Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Owlet Moths and kin (Noctuoidea) » Prominent Moths (Notodontidae)

Family Notodontidae - Prominent Moths

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Identification · Range · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
839b Schizura unicornis [T] - Unicorn Caterpillar Moth 8007 - Coelodasys unicornis - male Moth - Litodonta hydromeli Apical Prominent - Clostera apicalis Mossy Moth - Heterocampa astarte Schizura ipomoeae - Morning-glory Prominent ??? - Schizura ipomaeae Notodontidae: Clostera albosigma - Clostera albosigma 7908 Spotted Datana (Datana perspicua) - Datana drexelii-major Green caterpillar with intricate design on back found with Autumn - Cecrita guttivitta
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Noctuoidea (Owlet Moths and kin)
Family Notodontidae (Prominent Moths)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Notodontidae Stephens, 1829
Numbers
8 subfamilies of Notodontidae; 140 species in 44 genera in our area. There are at least three new species awaiting description (Peridea n. sp., Litodonta n. sp., Schizura n. sp.). Lafontaine and Schmidt (2010) list 138(1), because they failed to include Nystalea ebalea and Elasmia mandela in their 2013 corrections. Metzler and Knudson described these two species in 2011 (2).
Identification
Below is a guide to the local subfamilies of Notodontidae. The images included are meant to be illustrative of the general appearance of each subfamily as an aid for narrowing down possibilities for identification. All genera found in the US and Canada are included for all subfamilies except Heterocampinae, with the following exceptions: Hemiceras (Hemiceratinae, one species, with only one specimen from AZ known), Elymiotis (Nystaleinae, one species limited to southernmost TX), and Pentobesa (Nystaleinae, one species).

Cerurinae                                                                                                                Dicranurinae                                            Dudusinae

                                                           

Heterocampinae



Notodontinae                                                                                                                                                                                                         Dioptinae

                             

Nystaleinae



Phalerinae                                                                                                               Pygaerinae                                                Periergosinae

                                                             
Range
US and Canada(3)
Food
Deciduous trees and shrubs(3)
Life Cycle
Most larvae are solitary but some are nest builders(3)
Remarks
The family name refers to the backward-projecting tufts on the hind margin or the wings which protrude when the wings are folded. This occurs in some species.(3)
When the larvae are disturbed they elevate each end of the body and remain attached by the 4 pairs of prolegs at the middle.(3)
Print References
(4)(5)
Internet References
pinned adult thumbnail images of 43 species occurring in western Canada (CBIF)
pinned adult thumbnail images of 54 species occurring in eastern Canada (CBIF)
Works Cited
1.Annotated check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico.
Donald J. Lafontaine, B. Christian Schmidt. 2010. ZooKeys 40: 1–239 .
2.A new species of Elasmia Möschler from New Mexico and Texas, and a new subspecies of Elasmia mandela (Druce) from ....
Eric Metzler, Edward Knudson. 2011. Zookeys 149: 51-67.
3.Eastern Forest Insects
Whiteford L. Baker. 1972. U.S. Department of Agriculture · Forest Service.
4.Monograph of the Bombycine moths of America north of Mexico, Part I, Family 1, Notodontidae
A. S. Packard. 1895. Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences.
5.The Moths of America North of Mexico. Fascicle 22.1A
Miller, J.S., D.L. Wagner, P.A. Opler & J.D. Lafontaine. 2018. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation.
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, john and jane balaban, Robin McLeod, Maury Heiman, Edward Ruden, Randy Hardy, Marci Hess, Kyhl Austin, Blocky
Last updated 30 November, 2024 - 12:21pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2025 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact