Area covered

The zoogeographic area covered can be defined as the African continent south of the Sahara (i.e. excl. Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt), the islands in the Atlantic Ocean: Amsterdam Island, Ascension, Cape Verde Archipelago, Inaccessible Island, St. Helena, São Tomé and Principe, Tristan da Cunha, and the islands in the Indian Ocean: Comores (Anjouan, Grande Comore, Mayotte, Mohéli), Madagascar, Mascarene Islands (La Réunion, Mauritius, Rodrigues), Seychelles (Félicité, Mahé, Praslin, Silhouette, a.o.). Furthermore, those moth species occurring in the transition zone to the Palaearctic fauna have been included also, namely most of the Arabia Peninsula (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen with Socotra) but not Iraq, Jordan and further north.

Saharan species

Also, some Saharan species have been included (e.g. Hoggar Mts. in Algeria, Tibesti Mts. in South Libya).

The website provides information on:

• the current taxonomic status of every Afrotropical moth family, genus and species
• bibliographical reference to the original description
• synonyms of families, genera and species
• type genera of families
• type species of genera
• type locality of species
• information on type specimens and their depository
• geographical distribution (country names)
• larval host plant(s)

The sequence of families, genera and species is alphabetical to enable the user to easily retrieve the necessary information.

Utmost care was taken that the data incorporated in the database were correct. We decline any responsibility in case of damage to software- or hardware based on information used in this website. Persons retrieving information from this website for their own research or for applied aspects such as pest control programmes should acknowledge the usage of data from this website in the following format:

De Prins J. & De Prins W. 2011–2023. Afromoths, online database of Afrotropical moth species (Lepidoptera). World Wide Web electronic publication (http://www.afromoths.net) [+ accession date].

For photographs please contact the owner of the copyrights.

All photographs of the NHMUK are © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum UK.

You will find the taxonomical content of this website on Checklist Bank: an index and repository for taxonomic data about life on Earth aiming to support the publication and curation of checklists and to provide a platform for their consistent discovery, use and citation. Therefore, we will regularly (ca. monthly) upload snapshots of our Afromoths database to ChecklistBank.

The Belgian Biodiversity Platform, a Belspo initiative, was involved in the Afromoths website since its very beginning in 2011. The content of the website has been regularly updated since then. In 2023, it was decided to revamp the website with recent technologies. The new version was launched on 01 October 2023. The Platform is involved in other open data/open science initiatives and foster many other biodiversity informatics projects across the country. Visit our website to discover them.

We especially thank the IT team of the Platform for their continuous efforts: * André Heughebaert * François Malherbe * Julien Cigar

General – Encyclopedia of Life General – Goff, R. A photographic moth ID database African moths General – iNaturalist Taxonomy – Generic Names of Butterflies and Moths of the World Taxonomy – The Global Lepidoptera Names Index [Lepindex] Larval foodplants – HOSTS – a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants

Aganainae – Global Taxonomic Database of Tineidae Gracillariidae – Global Taxonomic Database of Gracillariidae Pyraloidea – GLOBIZ – The Pyraloidea database Sphingidae – Sphingidae Taxonomic Inventory Tineidae – Global taxonomic database of Tineidae (Lepidoptera) Tortricidae – TORTS – Online World Catalogue of the Tortricidae

We are pleased to announce that some entomologists have agreed to become admins for certain groups of moths, especially for adding photos to the website:

• Oleksiy Bidzilya – Gelechiidae
• Leraut Guillaume – Pyralidae, Phycitinae
• Ochse Michael – Geometridae
• Prozorov Alexey – Lasiocampidae

We cordially thank our lepidopterist colleagues, who have contributed in various ways to the present online database:

• Aarvik Leif – Literature and pictures
• Adlington J. – Pictures
• Agassiz David – Literature and pictures
• Aistleitner Ernst – Literature and pictures
• Akite Perpetra – Pictures
• Aulombard François – Literature and pictures
• Ayalew Asrat – Pictures
• Bakary S. – Pictures
• Bakheet Mohamed – Pictures
• Bąkowski M. – Pictures
• Ballesteros-Meija Liliana – Literature
• Baptista Lena – Pictures
• Baron Thomas – Pictures
• Bartsch Daniel – Sesiidae, literature and pictures
• Basquin Patrick – Literature and pictures
• Bassi Graziano – Crambidae, literature and pictures
• Behounek G. – Pictures
• Bengtsson B. A. – Scythrididae, literature and pictures
• Bidychak R. – Pictures
• Bidzilya Oleksiy – Gelechiidae, literature and pictures
• Bippus Maik – Pictures and literature
• Blamire Gavin – Pictures
• Böinck Frank – Information
• Bolotov Ivan – Literature and pictures
• Boomsma Danny – Literature
• Brauns K. – Pictures*
• Brou Vernon Antoine – Pictures
• Brown John W. – Literature and pictures
• Bucsek K. – Pictures
• Butler Rhett – Pictures
• Černý Karel – Literature and pictures
• Chibambula Maybin – Pictures
• Cipolla Alexandre – Information and pictures
• Cohel Callan – Pictures and information
• Cregoe J. P. – Pictures
• Darge Philippe – Literature and pictures
• Dawson Brett – Pictures
• de Freina Josef J. – Literature and pictures
• de Jong Rienk – Pictures
• Delabye S. – Pictures
• Desmet Frans – Pictures
• Dubatolov Vladimir – Arctiinae, literature and pictures
• Dvořák Bostjan – Literature
• Eitschberger Ulf – Literature and pictures
• Epstein Marc – Limacodidae, literature and pictures
• Esplin T. – Pictures
• Fahr Jacob – Pictures
• Fiebig Ralf – Pictures
• Fischer H. – Pictures
• FitzPatrick M. – Pictures
• Fowler Liza – Pictures
• Gaedike Rheinhard – Literature and pictures
• Garcia-Baross Enrique – Information
• Garrevoet Theo – Sesiidae and literature
• Gielis Cees – Pterophoridae and literature
• Giusti Alessandro – Pictures
• Gmeiner M. – Pictures
• Goff Roy – Various information and pictures
• Gorbunov O. G. – Pictures
• Grehan John – Hepialidae, literature and pictures
• Haba W. – Pictures
• Hacker Hermann – Pictures
• Haigh Simon – Pictures
• Hanot Stéphane – Pictures
• Harvey William – Pictures
• Hausmann Axel – Information and pictures
• Heckford Bob – Pictures
• Heppner John B. – Literature and pictures
• Heymans J. A. – Pictures
• Heyns Johan – Pictures
• Hines Chris – Pictures
• Hogan James – Pictures
• Honig Naftali – Pictures
• Høier H. – Pictures
• Honey Martin – Pictures
• Hulsbosch Ramon – Pictures
• Ihle S. – Pictures
• Ioannou N. – Pictures
• Irish John – Information
• Jones Tim – Pictures
• Jörpeland J. – Pictures
• Kaila Lauri – Literature and pictures
• Karisch Timm – Literature and pictures
• Kemal Muhabbet – Literature and pictures
• Kerkhof Stefan – Literature and pictures
• King Simon – Pictures
• Konda ku Mbuta Augustin – Pictures
• Kozlov Mikhail – Photographs
• Krüger Martin – Pictures, Literature and identifications
• Kühne Lars – Pictures
• Kumata T. – Gracillariidae, literature
• Kurshakov Pavel – Pictures
• Lafontaine Don – Pictures
• Lalle Iole – Pictures
• Landeck Ingmar – Pictures
• Landry Bernard – Literature, information on type specimens in MHNG
• Lees David – Pictures
• Leeuwerck Eric – Pictures
• Legrain Albert – Noctuoidea, information, literature and pictures
• Lehmann Ingo – Metarbelidae, literature and pictures
• Leonidov Michael – Pictures
• Leraut Guillaume – Literature and pictures
• Leraut Patrice – Literature and pictures
• Le Ru Bruno – Literature
• Lenz J. – Pictures
• Lesethle Barati – Pictures
• Li Houhun – Literature and pictures
• Löbel Hans – Pictures
• Lourd S. – Pictures
• Lucas Laura – Pictures
• Mackie James – Pictures
• Maes Koen – Crambidae, information and literature
• Mally Richard – Pictures
• Maramba D. O. – Pictures
• Martiré Dominique – Literature, information and pictures
• Mazzei Paolo – Pictures
• McCabe T. – Pictures
• Mey Wolfram – Literature and pictures
• Miller Scott – Literature
• Minet Joel – Literature and pictures
• Naumann Stefan – Pictures
• Nupponen Kari – Pictures
• Oudejans Rob – Pictures
• París Mercedes – Pictures
• Park Kyu-Tek – Information, literature, pictures
• Pasquasy Serge – Pictures
• Pavesi Maurizio – Information
• Poirier E. – Pictures
• Poltavsky A. N. – Pictures
• Prozorov Alex – Literature and pictures
• Przybylowicz Lukasz – Thyretini, pictures and literature
• Przystałkowska Anna – Pictures
• Pryce David - Pictures
• Radebe P. – Pictures
• Rajenison B. - Pictures
• Raviglione M. C. – Pictures
• Razafimanantsoa Tsiresy – Pictures
• Reunanen Otso – Pictures
• Richter V. – Pictures
• Riddell Ian – Pictures
• Rigato Fabrizio – Information
• Roelofs P. W. A. – Information, literature
• Roland Hanna – Information
• Roland W. – Pictures
• Ronkay Laszlo – Pictures
• Rougerie R. – Literature
• Sattler Klaus – Literature
• Sauvage Isabella – Literature
• Savela Markku – Information
• Schellhorn Steffen – Pictures
• Schintlmeister Alexander – Pictures
• Schmit P. – Pictures
• Schouten Rob – Literature
• Schutte R. – Pictures
• Schweinhart Ben – Pictures
• Segerer Andreas – Pictures
• Seizmair Michael – Literature and pictures
• Shaw Mark – Pictures and information
• Short D. – Pictures
• Simon D. – Pictures
• Sircoulomb G. – Pictures
• Solovyev A. V. – Pictures
• Sommerer Manfred – Geometridae, literature and pictures
• Sourakov A. – Pictures
• Spitsyn V. M. – Pictures
• Sruoga Virginijus – Information and pictures
• Stadie Dirk – Pictures
• Staude Hermann – Pictures
• Steur Joen – Pictures
• Sullivan J. B. – Pictures
• Sund R. – Pictures
• Sunnay Louisa – Pictures
• Taberer T. R. – Pictures
• Takano Hitoshi – Literature
• Tardivel Jill – Pictures
• Tropek R. – Pictures
• Tweehuyzen Godard – Literature
• Ustjuzhanin Petr – Pterophoridae, literature and pictures
• Van Assche Michèle – Literature
• van der Wolf Hugo – Coleophoridae, literature
• van Nieukerken Erik J. – Pictures and literature
• Van Rensburg E. – Pictures
• Verdecia Vanessa – Pictures
• Verster A. – Pictures
• Vives Moreno Antonio – Pictures and literature
• Voaden Nigel – Pictures
• Volynkin Anton – Pictures
• Wanke D. – Pictures
• Wojtusiak J. – Literature and pictures
• Wursten B. – Pictures
• Yakovlev Roman – Cossidae, literature and pictures
• Zilioli Michele – Information
• Zilli Alberto – Pictures and information
• Zolotuhin Vladimir V. – Lasiocampidae, pictures and literature
• Zubair A. – Pictures

The website's banner includes an image licensed by MNHM Staff under Creative Commons license. This website uses Django4.2, Bootstrap5 and PostgreSQL technologies.

This website uses these technologies: * Django framework * django_tables2 * solr_thumbnails * Bootstrap front-end toolkit * Postgres database