Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Erebidae Members:	Catocala Members:	125 NC Records

Catocala amica (Hübner, 1818) - Girlfriend Underwing

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Noctuoidea

Family:
Erebidae

Subfamily:
Erebinae

Tribe:
Catocalini

P3 Number:
930859

MONA Number:
8878.00

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. Amica was included by Barnes and McDunnough (1918) in their Group XX (also adopted by Forbes, 1954), which feed on Oaks. This group originally also included jair, with lineella now added as a separate species. At least one undescribed species may eventually be added.

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)

Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD

Technical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954); Sargent (1976)

Adult Markings: A relatively small, pale gray Catocala, with a conspicuous dark curvifascia line running from the middle of the costa to the outer margin below the apex. The ground color is pale gray and variably shaded with brown. The orbicular is a pale pear-shaped spot and the reniform is typically shaded with red brown. The hindwing is yellow and has only a single dark band running along the outer margin with a separated black dot located at the anal angle.

Catocala lineela has a similar hindwing pattern but has a more mottled bluish-gray forewing pattern that lacks a curvifascia band. Catocala jair also has a similar hindwing but has a blackish forewing, a less dentate postmedian, and a brown subterminal area (Sargent, 1976). A third, currently undescribed species also appears to exist with a pattern more similar to jair but more brownish than blackish.

Wingspan: 35-40 mm (Sargent, 1976)

Structural photos

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Found over most of the state, from the mountains to the barrier islands.

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) Click on graph to enlarge

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Found mainly in xeric sites in the Coastal Plain, including maritime forests and sand ridges. In the Piedmont and Mountains, however, it is associated with wet-to-mesic habitats, including alluvial forests, cove forests, and high elevation forests.

Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on oaks, including White Oak (Quercus alba), Live Oak (Q. virginiana), Bear Oak (Q. ilicifolia) and others (Wagner et al., 2011). We do not have any feeding records in North Carolina. - View

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Oak-Hickory Forests

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S4]

State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.

Comments:

Photo Gallery for Catocala amica - Girlfriend Underwing

56 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-08 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-08 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-07 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-07 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-07 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-06-21 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-06-13 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-08-25 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Kevin Bischof on 2024-08-07 Transylvania Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Kevin Bischof on 2024-08-07 Transylvania Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-08-06 Transylvania Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-08-06 Transylvania Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-08-06 Transylvania Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-08-06 Transylvania Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-08-05 Transylvania Co. Comment:		Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2024-08-04 Transylvania Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2024-07-20 Transylvania Co. Comment:		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-06-24 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2024-06-23 Graham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Steve Hall, Patrick Coin, Mark Basinger on 2024-06-16 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2023-09-05 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2023-09-05 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: tom ward on 2023-09-02 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: tom ward on 2023-08-24 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: tom ward on 2023-08-23 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2023-08-23 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2023-08-23 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin and Bo Sullivan on 2023-08-08 Wilkes Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin and Bo Sullivan on 2023-08-08 Wilkes Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper, Becky Watkins on 2023-07-30 Swain Co. Comment: