The Macroheterocera are a well supported clade of moths that are closely related to butterflies and macro-moths.
Taxonomy The Macroheterocera includes the following superfamilies: Mimallonoidea – sack bearers (variously included in basal position or excluded) Drepanoidea – drepanids Noctuoidea – owlet moths Geometroidea – inchworms Lasiocampoidea – lappet moths Bombycoidea – bombycoid moths
The macroheteroceran superfamilies were previously place in the Macrolepidoptera, but recent molecular studies have failed to recover the Macrolepidoptera as a monophyletic group. The latter grouping also included butterflies (Papilionoidea) and Old World butterfly-moths (Calliduloidea).
References