| Red Underwing (Catocala nupta (Linnaeus, 1767)) |
|
|
|
Scientific name: Catocala nupta (Linnaeus, 1767) Common name: Red Underwing French name: Mariée, Lichénée (or Likénée) rouge, Lichénée (or Likénée) du saule. Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Heterocera Family: Erebidae Subfamily: Erebinae Wingspan: 65-75 mm Biotope: Deciduous forests with Willows and Poplars. Geographic area: Europe, Asia east to Japan. Flight time: July to September. Number of generations : 1 Caterpillar: Greyish white and tapered on both ends. There are two ochre dots on each segment, a hump on the fifth one and a smaller hump on the eighth one. The under side is greenish with a row of black dots. There is a black stripe on the head. Host plant: Willow (Salix sp.) or Poplar (Poplar sp.) |
Catocala comes from the Greek words "katö" which means "under" and "kalos" which means "beautiful". The fore wings' colour makes an almost perfect camouflage against a tree bark. They are a ashy grey colour with paler areas. They are crossed by three blackish lines bordered with yellow on the rear side. The post median line is very wavy and angulous. The bright red colour of the hind wings, with a black post median stripe, is used to startle predators when the butterfly is frightened. They end with a rather wide black rear stripe bordered by a white fringe. The median black stripe is curved and does not touch the inner edge of the wing. There are some similar species. The followings points can be used to try to tell them apart (I must have forgotten some species, I will add them when I get additional information). Let's first start with the fore wings. The French Red Underwing (Catocala elocata) and Catocala puerpera show a short-toothed straight post median line on the inner half side of the fore wing. The Red Underwing shows a very wavy post median line on the same part of the wing. The Dark Crimson Underwing (Catocala sponsa) and the Light Crimson Underwing (Catocala promissa) usually show brighter colours and particularly a black dotted line with a row of white dots next to the fringe. The Red Underwing is missing these white dots. Concerning the hind wings, the French Red Underwing (Catocala elocata) and Catocala puerpera differ form the Red Underwing by the black stripe at the rear of the wing which is interrupted near the anal angle. The Dark Crimson Underwing (Catocala sponsa) distinguishes from the Red Underwing by the black median stripe of the hind wing which looks like a W character running from one edge to the other. This black median stripe is interrupted before the inner edge on the Red Underwing. The Light Crimson Underwing (Catocala promissa) distinguishes from the Red Underwing by the thinner median black stripe on the hind wings which are also more pinkish. The Red Underwing over winters as an egg. |
| [To know more about the Red Underwing] [Next picture] [Top] |
|
I have not thought to make this moth fly away to check the colour of the hind wings. However I think that the identification of this species, based on the layout of the marks on the fore wings, must be correct. |
| [To know more about the Red Underwing] [Previous picture] [Top] |
|
This time the Red Underwing was kind enough to show me part of its hind wings. You can clearly see the black stripe at the end of the wing which reaches the inner edge while the middle black stripe is interrupted a little before. |
André Bon February 2025