Catocala cara
| Darling underwing | |
|---|---|
| |
| Upperside of imago from Kane County, Illinois | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
| Family: | Erebidae |
| Genus: | Catocala |
| Species: | C. cara
|
| Binomial name | |
| Catocala cara | |
Catocala cara, the darling underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1852. It can be found in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains; it occurs west at least to Oklahoma and north at least to Illinois. It also ranges into southern Canada, but only barely so.[1][2]
Description and ecology[edit]
The wingspan is 70–85 mm. The forewings are dark purplish brown above, and light cream below. The hindwings have a deep scarlet-pink ground color with a pattern of two clean concentric blackish bands per wing, one through the midwing and one along the pale outer margin. The hindwing base is heavily covered in dark hairs; at a casual glance it may thus appear as if at the center of the dark bands there is a black spot or streak. As in many relatives, the foreleg tibia of this species possess no spines, while the tarsi carry three rows of spines.[3]
The adult moths flies from June to October depending on the location. The caterpillars feed on Populus (poplar and cottonwood) and Salix (willow) species, especially black willow (S. nigra).
Classification[edit]
This moth is placed in the subfamily Catocalinae, either of the owlet moth family, Noctuidae, or – if the Noctuidae are circumscribed more strictly – of family Erebidae. Within the Catocalinae, it belongs to tribe Catocalini and – if the Noctuidae are circumscribed widely – subtribe Catocalina.
The former subspecies C. c. carissima, which occurs to the south of the darling underwing, is now again considered to be a valid species Catocala carissima (carissima underwing); this also includes the supposed species C. silvia, which actually is merely a form with no formal taxonomic standing.
References[edit]
- ^ Nelson, John M. & Loy, Peter W. (1983). "The Underwing Moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of Oklahoma" Archived 2012-11-02 at the Wayback Machine. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science. 63: 60-67.
- ^ Savela, Markku (July 27, 2019). "Catocala cara Guenée, 1852". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- ^ Nelson & Loy (1983)
External links[edit]
- Lotts, Kelly & Naberhaus, Thomas (2017). "Darling Underwing Catocala cara Guenée, 1852". Butterflies and Moths of North America. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
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