Catocala

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Genus of moths

title: "Catocala" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["catocala", "noctuoidea-genera"] description: "Genus of moths" topic_path: "general/catocala" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catocala" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of moths ::

| taxon = Catocala | image = Catocala pura.JPG | image_caption = Semirelict underwing (C. semirelicta) Imago of the pura form from above | authority = Schrank, 1802 | diversity_link = #Classification | diversity = About 270 species | type_species = Phalaena nupta | type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1767 | synonyms = Numerous, see text

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.

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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. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Catocala_ilia.jpg" caption="[[Caterpillar]] of the [[beloved underwing]] (''C. ilia'')"] ::

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 Hübner, [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

Comparison of Eurasian species Image:Catocala actaea 01.jpg|Catocala actaea Image:Catocala agitatrix.jpg|Catocala agitatrix Image:Catocala coniuncta.jpg|Catocala conjuncta Image:Catocala conversa.jpg|Catocala conversa Image:Catocala dilecta.jpg |Catocala dilecta Image:Catocala disjuncta.jpg|Catocala disjuncta Image:Catocala diversa.jpg|Catocala diversa Image:Catocala electa01.jpg|Catocala electa rosy underwing Image:Catocala elocata.01.jpg|Catocala elocata French red underwing Image:Catocala eutychea.jpg|Catocala eutychea Image:Catocala fraxini.01.jpg|Catocala fraxini blue underwing type species of Hemigeometra Image:'Catocala fulminea'.jpg|Catocala fulminea type species of Ephesia Image:Catocala hymenaea.jpg|Catocala hymenaea Image:Catocala lara 01.jpg|Catocala lara Image:Catocala lupina.jpg|Catocala lupina Image:Catocala mariana.jpg|Catocala mariana Image: Catocala neonympha.01.jpg|Catocala neonympha Image:Catocala nupta.01.jpg|Catocala nupta red underwing type species of Catocala Image:Catocala nymphaea.01.jpg|Catocala nymphaea Image:Catocala nymphagoga.jpg|Catocala nymphagoga oak yellow underwing Image:Catocala optata.jpg|Catocala optata Image:Catocala pacta.jpg |Catocala pacta Image:Catocala promissa.jpg|Catocala promissa light crimson underwing Image:Catocala puerpera.jpg|Catocala puerpera type species of Eunetis Image:Catocala separata.jpg|Catocala separata Image:Catocala sponsa.01.jpg|Catocala sponsa dark crimson underwing

[[Nearctic]] species

Comparison of North American species File:Catocala nurus.JPG|Catocala amatrix f. nurus sweetheart underwing type species of Lamprosia File:Catocala amica.jpg|Catocala amica girlfriend underwing type species of Corisce File:Catocala allusa.JPG|Catocala allusa File:Catocala andromache2.JPG|Catocala andromache Andromache underwing File:Catocala angusi 01.jpg|Catocala angusi Angus' underwing File:Catocala antinympha.jpg|Catocala antinympha sweetfern underwing File:Catocala phoebe.JPG|Catocala badia bay underwing File:Catocala benjamini benjamini.JPG|Catocala benjamini benjamini Benjamin's underwing File:Catocala carissima.JPG|Catocala carissima carissima underwing File:Catocala cerogama.jpg|Catocala cerogama yellow-banded underwing File:Catocala coccinata sinuosa.jpg|Catocala coccinata scarlet underwing File:Catocala concumbens2.JPG|Catocala concumbens pink underwing File:Catocala sancta.JPG|Catocala connubialis f. sancta connubial underwing File:Catocala delilah mounted.JPG|Catocala delilah Delilah underwing File:Catocala desdemona.JPG|Catocala desdemona Desdemona underwing File:Catocala frederici2.JPG|Catocala frederici File:Catocala grotiana.JPG|Catocala grotiana Grote's underwing File:Catocala grynea 01.JPG|Catocala grynea woody underwing File:Catocala habilis.jpg|Catocala habilis habilis underwing File:Catocala diantha.JPG|Catocala hermia f. diantha Hermia underwing File:Catocala innubens.jpg|Catocala innubens betrothed underwing File:Catocala irene2.JPG|Catocala irene Irene's underwing File:Catocala jessica.JPG|Catocala jessica Jessica underwing File:Catocala johnsoniana.JPG|Catocala johnsoniana Johnson's underwing File:Catocala judith 01.jpg|Catocala judith Judith's underwing File:Catocala lacrymosa 01.jpg|Catocala lacrymosa tearful underwing File:Catocala nerissa.JPG|Catocala lineella lineella underwing File:Catocala nebraskae.JPG|Catocala luciana shining underwing File:Catocala maestosa2.JPG|Catocala maestosa sad underwing File:Catocala manitoba.JPG|Catocala manitoba Manitoba underwing File:Catocala mcdunnoughi.JPG|Catocala mcdunnoughi McDunnough's underwing File:Catocala rosalinda.JPG|Catocala meskei f. rosalinda Meske's underwing File:Catocala micronympha.jpg|Catocala micronympha little nymph underwing File:Catocala euphemia.JPG|Catocala neogama euphemia the bride File:Catocala obscura.jpg|Catocala obscura obscure underwing File:Catocala palaeogama 01.jpg|Catocala palaeogama old wife underwing File:Catocala dionyza2.JPG|Catocala piatrix dionyza penitent underwing File:Catocala relicta.01.jpg|Catocala relicta the relict File:Catocala luctuosa.JPG|Catocala retecta luctuosa yellow-fringed underwing File:Catocala serena.jpg|Catocala serena serene underwing File:Catocala subnata 01.JPG|Catocala subnata youthful underwing File:Catocala texanae.JPG|Catocala texanae Texan underwing File:Catocala ultronia.jpg|Catocala ultronia dark red underwing File:Catocala unijuga.JPG|Catocala unijuga once-married underwing File:Catocala beutenmuelleri.JPG|Catocala verrilliana f. beutenmuelleri Verrill's underwing File:Catocala vidua.jpg|Catocala vidua widow underwing

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

However, the "orange underwings" are two species of genus Archiearis of the geometer moth family (Geometridae):

Image:Mormo maura.1.JPG|Black underwing Mormo maura Hadeninae Image:Minucia lunaris.jpg|Brown underwing Minucia lunaris Catocalinae Image:Cathephia alchymista.jpg|White underwing Catephia alchymista Catocalinae Image:Amphipyra berbera001.jpg|Svensson's copper underwing Amphipyra berbera Amphipyrinae Image:Amphipyra pyramidea.jpg|Copper underwing Amphipyra pyramidea Amphipyrinae

Image:Noctua tirrenica female.jpg|Mediterranean yellow underwing Noctua tirrenica Noctuinae Image:Noctua fimbriata2.jpg|Broad-bordered yellow underwing Noctua fimbriata Noctuinae Image:Noctua pronuba.o1.jpg|Large yellow underwing Noctua pronuba Noctuinae Image:Noctua jantina.01.jpg|Lesser broad-bordered yellow underwing Noctua janthina Noctuinae Image:Noctua interjecta.jpg|Least yellow underwing Noctua interjecta Noctuinae

Image:Noctua interposita.JPG|Least yellow underwing Noctua interposita Noctuinae Image:Noctua orbona.01.jpg|Lunar yellow underwing Noctua orbona Noctuinae Image:Noctua comes.01.jpg|Lesser yellow underwing Noctua comes Noctuinae Image:Coranarta cordigera.jpg|Small dark yellow underwing Coranarta cordigera Hadeninae Image:Anarta myrtilli 01.jpg|Beautiful yellow underwing Anarta myrtilli Catocalinae

Image:Panemeria tenebrata.jpg|Small yellow underwing Panemeria tenebrata Catocalinae Image:Hadula melanopa.jpg|Broad-bordered white underwing Hadula melanopa Hadeninae Image:Polyphaenis sericata.01.jpg|Guernsey underwing Polyphaenis sericata Hadeninae Image:Thalpophila matura.jpg|Straw underwing Thalpophila matura Hadeninae Image:Orthosia miniosa 01.jpg|Blossom underwing Orthosia miniosa Hadeninae

Image:Peridroma saucia 01.jpg|Pearly underwing Peridroma saucia Noctuinae Image:Archiearis parthenias.jpg|Orange underwing Archiearis parthenias Geometridae: Archiearinae Image:Archiearis notha.jpg|Light orange underwing Archiearis notha Geometridae: Archiearinae Image:Boudinotiana puella.jpg|Pale orange underwing Boudinotiana puella Geometridae: Archiearinae

Footnotes

References

References

  1. FE (2011), and see references in Savela (2012)
  2. Hampson, G. F.. (1894). "The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Moths Volume II". Taylor and Francis.
  3. Fullard & Napoleone (2001), Stevens (2005)
  4. Nelson & Loy (1983), and see references in Savela (2012)
  5. Fullard & Napoleone (2001)
  6. Woodhouse (1910)
  7. See references in Savela (2012)
  8. Pitkin & Jenkins (2004b)
  9. Savela, Markku. (July 27, 2019). "''Catocala'' Schrank, 1802".
  10. "Blepharonia" was initially proposed as name for a [[tribe (biology). tribe]] in 1823, and only established as a genus name ''Blepharonia'' in 1825: Pitkin & Jenkins (2004a).

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