Species Catocala amica - Girlfriend Underwing - Hodges#8878

8878

Friendly Underwing

Catocala amica (Hübner, 1818) (1), (2)

Ephesia amica Hübner, 1818

Catocala androphila Guenée, 1852 (3), (4), (5)

Catocala amica var. suffusa Beutenmüller, 1903 (6), (2)

Catocala amica form "melanotica" Reiff , 1916 (15)

Catocala amica form "curvifascia" Brower, 1936 (97)

Specific epithet from Latin meaning "friendly, amicable."

Wingspan 31-44 mm. (7)

*Update March 2016: The adults of both species, amica and lineella, are indistinguishable by photo (larva indistinguishable as well, Wagner 361). Traditionally, amica was distinguished by being lighter color overall, with less bold lines, and less blackish shading in the basal and median areas, while lineella was said to be darker overall with bolder lines and more black shading. However, as numerous specimens of both species have been sequenced and identified via DNA analysis, not only have those traditional characteristics been shown unreliable ( > 50% inaccuracy rate), but even the COI sequence data between some individual amica and lineella specimens have been so close as to be statistically identical. (See here for brief discussion on this.)

Ontario and Quebec to Florida, west to Texas, north to North Dakota.

Woodlands containing oak; adults are nocturnal and come to light.

Larvae feed on leaves of oak (Quercus). (8)

Little Lined Underwing (Catocala lineella) forewing is darker overall, with heavier lines and more extensive blackish shading, especially in basal and median areas (compare images of both species at CBIF, and compare images by Pierre Legault of 2 male lineella on the left, vs. male & female amica on the right)

Barnes, Wm. & J.H. McDunnough, 1918. Illustrations of the North American species of the genus Catocala. Memoirs of the AMNH 2(1): p.45; Pl.8, f.20; Pl.12, f.12 (larva). (1)

Hübner, J., 1818. Zuträge zur Sammlung exotischer Schmetterlinge, v.1: figs. 57,58.

Moth Photographers Group

Bill Oehlke's North American Catocala (7)