Another good distinguishing character of the subfamily is presence of anal glands in females. The sounds are used in mating and for defense against predators.

Other distinctive traits are particular setae (hairs) on the larvae, wing venation, and a pair of glands near the ovipositor. They also have thoracic tympanal organs for hearing, a trait with a fairly broad distribution in the Lepidoptera, but the location and structure is distinctive to the subfamily. This organ has membranes that are vibrated to produce ultrasonic sounds. The most distinctive feature of the subfamily is a tymbal organ on the metathorax. Many genera are classified into these tribes, while others remain unclassified ( incertae sedis). Taxa of the same background color represent the same group of species before and after its lowering of taxonomic rank, despite the change of suffixes. Changes in taxon ranks and names are due to the classification of the former Arctiidae as the current Arctiinae.Īrctiini, Ctenuchini, Eudesmiini, Lithosiini, etc.Īrctiina, Ctenuchina, Eudesmiina, Lithosiina, etc. The subfamilies and tribes of Arctiidae were lowered to tribes and subtribes, respectively, of this new Arctiinae to preserve the internal structure of the group. The family was lowered to subfamily status as the Arctiinae within the Erebidae. The Arctiidae as a whole have been reclassified to represent this relationship. Recent phylogenetic studies have shown that the group is most closely related to litter moths Herminiinae and the Old World Aganainae, which are subfamilies of the family Erebidae. The subfamily was previously classified as the family Arctiidae of the superfamily Noctuoidea and is a monophyletic group. Some species within the Arctiinae have the word 'tussock'' in their common names because they have been misidentified as members of the Lymantriinae subfamily based on the characteristics of the larvae.

The scientific name Arctiinae refers to this hairiness (Gk. Many species have 'hairy' caterpillars that are popularly known as woolly bears or woolly worms. This subfamily includes the groups commonly known as tiger moths (or tigers), which usually have bright colours, footmen, which are usually much drabber, lichen moths, and wasp moths. 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.

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