Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Catocala badia Grote & Robinson, 1866
(1),
(2),
(3),
(4)
Catocala coelebs Grote, 1874
(5)
Catocala phoebe Edwards, 1884
(6),
(7),
(8)
Catabapta badia var.
phoebe (8) Explanation of Names
Specific epithet from
Latin meaning "reddish brown, chestnut colored, bay."
Numbers
Covell states "may be locally common" and Sargent says "May be very common to abundant along coast, where foodplant abounds; less and less common inland."
Identification
Adult - forewing dark brown inside AM line and in PM area; light brown beyond nearly-straight ST line and in band outside AM line; PM line black, wavy, usually inconspicuous. Hindwing orange with two black bands of similar width.
Range
Maine to New Jersey along the coast. Inland reports from Pennsylvania and Michigan perhaps refer to the more widespread subspecies C. b. coelebs (The Old Maid), as C. b. badia is apparently restricted to the Atlantic coast.
Habitat
Coastal habitats where food plant grows.
Season
Adults fly from late June to early October.
Food
Larvae feed on leaves of Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera).
Life Cycle
One generation per year; overwinters as an egg; eggs are laid on tree bark in fall, and hatch the following spring.
Remarks
The former Catocala coelebs was reduced to a subspecies of C. badia [i.e. C. b. coelebs] by Gall and Hawks in 2002.
See Also
Ilia Underwing (C. ilia) has a white-rimmed reniform spot, usually less dark shading in median area of forewing, and orange or pink on the hindwing
Similar Underwing (C. similis) has a pale triangular apical patch along the costa, and a tear-shaped reniform spot
(
compare images of all three species)
Also see The Old Maid (subspecies C. b. coelebs), which lacks a straight ST line
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.
8;
Pl.7, f.16;
Pl.12, f.2-6 (larva).
(3)
Gall, Lawrence F. and David C. Hawks. 2002. Systematics of Moths in the Genus
Catocala (Noctuidae). III. The Types of William H. Edwards, Augustus R. Grote and Achille Guinee. Journal of the Lepidopterists Society. Volume 56 Number 4.
(9)
Grote, A.R. & C.T. Robinson, 1866. Lepidopterological notes and descriptions - no. 2.
Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia 6:
22;
Pl.4, f.1.
(1)
