Arctiidae is a large and diverse family of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world. This family includes the groups commonly known as tiger moths (or tigers), which usually have bright colours, and footmen (which are usually much drabber). They are very closely related to the family Noctuidae, and may eventually reduced to subfamily status within that group.

Many produce foul chemicals. They can be poisonous, or can look just like kinds of moths that are poisonous. There are many forms of aposematism used by various species to advertise their distastefulness, that can include bright colors, unusual postures, or ultrasonic signals, and various combinations thereof. The latter signals were originally believed to constitute a type of radar jamming that would interfere with a bat's ability to echolocate, but detailed research has since shown that the reason that bats avoid moths producing these sounds is because the bats have learned to associate those sounds with noxious-tasting moths, so the bats avoid the moths upon hearing the warning signal Hristov NI, Conner WE. Sound strategy: acoustic aposematism in the bat–tiger moth arms race. Naturwissenschaften. 2005;92:164–169. .

Many species have hairy caterpillars which are popularly known as woolly bears. The scientific name refers to this (Gk. αρκτος = a bear). The caterpillars and many adults may be active during the daytime. If disturbed, they will roll into a tight spiral. Common folkore has it that the forthcoming severity of a winter can be predicted by the amount of black on the Isabella tiger moth's caterpillar, the most familiar woolly bear in North America.

Genera and species

Genera include:

• Arctia
• Callimorpha
• Eilema
• Episcea
• Eupseudosoma
• Hypercompe
• Hyphantria
• Pyrrharctia
• Spilosoma
• Tyria

Species include:

• Common Footman (Eilema lurideola)
• Buff Ermine (Spilosoma luteum)
• Scarlet tiger moth (Callimorpha dominula)
• Cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae)
• Giant Leopard Moth (Hypercompe scribonia)
• Magpie moth
• Fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea)
• Isabella tiger moth (Pyrrharctia isabella)

References