Castniidae, or
castniid moths, is a small family of
moths with fewer than 200 species: The majority are
Neotropical with some in
Australia and a few in south-east
Asia. These are medium-sized to very large moths, usually with drab, cryptically-marked forewings and brightly coloured hindwings. They have clubbed
antennae and are day-flying, and are often mistaken for
butterflies. Indeed, some previous classification systems placed this family within the butterflies or
skippers. The Neotropical species are commonly known as
giant butterfly-moths, the Australian and Asian species as
sun moths. The larvae are internal feeders, often on roots of
epiphytes or on
monocotyledons (Edwards et al., 1999: 184-188).