African maiden moths, family Thyretidae, include 212 species, all African. The classification remains controversial and various specialists also place the group within Arctiidae. The family is in the superfamily Noctuoidea, in the section Cossina, subsection Bombycina, of the division Ditrysia.
Adults medium-size (23–57 mm wingspan). Haustellum usually reduced or vestigial; antennae pectinate; wings very elongated, with reduced hindwings (some with greatly reduced hindwings). Maculation typically dark with white or hyaline patches, or more colorful. Adults perhaps mostly diurnal; often wasp mimics. Larvae are thought to be leaf feeders, but most species remain unknown biologically. Host plant records include Thymelaeaceae and Ulmaceae, for the few species known biologically.
