Drepanidae

This article is about the moth family. For the sicklefishes, see Drepaneidae. For the Drepanidinae (or Drepanididae), see Hawaiian honeycreeper.
Drepanidae
Achlya flavicornis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
(unranked): Macrolepidoptera
Superfamily: Drepanoidea
Family: Drepanidae
Meyrick, 1895

The Drepanidae is a family of moths with about 660 species described worldwide.[1] They are generally divided in three subfamilies (Minet and Scoble, 1999;[2]) which share the same type of hearing organ. Thyatirinae, previously often placed in their own family, bear a superficial resemblance to Noctuidae. Many species in the Drepanid family have a distinctively hook-shaped apex to the forewing, leading to their common name of hook-tips.

The larvae of many species are very distinctive, tapering to a point at the tail and usually resting with both head and tail raised. They usually feed on the leaves of trees and shrubs, pupating between leaves spun together with silk.

Taxonomy

Notable species

15 species are resident in the UK:

Species from India:

References

  1. van Nieukerken; et al. (2011). "Order Lepidoptera Linnaeus, 1758. In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3148: 212–221.
  2. Holloway J.D. (2011). "The Moths of Borneo: Families Phaudidae, Himantopteridae and Zygaenidae; revised and annotated checklist". Malayan Nature Journal. 63: 1–548.
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