ENY 3005 Family Identification

Lepidoptera: Noctuidae

Common names: noctuid moths, owlet moths, underwings

Identifying characteristics for the family Noctuidae include:

• Common medium-sized, dull colored moths.
  
• Antennae threadlike, never feathery.
  
• Hind wings of most species without any pattern. Hind wings of underwing moths, however, show bands of bright colors when they fly.
  
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• The family Noctuidae is the largest of the order with some 2,700 species in North America.
• The cutworms, armyworms, cabbage looper, and corn earworm are some of the serious agricultural pests occurring in this family.

References:

• Pages 238-239 and plate 11 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field Guide to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
• Pages 297-300 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects, 3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.
  
• Page 77 and plates 16-42 in C. V. Covell, Jr. 1984. A Field Guide to the Moths of Eastern North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 496 p.
  
• Pages 588-664 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing. 875 p.
  
• Page 554 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.