Catocala babayaga
kah-TOCK-uh-lah mm bah-bah-YAY-ga
Strecker, 1884

Catocala babayaga Garden Cyn, Huachuca Mts, Cochise County, AZ.
Oct 16, 1998. L. Muller, collector, given to Kelly Richers by Ron Leuschner.

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: Noctuidae Group: Noctuinina Subfamily: Catocalinae Genus: Catocala, Schrank, 1802

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DISTRIBUTION:

Catocala babayaga (wingspan: mm) flies from Arizona to Colorado to Illinois.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Catocala babayaga are usually on the wing in the fall: October. The Catocala babayaga caterpillar shows a preference for willows and poplars.

ECLOSION:

Adults eclose from pupae at soil surface.

SCENTING AND MATING:

Catocala babayaga females emit an airbourne pheromone and males use their antennae to track the scent plume.

EGGS, CATERPILLARS, COCOONS, AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited on tree bark in the fall and hatch the following spring.

Larval Food Plants

Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants. It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive, although some species seem very host specific. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Populus...... Salix

Poplar Willow

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