Moths of North Carolina
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Catocala Members:
30 NC Records

Catocala amatrix (Hübner, [1813]) - Sweetheart Underwing

Catocala amatrixCatocala amatrix
view caption 		Catocala amatrix
view caption 		Catocala amatrix
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Erebidae		Subfamily:
Erebinae		Tribe:
Catocalini		P3 Number:
930815		 MONA Number:
8834.00		 Other Common Name:
The Sweetheart
Comments: One of 103 species in this genus that occur in North America (Gall and Hawks, 2010; Kons and Borth, 2015a,b), 67 of which have been recorded in North Carolina.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A large underwing moth. Fore-wings have a flat yellowish or grayish-brown ground color but with a pale gray sheen that is more or less evident depending on the lighting and angle of view. The typical form (nurus, according to Holland, , and Forbes, 1954) has a heavy dark basal dash that usually is joined with a median and apical dash that crosses the wing diagonally; in form selecta, the dashes are reduced or absent (Sargent, 1976). The antemedian and postmedian lines are dark and contrasting in the upper half of the wing but paler towards the inner margin; the upper portion of the antemedian is fairly wavy and runs obliquely in from the costa (less smooth and curved than in cara and carissima) and often has an inward-pointing tooth at or near the radius (an outward tooth is usually prominent in cara and carissima). A large sub-reniform spot is present and usually joined to the antemedian by a dark patch or lines (Sargent, 1976). The hindwings are strongly marked with red and black bands, similarly to cara and carissima, but lack the black basal area present in those species.
Wingspan: 75-85 mm (Sargent, 1976); 89 mm in one of our specimens
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from photos showing hindwings, abdomen, or other specialized views [e.g., frons, palps, antennae, undersides].
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution:
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Catocala amatrix