Catocala parta
kah-TOCK-uh-lah mm PAR-tuh
Guenee, 1852

THE MOTHER UNDERWING, courtesy of Gerald Fauske, North Dakota.

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

MIDI MUSIC "Moon River" copyright C. Odenkirk MIDI CITY ON.OFF <bgsound src="moon.mid" LOOP=FOREVER>

DISTRIBUTION:

The Catocala parta moth (wingspan: 70-85mm) flies from Alberta and Manitoba to Nova Scotia, Canada, and then south through Connecticut to Maryland and Kentucky west to Missouri and Iowa and north to Montana and North Dakota. Tom Middagh reports them in Minnesota.

Catocala parta male, Longueuil, Quebec, August 4, 1987,
taken at bait, courtesy of Pierre Legault.

The black dashes in the basal, subapical and anal areas help to identify this species. The hindwings may be yellow to yellowish-orange but more often are salmon-red. Note the face-head-like markings on the thorax, especially noticeable in the Tim Dyson image below. In the hindwing, the first (nearest the apex) black protrusion into the white fringe is "noticeably" larger than the others. The melanic form is "forbesi", Franclemont. Image, Redcliff, Alberta, Canada, courtesy of John Acorn.

Catocala parta "forbesi" female, Longueuil, Quebec, August 4, 1987,
taken at bait, courtesy of Pierre Legault.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Catocala parta flies as a single generation with moths on the wing from June to October.

Moths come in to lights readily and also to bait.

Catocala parta, August 17, 2004, Peterborough, Ontario, courtesy of Tim Dyson copyright.

The Catocala parta caterpillar show a preference for poplars and willows.

ECLOSION:

Adults eclose from pupae formed under leaf litter.

Catocala parta female, Oka, Quebec, July 31, 1990,
taken at bait, courtesy of Pierre Legault.

Note the distinct, dark discal lunule on the underside of the hindwing.

SCENTING AND MATING:

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

EGGS, CATERPILLARS, COCOONS AND PUPAE: Eggs are deposited on bush bark in the fall and hatch the following spring. Mature larvae on quaking aspen. Image courtesy of Ron Nelson from rearings of Gabriel Larrabee.

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 deltoides Populus tremuloides...... Salix alba Salix babylonica Salix nigra

Cottonwood Quaking Aspen White Willow Weeping willow Black willow

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