Catocala miranda
kah-TOCK-uh-lahM mih-RAN-duh
H. Edwards, 1881

Catocala miranda, Louisiana, courtesy of Vernon A. Brou.

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

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

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DISTRIBUTION:

Catocala miranda, the Miranda Underwing, (wingspan: 37-45mm) flies from Pennsylvania and Massachusetts ??, to Florida and west to western North Carolina. The specimen depicted above was taken in Louisiana.

District of Columbia, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Tennessee Virginia and West Virginia

The forewing is a plain pale grey with very light and fine black lines, darker and wider near the costa. The hindwing is black with white fringe at the apex, turning to grey along the outer margin.

Miranda is smaller than look-alike orba and miranda also has a dark bar just above the inner margin in the median area, projecting toward the anal angle.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Catocala miranda are usually on the wing from May to early June.

The Catocala miranda caterpillar shows a preference for hawthorn species.

ECLOSION:

Adults eclose from pupae at soil surface.

SCENTING AND MATING:

Catocala miranda 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.

Crataegus .......

Hawthorn (SG)

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