The Caterpillars of CATOCALINAE are usually smooth, lacking obvious hairs. Many have one or more pairs of prolegs missing, and so move in a looping fashion.

Some of the adult moths of CATOCALINAE have brightly coloured hind wings which are normally covered (the "underwings"), and some have eye-shaped markings on the wings (the "owlets"). The CATOCALINAE moths also include a number pests which puncture fruit in order to feed on the juice.

Some taxonomists list this group of species as a family CATOCALIDAE, or as a subfamily of EREBIDAE, but here following Nielsen et al., we include it as a subfamily of the NOCTUIDAE.

Some common species of the 353 named Australian species in CATOCALINAE are:

Anomis albitibia
Anomis combinans
Anomis flava
Anomis involuta

Dysgonia infractafinis
Dysgonia latizona

Dysgonia senex
Dysgonia solomonensis

Eudocima cocalus
Eudocima fullonia : Fruit Piercing Moth

Eudocima jordani
Eudocima materna
Eudocima salaminia

Grammodes cooma
Grammodes geometrica
Grammodes justa
Grammodes ocellata

Grammodes oculata
Grammodes oculicola
Grammodes pulcherrima

Ischyja manlia
Ischyja neocherina

Niguza anisogramma
Niguza eucesta

Ophiusa costiplaga
Ophiusa discriminans
Ophiusa disjungens
Ophiusa hituense
Ophiusa parcemacula

Oxyodes scrobiculata
Oxyodes tricolor

Pandesma submurina

Pantydia diemeni
Pantydia sparsa

Pericyma cruegeri : Poiciana Looper

Phyllodes imperialis : Imperial Fruit Sucking Moth