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Species Catocala whitneyi - Whitney's Underwing Moth - Hodges#8843

Erebidae: Catocala whitneyi - Catocala whitneyi

Whitney's Underwing Moth - Hodges#8843 - Catocala whitneyi

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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 whitneyi (Whitney's Underwing Moth - Hodges#8843)

Hodges Number

8843

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Catocala whitneyi Dodge, 1874 (1), (2), (3)

Catocala abbreviatella var. whitneyi Dodge, 1874 (4)

Catocala obscura Draudt, 1939 (preocc.)

Phylogenetic sequence #930829

Explanation of Names

Named in honor of insect collector and entomologist Charles Pliny Whitney (1838-1928), of Milford, New Hampshire. A member of the Cambridge Entomological Club, Whitney published notes on Lepidoptera in 1876 and described multiple Tabanidae (Horse and Deer Flies) between 1879 and 1915, some of which collected by the brothers George and Edgar Dodge, who honor him here.

Numbers

Powell & Opler (2009) reported 110 species in all of North America, and about 230 worldwide. (5)

Size

The wingspan averages 45-50 mm.

Identification

The two black triangles on the forewing are distinctive. One is below the antemedial line and the other above the reniform. There is no black basal dash.

Range

Metzler (1987) included Manitoba to Illinois, western Kentucky and Kansas. (1), (6)

The Oklahoma checklist extends the range to include the state. (7)

Heppner (2003) listed Ohio to Florida, Manitoba to Kansas. (8)

Metzler (1987) mentions there are no Ohio specimens in collections, and clarified the type locality as a single location referring to the town of Ohio, Illinois, in Bureau County, not the states of Ohio and Illinois. (1)

Moth Photographers Group map

Season

The adults are most common from July to August. (6)

Heppner (2003) listed May, July to August for Florida. (8)

Food

Heppner (2003) listed the host plants. (8)

Amorpha canescens Pursh (leadplant)

Quercus sp. (oak)

Robinia sp. (locust)

See Also

Catocala abbreviatella

Catocala nuptialis

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.34; Pl.10, f.16-17. (2)

Dodge, G.M., 1874. Catocala whitneyi, N. sp. The Canadian Entomologist, 6: 125. (copies)

Hampson, G.F. 1913. Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalaenae in the British Museum, London, 12: 142.

Internet References

Moth Photographers Group (6)

Bill Oehlke's North American Catocala (9)

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (10)

Moths of North Dakota

Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA) (11)

George M. Dodge

Works Cited

1.	The type locality of Catocala whitneyi and reports of this species in Ohio Eric H. Metzler. 1987. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, 41(4): 212-213.

2.	Illustrations of the North American species of the genus Catocala. William Barnes, James Halliday McDunnough. 1918. Memoirs of the AMNH 2(1).

3.	Systematics of moths in the genus Catocala (Lepidoptera, Erebidae) IV. Nomenclatorial stabilization of the .... Lawrence Gall, David Hawks. 2010. Zookeys 39: 37-83.

4.	The genus Catocala. George. D. Hulst. 1884. Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 7(1): 14-56.

5.	Moths of Western North America Powell and Opler. 2009. UC Press.

6.	North American Moth Photographers Group

7.	Oklahoma moth species list by county (PDF)

8.	Arthropods of Florida and Neighboring Land Areas: Lepidoptera of Florida J.B. Heppner. 2003. Florida Department of Agriculture 17(1): 1-670.

9.	Bill Oehlke's North American Catocala

10.	BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data Systems

11.	Butterflies of North America

Contributed by Maury J. Heiman on 29 July, 2013 - 1:29am
Additional contributions by marcie oconnor, Randy Hardy
Last updated 14 March, 2018 - 3:16pm

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