Hypenodinae

14. Hypenodinae View in CoL View at ENA

Hypenodinae View in CoL were classified as a synonym of Strepsimaninae View in CoL by Kitching & Rawlins (1998), but was reinstated as a subfamily by Fibiger and Lafontaine (2005). This subfamily includes two tribes: Hypenodini and Micronoctuini , the latter of which was reclassified as a tribe by Holloway (2011).

Adult characters. The subfamily comprises small moths characterized by scaled frons.

Larval characters. In the Hypenodini, the larvae exhibit a distinctive 3-2 arrangement of the SV setae on the first two segments due to the loss of one seta on A2. The first and second pairs of prolegs are either diminished or completely absent, while segments A1 to A4 are notably swollen (Beck 1999–2000). In the Micronoctuini , the D1 seta is missing on the mesothorax, and the L2 seta on both the meso- and metathorax is significantly reduced ( Fibiger & Lafontaine 2005). Larvae with this arrangement are commonly referred to as semi-loopers.

Diversity and distribution. The subfamily is primarily found in tropical areas with more than 400 species predominantly distributed in tropical and subtropical regions but also reaching the Mediterranean, temperate zones in eastern Asia, and extending throughout the Indo-Australian region to Australia and Vanuatu ( Fibiger et al. 2010). In India , there are 33 species classified under 15 genera.