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

Catocala epione (Drury, 1773) - Epione Underwing


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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: ErebidaeSubfamily: ErebinaeTribe: CatocaliniP3 Number: 930764.00 MONA Number: 8773.00
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. Included by Barnes and McDunnough (1918) in their Group III (also adopted by Forbes, 1954), which also contains Catocala consors. Both are Hickory-feeding species.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954); Sargent (1976)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Forbes (1954)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A medium-small, blackish Underwing with a bright white fringe on its hindwings. The ground color of the forewings is dark gray, with blackish shading in the median area; the reniform is largely brown and subreniform is pale. The antemedian and postmedian lines are jet black and are shaded inwardly and outwardly, respectively, with brown; the brown band on the outside of the postmedian line is particularly conspicuous and is followed by a diffuse pale subterminal line. The hindwings are jet black but bordered by a pure white fringe with no dark checks (Forbes, 1954; Sargent, 1976). No other predominantly dark underwing has the gleaming white hindwing fringe.
Wingspan: 55-65 mm (Sargent, 1976)
Adult Structural Features: The valves in the male are somewhat asymmetric, with an outer tooth on the right valve only (Forbes, 1954, for Group III generally)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Pale ash gray mottled with reddish; with a broken dark dorsal line, a pale lateral line, and separate black ventral spots. Black bands on the head connected across the vertex by a solid, black bar (Forbes, 1954)
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Possibly occurring statewide, although we do not yet have any records from either the Barrier Islands or High Mountains
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

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