Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFErebidae Members: Catocala Members: 2 NC Records

Catocala amestris Strecker, 1874 - Three-staff Underwing

No image for this species.
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Erebidae		Subfamily:
Erebinae		Tribe:
Catocalini		P3 Number:
930830		 MONA Number:
8844.00		 Other Common Names:
Three-staffed Underwing, Leadplant Underwing
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)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The ground color is brownish gray, with the basal and terminal areas usually solidly gray. The antemdian and postmedian lines are double and heavily black, forming a complex pattern of strong loops. The reniform also has a double black line around it but is often obscured by black shading (Sargent, 1976). The hindwing is a fairly deep yellow-orange and crossed by black bands. The inner band is sharply angled and the outer band can be either complete or broken.
Wingspan: 45-50 mm (Sargent, 1976)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution:
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Catocala amestrisAlamance 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.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Our two records come from very different habitats, one from a xeric, coastal fringe sand ridge and the other from the foothills of the Blue Ridge.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae are stenophagous, feeding on Amorpha species. Wagner et al. (2011) list both False Indigo-bush (Amorpha fruticosa) and Leadplant (A. canescens). Locust (Robinia) has also been reported (Sargent, 1976), but Wagner discounts this claim. We do not have any feeding records in North Carolina. - View
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: W-PK
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G4 SU [SH]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
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