180,000 species of Lepidoptera are described, equivalent to 10% of the total described species of living organisms. This is a list of the diversity of the Lepidoptera showing the estimated number of genera and species described for each superfamily and, where available, family. See Lepidoptera for a note of the schedule of families used.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|Superfamily||Family||Genera||Species
|-
|Micropterigiodea||Micropterigidae||align=right|6||align=right|182
|-
|Agathiphagoidea||Agathiphagidae||align=right|1||align=right|2
|-
|Heterobathmioidea||Heterobathmiidae||align=right|1||align=right|9
|-
|Eriocranioidea||Eriocraniidae||align=right|6||align=right|25
|-
|Acanthopteroctedoidea||Acanthopteroctetidae||align=right|2||align=right|5
|-
|Lophocoronoidea||Lophocoronidae||align=right|1||align=right|6
|-
|Neopseustoidea||Neopseustidae||align=right|3||align=right|10
|-
|Mnesarchaeoidea||Mnesarchaeidae||align=right|1||align=right|14
|-
|Hepialoidea|| ||align=right|68||align=right|630
|-
| ||Anomosetidae||align=right|1||align=right|1
|-
| ||Hepialidae||align=right|61||align=right|606
|-
| ||Neotheoridae||align=right|1||align=right|1
|-
| ||Palaeosetidae||align=right|4||align=right|7
|-
| ||Prototheoridae||align=right|1||align=right|15
|-
|Nepticuloidea|| ||align=right|29||align=right|1,076
|-
| ||Nepticulidae||align=right|22||align=right|862
|-
| ||Opostegidae||align=right|7||align=right|214
|-
|Adeloidea|| ||align=right|72||align=right|598
|-
| ||Adelidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Cecidosidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Heliozelidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Incurvariidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Prodoxidae||align=right|12||align=right|80
|-
|Palaephatoidea||Palaephatidae||align=right|7||align=right|60
|-
|Tischerioidea||Tischeriidae||align=right|5||align=right|110
|-
|Simaethistoidea||Simaethistidae||align=right|2||align=right|4
|-
|Tineoidea|| ||align=right|406||align=right|4,352
|-
| ||Acrolophidae||align=right| ||align=right|300
|-
| ||Arrhenophanidae||align=right|5||align=right|26
|-
| ||Eriocottidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Lypusidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Psychidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Tineidae||align=right|320||align=right|3,000
|-
|Gracillarioidea|| ||align=right|90||align=right|2,315
|-
| ||Bucculatricidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Douglasiidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Gracillariidae||align=right|75||align=right|2,000
|-
| ||Roeslerstammiidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
|Yponomeutoidea|| ||align=right|83||align=right|1,578
|-
| ||Acrolepiidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Bedelliidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Glyphipterigidae||align=right| ||align=right|384
|-
| ||Heliodinidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Lyonetiidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Plutellidae||align=right| ||align=right|100
|-
| ||Yponomeutidae||align=right| ||align=right|600
|-
| ||Ypsolophidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
|Gelechioidea|| ||align=right|1,390||align=right|15,966
|-
| ||Agonoxenidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Batrachedridae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Blastobasidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Coleophoridae||align=right|43||align=right|1,418
|-
| ||Cosmopterigidae||align=right|106||align=right|1,628
|-
| ||Elachistidae||align=right|165||align=right|3,270
|-
| ||Ethmiidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Gelechiidae||align=right|507||align=right|4,530
|-
| ||Holcopogonidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Lecithoceridae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Metachandidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Momphidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Oecophoridae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Pterolonchidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Scythrididae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Symmocidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
|Galacticoidea||Galacticidae||align=right|3||align=right|17
|-
|Zygaenoidea|| ||align=right|98||align=right|2,700
|-
| ||Aididae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Anomoeotidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Cyclotornidae||align=right|1||align=right|5
|-
| ||Dalceridae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Epipyropidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Heterogynidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Himantopteridae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Lacturidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Limacodidae||align=right| ||align=right|1,100
|-
| ||Megalopygidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Somabrachyidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Zygaenidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
|Cossoidea|| ||align=right|114||align=right|676
|-
| ||Cossidae||align=right|113||align=right|670
|-
| ||Dudgeoneidae||align=right|1||align=right|
|-
|Sesioidea|| ||align=right|149||align=right|1,360
|-
| ||Brachodidae||align=right| ||align=right|150
|-
| ||Castniidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Sesiidae||align=right|149||align=right|1,362
|-
|Choreutoidea||Choreutidae||align=right|12||align=right|405
|-
|Tortricoidea||Tortricidae||align=right|755||align=right|6,338
|-
|Urodoidea||||align=right|4||align=right|62
|-
| ||Urodidae||align=right|3||align=right|60
|-
| ||Ustyurtiidae||align=right|1 ||align=right|2
|-
|Schreckensteinioidea||Schreckensteiniidae||align=right|4||align=right|12
|-
|Epermenioidea||Epermeniidae||align=right|5||align=right|83
|-
|Alucitoidea|| ||align=right|15||align=right|158
|-
| ||Alucitidae||align=right| ||align=right|130
|-
| ||Tineodidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
|Pterophoroidea||Pterophoridae||align=right|73||align=right|986
|-
|Whalleyanoidea||Whalleyanidae||align=right|1||align=right|2
|-
|Immoidea||Immidae||align=right|6||align=right|246
|-
|Copromorphoidea|| ||align=right|29||align=right|318
|-
| ||Carposinidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
| ||Copromorphidae||align=right| ||align=right|
|-
|Hyblaeoidea||Hyblaeidae||align=right|2||align=right|18
|-
|Pyraloidea|| ||align=right|2,092||align=right|15,576
|-
| ||Crambidae||align=right|1,015||align=right|10,094
|-
| ||Pyralidae||align=right|1,077||align=right|5,900
|-
|Thyridoidea||Thyrididae||align=right|12||align=right|1,220
|-
|Mimallonoidea||Mimallonidae
|-
| ||Nolidae||align=right|186||align=right|1,738
- Kristensen, N.P. (Ed.). 1999. Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies. Volume 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Handbuch der Zoologie. Eine Naturgeschichte der Stämme des Tierreiches / Handbook of Zoology. A Natural History of the phyla of the Animal Kingdom. Band / Volume IV Arthropoda: Insecta Teilband / Part 35: 491 pp. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, New York.