This family of noctuid moths contains more than 1,000 species. Several of these are regarded as agricultural pests like the spiny bollworm, Earias insulana or the spotted bollworm, Earias vittella. Both mainly cotton pests in northern Africa and western Asia. The family is characterized by several morphological features and by the young adults leaving the silky pupal cocoon through a vertical slit.
The following genera are currently entered under Erebidae: