NOCTUID

[noc.tu.id] n [NL Noctuidae, fr. Noctua, genus of moths, fr. L, the little owl (Athene noctua); akin to L nox night] (1894): any of a large family (Noctuidae) of medium-sized often dull-colored moths with larvae (as cutworms and armyworms) that are often destructive agricultural pests -- noctuid adj