Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Owlet Moths and kin (Noctuoidea) » Erebidae » Erebinae » Catocalini » Underwings (Catocala) » The Sweetheart - Hodges#8834 (Catocala amatrix)

Species Catocala amatrix - The Sweetheart - Hodges#8834

Classification · Hodges Number · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Dagger Moth of some sort? - Catocala amatrix Erebidae: Catocala concumbens? - Catocala amatrix Erebidae: Catocala - Catocala amatrix Erebidae: Catocala amatrix - Catocala amatrix Erebidae: Catocala amatrix - Catocala amatrix Sweetheart or Darling Underwing? - Catocala amatrix Grey moth - Catocala amatrix The Sweetheart - Catocala amatrix
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Noctuoidea (Owlet Moths and kin)
Family Erebidae
Subfamily Erebinae
Tribe Catocalini
Genus Catocala (Underwings)
Species amatrix (The Sweetheart - Hodges#8834)
Hodges Number
8834
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Catocala amatrix (Hübner, [1813]) (1), (2), (3)
Noctua amatrix Hübner, [1813]
Catocala nurus Walker, [1858] (preocc.) (4)
Catocala selecta Walker, [1858] (preocc.) (4)
Catocala editha Edwards, 1874 (112), (5)
Catocala pallida Barnes & McDunnough, 1918 (preocc.)
Catocala amatrix form "hesseli" Sargent, 1976 (6)
Explanation of Names
Specific epithet is Latin for "female lover."
Size
Wingspan 75-95 mm. (7)
Forewing length 36-39 mm. (8)
Identification
Adult - very large. Forewing grayish to purplish-brown with wavy black lines; typical form has diffuse broken black band running from basal area to apex; form electa lacks this band, form pallida is very pale, form hesseli is very dark (melanic). hindwing pinkish-red with black bands; fringe wide and yellowish-white.
Range
Eastern North American, ranging west through the Great Plains, west to central Montana, Utah, and Arizona. (8)
Food
Larvae feed on leaves of poplar (Populus) and black willow (Salix nigra).
Life Cycle
Overwinters as an egg; eggs are laid on tree bark in the fall and hatch in the spring; larvae feed in foilage of trees, then descend the trunk and pupate on the ground; adults emerge from pupa at the soil surface.
Remarks
Skittish. Frequently rests by day under bark and in crevices, with a heads down posture. (7)
Print References
Barnes, Wm. & J.H. McDunnough, 1918. Illustrations of the North American species of the genus Catocala. Memoirs of the AMNH 2(1): p.32; Pl.3, f.11-13; Pl.11, f.3 (larva). (3)
Hübner, J., [1813], Sammlung europäischer Schmetterlinge 4: Pl.103, f.487.
Internet References
Moth Photographers Group (9)
Bill Oehlke (7)
PNW Moths (8)
Maryland Moths
Alain Charpentier, Insects of Quebec
Jacob Hübner (1761-1826)
Works Cited
1.On the North American species of Catocala.
Augustus Radcliffe Grote. 1872. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 4: 1-20.
2.The genus Catocala.
George. D. Hulst. 1884. Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 7(1): 14-56.
3.Illustrations of the North American species of the genus Catocala.
William Barnes, James Halliday McDunnough. 1918. Memoirs of the AMNH 2(1).
4.List of the specimens of lepidopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part XIII - Noctuidae.
Francis Walker. 1857. British Museum (Natural History), p.984-1236.
5.Systematics of moths in the genus Catocala (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). III.
Gall, Lawrence F. & David C. Hawks. 2002. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society. 56(4): 234-264.
6.Legion of Night: The Underwing Moths
Theodore D. Sargent. 1976. University of Massachusetts Press.
7.Bill Oehlke's North American Catocala
8.Pacific Northwest Moths
9.North American Moth Photographers Group
Contributed by Robin McLeod on 27 August, 2005 - 10:58pm
Additional contributions by tom murray, Maury Heiman, marcie oconnor, Randy Hardy
Last updated 30 August, 2018 - 6:42pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2025 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact