Family NOTODONTIDAE

Hylaeora eucalypti Doubleday, [1849] (Notodontidae)

© Copyright Laurence Mound

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• CERURIDAE.

Introduction

[updated from Edwards, 1996: 272]

The Notodontidae have traditionally included the subfamilies Thaumetopoeinae and Notodontinae but these were sometimes accorded family status. Miller (1991) divided the family into eight subfamilies. The composition of many of these subfamilies remains uncertain as the features most useful in their definition are characters of the early stages and unknown for many genera. Here the subfamilies Thaumetopoeinae and Notodontinae are retained and the Pygaerinae recognised until the Australian genera can be studied in more detail.

The Indoaustralian Notodontinae were treated in Setiz's Macrolepidoptera of the World by Gaede (1930), but the Thaumetopoeinae were included as part of the Lymantriidae in this work by Strand (1929). The world fauna of Notodontinae and Thaumetopoeinae were listed in Lepidopterorum Catalogus by Gaede (1934) and Kiriakoff (1970). The Notodontinae of the Indoaustralian region were treated in Genera Insectorum by Kiriakoff (1968). Although Kiriakoff's volumes are recent many taxonomic problems were unresolved. Edwards (1996) resolved many nomenclatural issues within the family and proposed a number of new synonymies.

The Australian fauna was revised by Turner (1922) who subsequently described a few more genera and species.

Australia has a rich endemic fauna of Thaumetopoeinae. The Pygaerinae are represented by a single species Clostera rubida (H. Druce) from northern Queensland rainforests. Many of the remaining genera here placed in the Notodontinae are shared with New Guinea or Southeast Asia but there are several groups of endemic genera.

The larvae of the Thaumetopoeinae are heavily endowed with secondary setae and some cause serious skin rashes in humans. Southcott (1978, 1987) deals with medical aspects of Ochrogaster lunifer (Herrich-Schäffer), one of the most widespread and most frequently encountered species. The larvae are processionary and live in silken nests. The larvae of some Notodontinae assume grotesque shapes and some species are able to eject formic acid in defense.

General References

Edwards, E.D. 1996. Notodontidae (Ceruridae). pp. 272-274, 366-367 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM

Gaede, M. 1930. [Notodontidae] Tarsolepis-Dicranura, Alphabetical List. 607-655, pls 79-84 in Seitz, A. (ed.). [1929-1930]. The Macrolepidoptera of the World. 10. Bombyces and Sphinges of the Indo-Australian Region. 2 vols. Stuttgart : Alfred Kernen Verlag

Gaede, M. 1934. Notodontidae. Lepidopterorum Catalogus 59: 1-351

Kiriakoff, S.G. 1968. Lepidoptera. Familia Notodontidae. Pars tertia. Genera Indo-Australica. Genera Insectorum 217: 1-269, pls 1-10

Kiriakoff, S.G. 1970. Lepidoptera. Familia Thaumetopoeidae. Genera Insectorum 219: 1-54, pls 1-3

Miller, J.S. 1991. Cladistics and classification of the Notodontidae (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea) based on larval and adult morphology. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 204: 1-230

Southcott, R. 1987. Moths and butterflies. 243–257 in Covacevich, J., Davie, P. & Pearn, J. (eds). Toxic Plants and Animals. A guide for Australia. Brisbane : Queensland Museum

Southcott, R.V. 1978. Lepidopterism in the Australian region. Records of the Adelaide Childrens Hospital 2: 87–173

Strand, E. 1929. Appendix [Thaumetopoeinae]. Pp. 375-381, pls 46, 56c, 57. in Seitz, A. (ed.). The Macrolepidoptera of the World. 10. Bombyces and Sphinges of the Indo-Australian Region. 2 vols. Stuttgart : Alfred Kernen Verlag