Calliduloidea

Definition

A monotypic superfamily of Lepidoptera containing only the family Callidulidae, the Old World butterfly-moths. Members exhibit a distinctive combination of moth-like resting posture with clubbed antennae typical of butterflies, and include both diurnal and nocturnal species distributed across Southeast Asia, Australasia, and Madagascar.

Etymology

From Callidula (type genus) + -oidea (superfamily suffix)

Example

The superfamily Calliduloidea is represented in Madagascar by the genus Pterothysanus, whose species display the characteristic butterfly-moth morphology—broad wings held flat at rest like a moth, but with antennae that thicken distally into a club as in butterflies.

Related Terms

• Callidulidae
• Lepidoptera
• butterfly-moth
• Ditrysia
• Obtectomera

Usage Notes

Calliduloidea is treated as monotypic; no additional families are currently recognized. The superfamily is nested within the clade Obtectomera. The common name 'butterfly-moth' refers to the intermediate morphology, not a formal taxonomic group.