Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFErebidae Members: Catocala Members: 60 NC Records

Catocala piatrix Grote, 1864 - Penitent Underwing

Catocala piatrix
view caption 		Catocala piatrixCatocala piatrixCatocala piatrix
view caption
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Erebidae		Subfamily:
Erebinae		Tribe:
Catocalini		P3 Number:
930762		 MONA Number:
8771.00		 Other Common Name:
The Penitent
Comments: One of 103 species in this genus that occur in North America (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010, 2015), 67 of which have been recorded in North Carolina. Piatrix was included by Barnes and McDunnough (1918) in their Group II (also adopted by Forbes, 1954), which contains just this one species.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954); Sargent (1976)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Forbes (1954); Wagner et al. (2011)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A large brownish-gray Underwing with boldly banded orange and black hindwings. The forewings are mottled with dark and pale gray. A contrasting pale band extends from the costa to the subreniform, separating two patches of dark gray located in the upper basal area and the area surrounding the reniform. The subterminal area is a medium gray but is crossed by a dark gray apical dash. The hindwings are broadly banded with orange and black. Catocala innubens has similar hindwings but has a very different forewing color and/or pattern.
Wingspan: 70-80 mm (Sargent, 1976)
Adult Structural Features: Male valves are somewhat asymmetrical, especially their apices (Forbes, 1954 -- features of Group II)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Probably occurs throughout the Piedmont and Mountains but may be less widespread in the Coastal Plain
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Catocala piatrixAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New%20Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.
Immature Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: immatures.
Flight Comments: Univoltine, flying in North Carolina from late July to early October
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: The majority of our records come from wet to mesic hardwood forests; only a couple of records come from dry slopes but in areas adjoining wet or mesic stands. Most records come from areas of fairly rich soils but at least one record from Gates County came from a blackwater floodplain.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae are stenophagous, feeding mainly on Black Walnut (Juglans nigra), Butternut (Juglans cinerea), Pecan (Carya illinoinensis), Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata), and other hickories (Forbes, 1954; Wagner et al., 2011). In North Carolina, Jeff Niznik has reared a larva on Pecan. - View
Observation Methods: Comes to light to some extent and also to bait
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Rich Wet-Mesic Hardwood Forests
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S3S4]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: We currently have only a few records for this species but it may be undersampled, requiring more bait surveys in particular to determine its actual frequency and abundance. This species is a moderate habitat specialist, but its habitats themselves are still fairly common. While it appears to be secure within the state more information is needed to accurately assess its status.

 Photo Gallery for Catocala piatrix - Penitent Underwing

 66 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.
Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2025-09-23
Durham Co.
Comment: 		Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2025-09-07
Durham Co.
Comment:
Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-08-16
Wilson Co.
Comment: 		Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-08-16
Wilson Co.
Comment:
Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-08-16
Wilson Co.
Comment: 		Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Michael P Morales on 2025-08-13
Cumberland Co.
Comment:
Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Michael P Morales on 2025-08-13
Cumberland Co.
Comment: 		Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Michael P Morales on 2025-08-13
Cumberland Co.
Comment:
Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson, Randy Emmitt on 2025-08-12
Alamance Co.
Comment: 		Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson, Randy Emmitt on 2025-08-12
Alamance Co.
Comment:
Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2024-10-24
Wake Co.
Comment: 		Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2024-09-13
Durham Co.
Comment:
Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-08-26
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-07-20
Orange Co.
Comment:
Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-07-20
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-07-20
Orange Co.
Comment:
Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-10-06
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-10-06
Orange Co.
Comment:
Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Bo Sullivan and Becky Elkin on 2023-09-15
Macon Co.
Comment: 		Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Avery Young on 2023-09-08
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2023-09-04
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Michael Pirrello on 2023-09-03
Nash Co.
Comment: iNat record
Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Michael Pirrello on 2023-09-03
Nash Co.
Comment: iNat record		Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Michael Pirrello on 2023-09-03
Nash Co.
Comment: iNat record
Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2023-08-20
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Travis McLain on 2023-08-08
Cabarrus Co.
Comment:
Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2023-07-09
Durham Co.
Comment: 		Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2023-06-05
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2022-09-15
Durham Co.
Comment: 		Catocala piatrix
Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2022-08-12
Durham Co.
Comment: