Catocala faustina cleopatra
kah-TOCK-uh-lahMfows-TEE-nuhMklee-OH-pa-truh
Strecker, 1874

Catocala faustina cleopatra, British Columbia.

Catocala faustina cleopatra, Wolf Creek, Josephine County, Oregon,
September 11, 2013, courtesy of Edna Woodward, tentative id by Bill Oehlke

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TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: Noctuidae Group: Noctuinina Subfamily: Catocalinae Genus: Catocala, Schrank, 1802

MIDI MUSIC "Moon River" copyright C. Odenkirk MIDI CITY ON.OFF <bgsound src="moon.mid" LOOP=FOREVER>

DISTRIBUTION:

Catocala faustina cleopatra, (wingspan: 65mm) flies from British Columbia south to California. It should also be in Washington and Oregon.

Specimens from the coastal areas of northern California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia are classified as C. faustina allusa.

C. faustina allusa blends with C. faustina cleopatra in northwestern California, and with C. faustina faustina in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.

Catocala faustina cleopatra, Wolf Creek, Josephine County, Oregon,
September 11, 2013, courtesy of Edna Woodward, tentative id by Bill Oehlke

C. cleopatra is now (2010) regarded as a subspecies of faustina.

The head and thorax are a dark bluish grey while the abdomen is a brownish grey. The primaries are dark bluish grey. The transverse lines, reniform and sub-reniform are indistinct with some yellowish brown shading on the upper surface.

The bands are relatively narrow, the fringe (unbroken) is white on the exterior margin and grey near the abdomen.

Catocala faustina cleopatra, male, Bakersfield, Kern County, CA,
400', Kelly Richers collector, on fence, June 22 1983.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS: Catocala faustina cleopatra are usually on the wing from June to early September (September 12, 2013 image left, Wolf Creek, Oregon). The Catocala cleopatra caterpillar feeds on Gleditsia triacanthos, Malus, Malus pumila, Prunus, Prunus americana, Prunus ilicifolia and Ulmus.

ECLOSION:

Adults eclose from pupae at soil surface.

SCENTING AND MATING:

Catocala faustina cleopatra females emit an airbourne pheromone and males use their antennae to track the scent plume.

EGGS, CATERPILLARS, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited on tree bark in the fall and hatch the following spring.

Larval Food Plants

Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants. It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive, although some species seem very host specific. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Gleditsia triacanthos Malus Malus pumila Prunus Prunus americana Prunus ilicifolia Ulmus

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