Numbers
Five families occur in North America; a tiny sixth family (Oenosandridae) is limited to Australasia.
Remarks
The higher taxonomy of this group was in considerable flux until molecular phylogenetic analysis by Zahiri et al. (2010) established six well-supported lineages within Noctuoidea: Noctuidae, Erebidae, Notodontidae, Nolidae, Euteliidae, and
Oenosandridae.
Taxa represented in our area that were considered at various times to be families include most notably
Arctiinae (Erebidae),
Lymantriinae (Erebidae), and
Dioptinae (Notodontidae).
Multiple molecular analyses have revealed the minor family
Doidae to not belong within Noctuoidea.
Print References
Kitching, I.J., and J.E. Rawlins. 1999. (The Noctuoidea, pp. 355-401 in Kristensen N.P. (editor). Lepidoptera: Moths and butterflies. Volume 1: Evolution, systematics and biogeography. Handbook of Zoology/Handbuch der Zoologie. Walter de Gruyter. Berlin/New York).
Zahiri, R., I.J. Kitching, J.D. Lafontaine, M. Mutanen, L. Kaila, J.D. Holloway, and N. Wahlberg. 2010. A new molecular phylogeny offers hope for a stable family level classification of the Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera).
Zoologica Scripta 40: 158–173.
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Schmidt, B. C., & Lafontaine, J. D. (Eds.). 2010. Annotated check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico, Vol. 40. PenSoft Publishers LTD.
