Catocala amica
Encyclopedia
The Girlfriend Underwing (Catocala amica) is a moth
of the Noctuidae
family. It is found from southern Canada
(Ontario
and Quebec
) through the eastern United States
, westward to Oklahoma
and Arizona
and northward to Minnesota
.
Subspecies Catocala amica lineella, or the Little Lined underwing or Steely Underwing, is now considered to be a valid species, Catocala lineella
.
The wingspan
is 35-40 mm. Adults are on wing from June to September depending on the location.
The larvae feed on Quercus species, including Quercus macrocarpa, Quercus alba, Quercus bicolor, Quercus coccinea, Quercus ilicifolia, Quercus prinoides
, Quercus prinus, Quercus rubra, Quercus stellata and Quercus velutina.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Noctuidae
Noctuidae
The Noctuidae or owlet moths are a family of robustly-built moths that includes more than 35,000 known species out of possibly 100,000 total, in more than 4,200 genera. They constitute the largest family in the Lepidoptera....
family. It is found from southern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
) through the eastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, westward to Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
and Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and northward to Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
.
Subspecies Catocala amica lineella, or the Little Lined underwing or Steely Underwing, is now considered to be a valid species, Catocala lineella
Catocala lineella
The Lineella Underwing, Little Lined Underwing or Steely Underwing is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found from Ontario and Quebec south to Florida west to Texas and north to Ohio....
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 35-40 mm. Adults are on wing from June to September depending on the location.
The larvae feed on Quercus species, including Quercus macrocarpa, Quercus alba, Quercus bicolor, Quercus coccinea, Quercus ilicifolia, Quercus prinoides
Quercus prinoides
Quercus prinoides, commonly known as Dwarf Chinkapin Oak, Dwarf Chinquapin Oak, Dwarf Chestnut Oak or Scrub Chestnut Oak, is a shrubby, clone-forming oak native to eastern North America, ranging from Massachusetts to the Carolinian forest zone of southern Ontario to Minnesota, south to North...
, Quercus prinus, Quercus rubra, Quercus stellata and Quercus velutina.