

). Thus the present name "Lithosiini" used to refer to only a subgroup of the entire lichen moth group (Lithosiinae), but now it refers to the entire group. The

systematics Systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: phylogenetic trees, phylogenies). Phy ...

of the Lithosiini are in need of revision. For example, the proposed subtribes Afridina, Cisthenina, Endrosina and Eudesmina require validation and delimitation of content. The arrangement followed here is based on the preliminary consensus list of Savela (2007). The tribe currently contains about 2752 species.

Subtribes (former tribes)

Many genera in the tribe Lithosiini are included in the following subtribes, while the others are ''incertae sedis''. *

Cisthenina The Cisthenina are a subtribe of lichen moths in the family Erebidae, currently containing 428 described species. Taxonomy The subtribe used to be classified as the tribe Cisthenini of the subfamily Lithosiinae of the family Arctiidae. Genera ...

Endrosina The Endrosina are a subtribe of lichen moths in the family Erebidae. Taxonomy The subtribe was previously classified as the tribe Endrosini of the subfamily Lithosiinae of the family Arctiidae The Arctiinae (formerly called the family Arct ...

Eudesmiina ''Eudesmia'' is a genus of lichen moths in the monotypic subtribe Eudesmiina of the family Erebidae. The genus was erected by Jacob Hübner Jacob Hübner (20 June 1761 – 13 September 1826, in Augsburg) was a German entomologist. He was the a ...

Lithosiina The Lithosiina are a subtribe of lichen moths in the family Erebidae. The taxon was erected by Gustaf Johan Billberg in 1820. Taxonomy The subtribe used to be classified as the tribe Lithosiini of the subfamily Lithosiinae of the family Arcti ...

Nudariina Nudariina is a subtribe of lichen moths in the family Erebidae. The taxon was described by Carl Julius Bernhard Börner in 1920. Taxonomy The subtribe used to be classified as the tribe Nudariini of the subfamily Lithosiinae of the family Arc ...

Phryganopterygina ''Phryganopteryx'' is a genus of Madagascan moths in the monotypic subtribe Phryganopterygina of the family Erebidae. The genus was erected by Max Saalmüller Max Saalmüller (26 November 1832 in Römhild, Germany – 12 October 1890 in Bo ...

*''

Incertae sedis or is a term used for a taxonomy (biology), taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q18627587 Arctiinae Moth tribes