Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Erebidae Members:	Catocala Members:	89 NC Records

Catocala lineella Grote, 1872 - Little Lined Underwing

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Noctuoidea

Family:
Erebidae

Subfamily:
Erebinae

Tribe:
Catocalini

P3 Number:
930860

MONA Number:
8878.10

Other Common Name:
Steely Underwing

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. Lineella was included by Barnes and McDunnough (1918) in their Group XX (also adopted by Forbes, 1954), which feed on Oaks. This group originally included amica and jair, with lineella now added as a separate species. At least one undescribed species may eventually be added. Catocala lineella has been treated as a form of amica, but was restored to full species status by Gall (1990), who also considered forms melanotica, aurantiaca, and novangliae of amica as a synonyms of lineella. Gall and Hawks (2010) treated form nerissa as an additional synonym of lineella.

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)

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

Adult Markings: A medium-sized Underwing, with mottled, dark gray forewings and yellow-orange hindwings that lack a median black band. Grote (1872) described lineella as very similar to Catocala amica, but darker and "powdered with glaucous, bluish- or greenish-gray, and black scales". The curvifascia band that is present in some forms of amica -- at least as a well-defined dark arc rather than a diffuse shade -- is absent in lineella (Barnes and McDunnough, 1918; D.F. Schweitzer, pers. comm.). Catocala jair is usually more uniformly dark (in our populations) and has a straighter, less dentate postmedian line (Barnes and Mcdunnough, 1918).

Structural photos

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.


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:

Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on oaks (Quercus spp.), particularly in the red and black oak groups (Wagner et al., 2011). Reported hosts include Scarlet Oak (Q. coccinea), Bear Oak (Q. ilicifolia), Chestnut Oak (Q. montana), Northern Red Oak (Q. rubra), Post Oak (Q. stellata), and Black Oak (Q. velutina) (Robinson et al., 2010). 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 [S4S5]

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 lineella - Little Lined Underwing

Photos: 28

	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: Jim Petranka, Bo Sullivan and Becky Elkin on 2023-09-14 Macon Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Bo Sullivan and Becky Elkin on 2023-09-14 Macon Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: tom ward on 2023-09-02 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: tom ward on 2023-09-02 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: tom ward on 2023-08-23 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: tom ward on 2023-08-07 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper, Becky Watkins on 2023-07-30 Swain Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Rich Teper on 2023-07-30 Swain Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper, Becky Watkins on 2023-07-29 Swain Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2023-06-17 New Hanover Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2023-06-17 New Hanover Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson on 2022-07-23 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-06-30 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Lior Carlson on 2021-07-24 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2021-06-14 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-06-27 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-06-27 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Darryl Willis on 2020-06-20 Cabarrus Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Darryl Willis on 2019-07-12 Cabarrus Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Shields on 2019-06-06 Onslow Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Shields on 2019-06-06 Onslow Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2018-08-11 Yancey Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Bo Sullivan on 2018-07-15 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Ed Corey on 2013-06-06 Bladen Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Taylor Piephoff on 2010-05-14 Mecklenburg Co. Comment:		Recorded by: SPH on 1996-07-18 Martin Co. Comment: Wingspan = 4.4 cm; forewing length = 2.2 cm.