Noctuoidea is the
superfamily of noctuid (
Latin "night owl") or "owlet"
moths, and has more than 70000 described
species, the largest number of for any
Lepidopteran superfamily. Its classification has not yet reached a satisfactory or stable state. Since the end of the 20th century, increasing availability of
molecular phylogenetic data for this hugely successful
radiation has led to several competing proposals for a taxonomic arrangement that correctly represents the relationships between the major lineages.