The Erebidae are a family of moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

s, most of which were formerly classified in the family Noctuidae

Noctuidae

The Noctuidae or owlet moths are a family of robustly-built moths that includes more than 35,000 known species out of possibly 100,000 total, in more than 4,200 genera. They constitute the largest family in the Lepidoptera....

, plus all of the former members of the families Arctiidae

Arctiidae

Arctiidae is a large and diverse family of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical species. This family includes the groups commonly known as tiger moths , which usually have bright colours, footmen , lichen moths and wasp moths...

 and Lymantriidae

Lymantriidae

Lymantriidae is a family of moths. Many of its component species are referred to as "Tussock moths" of one sort or another. The caterpillar, or larval, stage of these species often has a distinctive appearance of alternating bristles and haired projections...

. This re-classification has not yet met with general consensus, and many resources and publications still follow the older classification scheme (e.g.http://www.tolweb.org/Noctuoidea/12035).

Example species

Catocalinae

Catocalinae

Catocalinae is a subfamily of moth family Erebidae . Many of the species are large compared to other noctuids in temperate zones, and have brightly colored backwings....

• Catocala aholibah (Aholibah Underwing
  Aholibah Underwing
  The Aholibah Underwing is a moth of the "owlet" family Noctuidae, which has over 25,000 known members, and more than that yet undescribed...
  
  )
• Catocala nupta (Red Underwing
  Red Underwing
  The Red Underwing moth, Catocala nupta, is a moth of Noctuidae family.This is a large nocturnal European species which, like most noctuids, is drably coloured to aid concealment during the day...
  
  )

Erebinae

• Ascalapha odorata
  Ascalapha odorata
  The noctuid moth Ascalapha odorata bears the common name Black Witch. It is considered a harbinger of death in Mexican and Caribbean folklore...
  
  (Black Witch moth)
• Thysania agrippina (White Witch moth)