Catocala

Catocala is a generally Holarctic genus of moths in the family Erebidae. The genus was erected by Franz von Paula Schrank in 1802. The moths are commonly known as underwing moths or simply underwings. These terms are sometimes used for a few related moths, but usually – especially when used in plural, not as part of a species name – they are used to refer to Catocala only.
Of the more than 250 known species, slightly less than half are found in North America – mostly in the United States – while the rest occur in Eurasia. About one-fifth (almost 30) of these species are native to Europe. A few species occur in the northern Neotropics and Indomalaya.
Description and ecology
Most species of Catocala have medium to large adults, cryptically coloured except for the hindwings, which are marked with stripes in orange, red, white, or even blue. In some, the hindwings are mostly blackish. Unlike what the common name "underwings" seems to suggest, the colour is brightest on the upperside. However, the bright hindwings are not visible at rest, being hidden under the dull forewings – hence the name. Due to their diversity and variety of colors and patterns, underwing moths are popular with collectors of Lepidoptera.
In, The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Moths Volume II, the genus described as follows.
It is believed that the bright colors, arranged in usually roughly concentric markings, at a casual glance resemble the eyes of a predatory animal, such as a cat. An underwing moth, well camouflaged in its daytime resting spot on a tree trunk or branch, will suddenly flash open the hindwings when disturbed. A bird or other small predator that is not used to this display is likely to be frightened, allowing the moth to escape. However, unlike some other bright-colored moths which are bad-tasting or even poisonous to predators, underwing moths are well palatable at least to some birds (e.g. the blue jay, Cyanocitta cristata). To assist in avoiding nocturnal predators such as bats, these moths also possess (like many of their relatives) fairly well-developed hearing organs.
The caterpillars of most species feed on the leaves of woody plants, usually trees but sometimes shrubs. Typical food plants are Fagales of the families Betulaceae, Fagaceae and Juglandaceae – mainly hickory (Carya), oak (Quercus) and walnut tree (Juglans) species, as well as others such as alder (Alnus), beech (Fagus), birch (Betula) and chestnut (Castanea). The caterpillars of numerous Old World and some North American species feed on the Salicaceae Populus (poplars) and Salix (willows), which belong to the Malpighiales. Less common larval food plants of Catocala are for example elms (Ulmus) and various Rosaceae of the Rosales, Tilia (linden and basswood) of the Malvales, or some Fabaceae of the Fabales; as the preceding, these all belong to the Fabidae lineage of rosid eudicots. More unusually, underwing moth caterpillars have also been found to feed on such plants as maple (Acer) which belongs to a distant lineage of rosids, as well as on such plants as ash trees (Fraxinus) and blueberries (Vaccinium) which are asterids and quite unrelated to the other food plants by eudicot standards.
The adults are predominantly nocturnal, flying from shortly after dusk right up to daybreak. They are generally most active about two hours after nightfall. However, several if not all species of underwing moths have a second activity period exactly around noon, during which they are also regularly found on the wing for about 1–2 hours each day.
The genus name Catocala roughly means "beautiful hindwings". It is a combination of two Ancient Greek words, kato (κάτω, "the rear one" or "the lower one"), and kalos (καλός, "beautiful").
Classification
There are over 250 species in this genus. The species of Catocala are here divided into a Eurasian group, and another one which is found in North America. This does not imply actual relationships; it is mainly done to more conveniently deal with the large number of species. Still, it is not unlikely at all that the groups consist at least to some extent of closely related species.
There are several cryptic species complexes in Catocala, e.g. the group around the Delilah underwing (C. delilah); these and other hitherto unknown species are still being discovered and described in some numbers. Thus, resolving the phylogeny and taxonomy of the underwing moths is an ongoing effort, which has made little progress. In the scientific literature, smaller subdivisions into putatively related species are sometimes applied, but there is no consistent and widely accepted taxonomic treatment for the genus as a whole.
Synonyms
Several distinct genera have formally been proposed for splitting from Catocala, but these are all treated here as junior synonyms. These synonyms and other invalid names of Catocala are:
Andreusia Hampson, 1913 (unjustified emendation)
Andrewsia Grote, 1882
Astiodes (lapsus)
Astiotes Hübner, 1823
Belpharidia (lapsus)
Bihemena Beck, 1966
Blephara Ochsenheimer, 1816 (unavailable)
Blepharidia Hübner, 1822
Blepharonia Hübner, 1823 (unavailable)
Blepharonia Hübner, 1825
Blepharum Hübner, 1806 (rejected)
Catabapta Hulst, 1884
Catacola (lapsus)
Catocalla (lapsus)
Convercala Beck, 1966
Corisce Hübner, 1823
Corisee (lapsus)
Divercala Beck, 1966
Ephesia Hübner, 1818
Eucala Beck, 1966
Eucora Hübner, 1823
Eunetis Hübner, 1823
Hemigeometra Haworth, 1809
Koraia Nye, 1975
Lamprosia Hübner, [1821]
Lamprosia Hübner, 1827 (non Hüber, [1821]: preoccupied)
Metacala Beck, 1966
Mormonia Hübner, 1823
Mormosia (lapsus)
Optocala Beck, 1966
Promonia Beck, 1966
Puercala Beck, 1966
Reticcala Beck, 1966
Simplicala Beck, 1966
Palearctic species
Catocala abacta Staudinger, 1900
Catocala abamita Bremer & Grey, 1853 (including C. scortum)
Catocala actaea Felder & Rogenhofer, 1874
Catocala adultera Ménétries, 1856
Catocala aenigma Sheljuzhko, 1943
Catocala aestimabilis Staudinger, 1892
Catocala afghana Swinhoe, 1885
Catocala agitatrix Graeser, 1889 (including C. mabella)
Catocala amabilis Bang-Haas, 1907
Catocala amnonfreidbergi Kravchenko et al., 2008
Catocala ariana Vartian, 1964
Catocala armandi (including C. davidi)
Catocala artobolevskiji Sheljuzhko, 1943
Catocala bella (including C. serenides)
Catocala bokhaica
Catocala borthi Saldaitis, Ivinskis, Floriani & Babics, 2012
Catocala brandti
Catocala butleri
Catocala catei Weisert, 1998
Catocala chenyixini Ishizuka, 2011
Catocala columbina
Catocala coniuncta – Minsmere crimson underwing
Catocala connexa
Catocala contemnenda
Catocala conversa
Catocala danilovi Bang-Haas, 1927
Catocala dariana Sviridov, Speidel, Reshöft, 1996
Catocala davidi Oberthür, 1881
Catocala deducta Eversmann, 1843
Catocala dejeani (sometimes in C. kuangtungensis)
Catocala desiderata
Catocala detrita Warren, 1913
Catocala deuteronympha
Catocala dilecta Hübner, [1808] (type of Astiotes)
Catocala disjuncta
Catocala dissimilis (including C. nigricans)
Catocala distorta Butler, 1889
Catocala diversa
Catocala doerriesi
Catocala dotatoides
Catocala dula
Catocala duplicata
Catocala editarevayae
Catocala electa – rosy underwing
Catocala ella Butler, 1877
Catocala ellamajor Ishizuka, 2010
Catocala elocata – French red underwing
Catocala eminens Staudinger, 1892
Catocala eutychea
Catocala flavescens
Catocala florianii Saldaitis & Ivinskis, 2008
Catocala formosana Okano, 1958
Catocala fraxini – blue underwing, Clifden nonpareil (type of Hemigeometra)
Catocala fredi Bytinsky-Salz & Brandt, 1937
Catocala fugitiva Warren, 1914
Catocala fulminea (type of Ephesia)
Catocala fuscinupta
Catocala gansan Ishizuka & M. Wang, 2013
Catocala giuditta Schawerda, 1934
Catocala haitzi Bang-Haas, 1936
Catocala hariti Ishizuka & Ohshima, 2002
Catocala helena
Catocala hoenei Mell, 1936
Catocala hoferi Ishizuka & Ohshima, 2003
Catocala hymenaea
Catocala hymenoides Draeseke, 1927
Catocala hyperconnexa Sugi, 1965
Catocala inconstans Butler, 1889
Catocala infasciata Mell, 1936
Catocala intacta
Catocala invasa
Catocala jansseni A. E. Prout, 1924
Catocala jonasii Butler, 1877
Catocala jouga Ishizuka, 2003
Catocala juncta
Catocala jyoka Ishizuka, 2006
Catocala kaki Ishizuka, 2003
Catocala kasenko Ishizuka, 2007
Catocala koreana Staudinger, 1892
Catocala kotschubeyi Sheljuzhko, 1927
Catocala kuangtungensis
Catocala kusnezovi Püngeler, 1914
Catocala lara Bremer, 1861
Catocala largeteaui Oberthür, 1881
Catocala laura Speidel, Ivinskis & Saldaitis, 2008
Catocala leechi
Catocala lehmanni Speidel, Ivinskis & Saldaitis, 2008
Catocala lesbia
Catocala longipalpis Mell, 1936
Catocala lupina Herrich-Schäffer, [1851]
Catocala luscinia Brandt, 1938
Catocala maculata Vincent, 1919
Catocala mariana
Catocala martyrum Oberthür, 1881
Catocala maso Ishizuka, 2011
Catocala mesopotamica
Catocala mirifica Butler, 1877
Catocala moltrechti Bang-Haas, 1927
Catocala musmi
Catocala naganoi Sugi, 1982
Catocala nagioides
Catocala naumanni Sviridov, 1996
Catocala neglecta
Catocala neonympha Esper, 1805 (type of Eucora)
Catocala nivea Butler, 1877
Catocala nubila
Catocala nupta – red underwing
Catocala nymphaea
Catocala nymphaeoides Herrich-Schäffer, 1852
Catocala nymphagoga – oak yellow underwing
Catocala oberthueri Austaut, 1879
Catocala obscena Alphéraky, 1879
Catocala ohshimai Ishizuka, 2001
Catocala olgaorlovae
Catocala optata
Catocala optima – Turanga underwing
Catocala pacta
Catocala paki Kishida, 1981
Catocala patala Felder & Rogenhofer, 1874
Catocala pataloides
Catocala persimilis
Catocala pirata
Catocala praegnax Walker, 1858
Catocala prolifica Walker, 1857
Catocala promissa – light crimson underwing
Catocala proxeneta Alphéraky, 1895
Catocala pudica Moore, 1879
Catocala pudica sabine Saldaitis, Pekarsky & Borth 2014
Catocala puella
Catocala puerpera (type of Eunetis)
Catocala puerperoides
Catocala remissa
Catocala repudiata
Catocala rhodosoma Röber, 1927
Catocala seibaldi Saldaitis, Ivinskis & Borth, 2010 (including C. pseudoformosana)
Catocala seiohbo
Catocala separans
Catocala separata
Catocala sinyaevi Sviridov, 2004
Catocala solntsevi
Catocala sponsa – dark crimson underwing
Catocala sponsalis
Catocala stamensis Kishida & Suzuki, 2002
Catocala streckeri
Catocala sultana (sometimes in C. optata)
Catocala svetlana Sviridov, 1997
Catocala szechuena
Catocala tapestrina Moore, 1882
Catocala thomsoni A. E. Prout, 1924
Catocala timur – Timur underwing
Catocala tokui
Catocala toropovi Saldaitis, Kons & Borth, 2014
Catocala triphaenoides Oberthür, 1881
Catocala uljanae Sinyaev, Saldaitis & Ivinskis, 2007
Catocala viviannae
Catocala weigerti Hacker, 1999
Catocala wushensis
Catocala xarippe Butler, 1877 (formerly in C. fulminea)
Catocala xizangensis Chen, 1991
Comparison of Eurasian species
Nearctic species
Catocala abbreviatella
Catocala agrippina – Agrippina underwing
Catocala aholibah – Aholibah underwing
Catocala alabamae – Alabama underwing, titan underwing (including C. olivia, C. titania)
Catocala allusa (sometimes in C. faustina)
Catocala amatrix – sweetheart underwing (type of Lamprosia)
Catocala amestris – three-staff underwing
Catocala amica – girlfriend underwing (type of Corisce)
Catocala andromache – Andromache underwing
Catocala andromedae – Andromeda underwing, gloomy underwing
Catocala angusi – Angus' underwing
Catocala antinympha – sweetfern underwing (type of Catabapta)
Catocala atocala – Atocala underwing, Brou's underwing
Catocala badia – bay underwing, bayberry underwing, old maid
Catocala benjamini – Benjamin's underwing (formerly in C. andromache)
Catocala blandula – charming underwing
Catocala briseis – Briseis underwing, ribbed underwing
Catocala caesia – bluish-gray underwing
Catocala californica (including C. erichi)
Catocala californiensis
Catocala cara – darling underwing
Catocala carissima – carissima underwing (formerly in C. cara)
Catocala cerogama – yellow-banded underwing
Catocala charlottae (sometimes in C. praeclara)
Catocala chelidonia
Catocala cleopatra (sometimes in C. faustina)
Catocala clintoni – Clinton's underwing
Catocala coccinata – scarlet underwing
Catocala concumbens – pink underwing, sleepy underwing
Catocala connubialis – connubial underwing
Catocala consors – consort underwing
Catocala crataegi – hawthorn underwing, chokeberry underwing
Catocala dejecta – dejected underwing
Catocala delilah – Delilah underwing
Catocala desdemona – Desdemona underwing (including C. ixion, formerly in C. delilah)
Catocala dulciola – quiet underwing, sweet underwing
Catocala electilis
Catocala epione – Epione underwing (type of Mormonia)
Catocala faustina
Catocala flebilis – mournful underwing
Catocala francisca (sometimes in C. hermia)
Catocala frederici
Catocala gracilis – graceful underwing
Catocala grisatra – grisatra underwing
Catocala grotiana – Grote's underwing
Catocala grynea – woody underwing
Catocala habilis – habilis underwing
Catocala hermia – Hermia underwing (including C. sheba)
Catocala herodias – Herodias' underwing, Gerhard's underwing
Catocala hippolyta (sometimes in C. semirelicta)
Catocala ilia – beloved underwing, Ilia underwing, wife underwing
Catocala illecta – Magdalen underwing
Catocala innubens – betrothed underwing
Catocala insolabilis – inconsolable underwing
Catocala irene – Irene's underwing
Catocala jair – Jair underwing, barrens underwing
Catocala jessica – Jessica underwing (including C. babayaga)
Catocala johnsoniana – Johnson's underwing
Catocala judith – Judith's underwing
Catocala junctura – joined underwing, Stretch's underwing (including C. elsa, C. stretchii)
Catocala lacrymosa – tearful underwing
Catocala lincolnana – Lincoln underwing
Catocala lineella – lineella underwing, little lined underwing, steely underwing (formerly in C. amica)
Catocala louiseae – Louise's underwing (including C. protonympha)
Catocala luciana – shining underwing
Catocala maestosa – sad underwing
Catocala manitoba – Manitoba underwing (sometimes in C. praeclara)
Catocala marmorata – marbled underwing
Catocala mcdunnoughi – McDunnough's underwing
Catocala meskei – Meske's underwing
Catocala messalina – Messalina underwing (type of Andrewsia)
Catocala micronympha – little nymph underwing, little bride underwing
Catocala minuta – little underwing
Catocala mira – wonderful underwing
Catocala miranda – Miranda underwing
Catocala muliercula – little wife underwing
Catocala myristica - Myristica underwing Kons & Borth, 2015
Catocala nebulosa – clouded underwing
Catocala neogama – the bride (including C. euphemia)
Catocala nuptialis – married underwing
Catocala obscura – obscure underwing
Catocala ophelia
Catocala orba – Orba underwing
Catocala palaeogama – old wife underwing (sometimes in C. neogama)
Catocala parta – mother underwing
Catocala piatrix – penitent underwing
Catocala praeclara – praeclara underwing
Catocala pretiosa – precious underwing (formerly in C. crataegi)
Catocala pretiosa texarkana – Texarkana underwing
Catocala relicta – the relict, "white underwing"
Catocala residua – residua underwing
Catocala retecta – yellow-gray underwing
Catocala (retecta) luctuosa – yellow-fringed underwing
Catocala robinsoni – Robinson's underwing
Catocala sappho – Sappho underwing
Catocala semirelicta – semirelict underwing (including C. nevadensis, C. pura)
Catocala serena – serene underwing
Catocala similis – similar underwing
Catocala sordida – sordid underwing
Catocala subnata – youthful underwing
Catocala texanae – Texan underwing
Catocala ulalume – Ulalume underwing
Catocala ultronia – dark red underwing, ultronia underwing
Catocala umbrosa
Catocala unijuga – once-married underwing
Catocala verrilliana – Verrill's underwing
Catocala vidua – widow underwing
Catocala violenta
Catocala whitneyi – Whitney's underwing
Comparison of North American species
Other "underwing moths"
As noted in the introduction, some species besides the Catocala species are also commonly known as "underwings". Typically however, the name is used with a qualifier, such as a color term, in these cases. Non-Catocala "underwing moths" are typically owlet moths, namely:
Subfamily Catocalinae
Beautiful yellow underwing (Anarta myrtilli)
Brown underwing (Minucia lunaris)
Locust underwing (Euparthenos nubilis)
(European) white underwing (Catephia alchymista) – in North America, "white underwing" typically refers to Catocala relicta
Subfamily Amphipyrinae
Copper underwing (Amphipyra pyramidea)
Svensson's copper underwing (Amphipyra berbera)
Subfamily Erebinae
False underwing moth (Allotria elonympha)
Subfamily Hadeninae
Black underwing (Mormo maura)
Blossom underwing (Orthosia miniosa)
Broad-bordered white underwing (Hadula melanopa)
Guernsey underwing (Polyphaenis sericata)
Lunar underwing (Omphaloscelis lunosa)
Small dark yellow underwing (Coranarta cordigera)
Small yellow underwing (Panemeria tenebrata)
Straw underwing (Thalpophila matura)
Subfamily Noctuinae
Pearly underwing (Peridroma saucia)
Yellow underwings proper, some 15 species in the genus Noctua
However, the "orange underwings" are two species of genus Archiearis of the geometer moth family (Geometridae):
Orange underwing (Archiearis parthenias)
Light orange underwing (Archiearis notha)
Footnotes
References
Fauna Europaea (FE) (2011): Catocala. Version 2.4, January 27, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
Nelson, John M. & Loy, Peter W. (1983): The Underwing Moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of Oklahoma. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science 63: 60–67. PDF fulltext
Pitkin, Brian & Jenkins, Paul (2004a): Butterflies and Moths of the World, Generic Names and their Type-species – Blepharonia Hübner 1823. Version of November 5, 2004. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
Pitkin, Brian & Jenkins, Paul (2004b): Butterflies and Moths of the World, Generic Names and their Type-species – Catocala. Version of November 5, 2004. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
Stevens, Martin (2005): The role of eyespots as anti-predator mechanisms, principally demonstrated in the Lepidoptera. Biological Reviews 80(4): 573–588. PDF fultlext
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910): English-Greek Dictionary – A Vocabulary of the Attic Language. George Routledge & Sons Ltd., Broadway House, Ludgate Hill, E.C. Searchable JPEG fulltext
Further reading
Ishizuka, K. (2002). "Notes on Catocala columbina Leech, 1900 (Lepidoptela, Noctuidae), with description of new taxa". Gekkan-Mushi. (379): 12–13.
Ishizuka, K. (2007). "A new species of Catocala Schrank, 1802 from Western China (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae)". Gekkan-Mushi. (439): 22–24.
Müller, Gunter; Kravchenko, Vasiliy; Witt, Thomas; Junnila, Amy; Mooser, J.; Saldaitis, Aidas; Reshöft, K.; Ivinskis, Povilas; Zahiri, Reza & Speidel, Wolfgang (2008). "New underwing taxa of the section of Catocala lesbia Christoph, 1887 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)". Acta Zoologica Lituanica. 18 (1): 30–49.
Kravchenko, V. D., Speidel, W., et al. (2008). "A new species of Catocala from Israel (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)". Acta Zoologica Lituanica. 18 (2): 127–129.
Leech, J. J. (1900). Transactions of the Entomological Society of London. 1900: 511–663.
Lewandowski, S. & Tober, K. (2008). "Catocala olgaorlovae duschara subspec. nov. aus Jordanien (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)". Atalanta. 39 (1-4): 377–378.
Saldaitis, A. & Ivinskis, P. (2008). "Catocala florianii, a new species (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) from China". Acta Zoologica Lituanica. 18 (2): 124–126.
Saldaitis, A. & Pekarsky, O. & Borth, R. (2014). "A new subspecies of Catocala pudica Moore, 1879 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae (sensu lato): Erebinae) from Mongolia". Esperiana. 19: 255–262.
Sinyaev, V., Saldaitis, A. & Ivinskis, P. (2007). Acta Zoologica Lituanica. 17 (4): 272–275.
Speidel, W., Ivinskis, P. & Saldaitis, A. (2008). "A new Catocala species (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) from China". Acta Zoologica Lituanica. 18 (2): 122–123.
Weisert, F. (1998). Zeitschrift der Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Österreichischen Entomologen. 50: 125–126.
External links
Oehlke, Bill (January 1, 2013). "Catocala: Classification and Common Names". Catocala. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
Noctuoidea genera