There are many other families of Lepidoptera, some of which include other highly damaging agricultural pests. It is beyond the scope of this website to provide detailed information for all of them, but below are short summaries of other families that could be confused with Tortricidae (especially with badly damaged specimens). For non-tortricid pests, users should seek out other experts and resources for that particular family.
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Choreutidae is a small family of diurnal moths that contains approximately 400 species worldwide. Often referred to as "metalmark moths," many of the adults are quite colorful with bright metallic scales and can be easily confused with some tortricids.
The family Cossidae contains approximately 700 species worldwide. The moths range in size from small to very large, and many have very large abdomens. The larvae are borers, primarily in woody plants, and this group is sometimes referred to as the "carpenter moths."
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Previously treated as a subfamily of Pyralidae, Crambidae is now considered a separate family based on differences in the structure of the abdominal tympanumtympanum:
a membrane-covered cavity that serves as a hearing organ (not present in Tortricidae) 
. There are nearly 10,500 species of Crambidae worldwide. Some members of the family, such as the European corn borer, are serious economic pests.
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With more than 4,700 described species worldwide, Gelechiidae is one of the largest families of microlepidoptera. Most members of the family are very small with narrow wings and long fringe. The hindwing of nearly all species has a sinuous or concave termentermen:
the outer edge of the forewing 
and prominent apex. This family contains important economic pests such as the pink bollworm.
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Geometridae is a large family of moths, with over 27,000 species described worldwide (Rajaei et al. 2022Rajaei et al. 2022:
Rajaei, H., Hausmann, A., Scoble, M., Wanke, D., Plotkin, D., Brehm, G., Murillo-Ramos, L. & Sihvonen, P. 2022. An online taxonomic facility of Geometridae (Lepidoptera), with an overview of global species richness and systematics. Integrative Systematics 5(2): 145-192.). Adults are small to very large and generally have broad, triangular or rounded wings. The larvae are often called "inchworms," referring to their unique form of locomotion.
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Gracillariidae is a family of very small moths with over 2,000 species worldwide (De Prins and De Prins 2020De Prins and De Prins 2020:
De Prins, J., De Prins, W. 2020. Global Taxonomic Database of Gracillariidae (Lepidoptera). Available from http:// www.gracillariidae.net/). The larvae are leaf miners and the shape and structure of the mine can be used to aid in identification. The family contains some economically significant pests, such as the citrus peelminer, which has caused significant damage to Citrus in California.
Hepialidae is a family of primitive moths that are most diverse in Australia, the Afrotropics, and the Neotropics. The moths range in size (wingspan) from 20 mm up to 250 mm for an Australian species. The grub-like larvae bore into stems or roots or create tunnels in the soil.
The family Limacodidae contains approximately 1,650 species and are largely pantropical (Bian et al. 2020Bian et al. 2020:
Bian, D., Ye, W., Dai, M., Lu, Z., Li, M., Fang, Y., Qu, J., Su, W., Li, F., Sun, H., Zhang, M., Li, B. 2020. Phylogenetic relationships of Limacodidae and insights into the higher phylogeny of Lepidoptera. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 159: 356-363.). Often referred to as "slug moths," the larvae most often have protuberances with uriticating setae, many with distinctive patterns. Roughly 15% of the caterpillars are devoid of spines and are well camophlaged from predators. This family contains well-known species such as the saddleback caterpillar and monkey slug.
The Erebidae, including the former families Lymantriidae ("tussock moths") and Arctiidae ("tiger moths"), contains well over 25,000 species worldwide. They are morphologically extremely diverse and difficult to characterize. The Erebidae contain some major pest species, such as spongy moth (Lymantria dispar) and other species of tussock moths (subfamily Lymantriinae).
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Commonly referred to as the "owlet moths," the Noctuidae contains around 12,000 described species, with a worldwide distribution. This family contains some of the world's worst economic pests, including cutworms in the genus Spodoptera, Agrotis, and Helicoverpa. There is considerable debate as to the relationships within the superfamily Noctuoidea. The most recent classification places the Arctiinae (tiger moths) and Lymantriinae as subfamilies within the family Noctuidae (Lafontaine and Fibiger 2006Lafontaine and Fibiger 2006:
Lafontaine, J.D., Fibiger, M. 2006. Revised higher classification of the Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera). The Canadian Entomologist. 138(5): 610-635.).
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The family Notodontidae, or promiment moths, contains over 4,000 species worldwide. The adults are primarily medium-sized brown or gray moths and many resemble noctuids. The larvae of most species are solitary feeders, although some are serious forest pests and cause defoliation of the hosts.
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Oecophoridae is a family of small to medium sized moths that includes over 7,000 species worldwide. The family is most diverse in Australia where many species feed on decaying plant material on the floor of Eucalyptus forests.
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Evolutionarily, butterflies are nothing more than a group of highly diverse, day-flying moths in the superfamily Papilionoidea, containing nearly 20,000 described species (Kawahara et al. 2023Kawahara et al. 2023:
Kawahara AY, Storer C, Carvalho APS, Plotkin DM, Condamine FL, Braga MP, Ellis EA, St Laurent RA, Li X, Barve V, Cai L, Earl C, Frandsen PB, Owens HL, Valencia-Montoya WA, Aduse-Poku K, Toussaint EFA, Dexter KM, Doleck T, Markee A, Messcher R, Nguyen YL, Badon JAT, Benítez HA, Braby MF, Buenavente PAC, Chan WP, Collins SC, Rabideau Childers RA, Dankowicz E, Eastwood R, Fric ZF, Gott RJ, Hall JPW, Hallwachs W, Hardy NB, Sipe RLH, Heath A, Hinolan JD, Homziak NT, Hsu YF, Inayoshi Y, Itliong MGA, Janzen DH, Kitching IJ, Kunte K, Lamas G, Landis MJ, Larsen EA, Larsen TB, Leong JV, Lukhtanov V, Maier CA, Martinez JI, Martins DJ, Maruyama K, Maunsell SC, Mega NO, Monastyrskii A, Morais ABB, Müller CJ, Naive MAK, Nielsen G, Padrón PS, Peggie D, Romanowski HP, Sáfián S, Saito M, Schröder S, Shirey V, Soltis D, Soltis P, Sourakov A, Talavera G, Vila R, Vlasanek P, Wang H, Warren AD, Willmott KR, Yago M, Jetz W, Jarzyna MA, Breinholt JW, Espeland M, Ries L, Guralnick RP, Pierce NE, Lohman DJ. 2023. A global phylogeny of butterflies reveals their evolutionary history, ancestral hosts and biogeographic origins. Nature Ecolology and Evolution. 7(6): 903-913). Though the majority of butterflies are diurnal, brightly colored day-flyers, there are some exceptions. For example, some brush-footed butterflies (Nymphalidae) are fairly dull and the Neotropical butterfly-moths (Hedylidae) are nocturnal.
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Plutellidae is a family of small moths with fewer than 200 species worldwide. It includes the diamond-back moth, Plutella xylostella, which is a pest on cultivated Brassicaceae throughout the world.
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The bagworms, or family Psychidae, consist of over 1,250 species worldwide. The larvae construct cases made from plant material in which they feed and complete their development. Many male psychids have wings that lack scales while females are usually flightless and never leave the larval case. Bagworm larvae can cause severe or complete defoliation of their host plants and many species are considered pests.
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The family Pterophoridae, or plume moths, contains approximately 1,000 species worldwide. The adults are easily recognized by their divided wings and "T-shaped" resting posture.
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The family Pyralidae includes over 6,200 described species. Though similar to Crambidae, they can be separated based on differences in the structure of the abdominal tympanumtympanum:
a membrane-covered cavity that serves as a hearing organ (not present in Tortricidae) . Pyralid larvae have adapted to feed in many diverse environments, including in bees nests and in aquatic environments. Well known economic pests include the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella, and the wax moth, Galleria mellonella.
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The family Saturniidae contains approximately 1,500 described species. The adults range in size from medium to very large, with some having a wingspan of up to 12", making them among the world's largest Lepidoptera. Saturniid larvae are also some of the largest in the Lepidoptera, with final instars of some species reaching close to 10 cm in length. Many saturniid larvae have colorful tubercules or spines and some have urticating, or stinging, hairs.
Members of the Sesiidae are often referred to as "clearwing moths" due to a lack of scales that make their wings transparent. Over 1,300 species are described in the family, and many of the adults mimic wasps or hornets. The larvae are borers in trees, and some, like the peach tree borer, can be serious economic pests.
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The family Sphingidae contains approximately 1,700 species of medium to large moths. Commonly called "hawk moths," members of the family are known for their rapid flight and ability to hover while nectaring on flowers, much like hummingbirds. Many sphingid larvae have a horn at the posteriorposterior:
after, to the rear, toward anal end 
end of the abdomen, and some, such as the Tobacco hornworm, are regarded as economic pests.
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The family Tineidae is comprised of approximately 2,400 described species of small to medium sized moths. The larvae of most species have adapted to feed on detritus, lichens, and fungi, and very few feed on living plant tissue. The most well known members of the family are the clothes moths, the larvae of which feed on clothing and fabric.
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The ermine moths, or family Yponomeutidae, contains around 500 species. The adult moths are small to medium sized and many have spotted forewings. The larvae of some species are gregarious and they may construct large nests with extensive webbing.
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The family Zygaenidae consists of over 1,100 species worldwide, with the greatest number found in the tropics, although many of the Palearctic fauna once that to be distinct species are now considered to be forms. Many species are brightly colored, warning to predators that they are toxic from sequestering cyanides, while they may be urticating or non-spiny. A few species in the family are minor pests, such as two grape leaf skeletonizers, one each in eastern and western North America.
