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 |
Dr. Wayne H. Whaley reports C. unijuga flies in Utah in August within the Wasatch Mountains nr. Provo Cyn and northward into Idaho. Carroll Rudy sent the following image from Wisconsin.
It has also been confirmed in District of Columbia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland (Cambridge, Dorchester County, Jonathan Willey), Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Catocala unijuga, courtesy of Carroll Rudy, Calumet County, Wisconsin,
August 26, 2006, id confirmed by Larry Gall.
Visit Catocala unijuga, July 3, 1998; Forest Hills, Allegheny Co., Curt Lehman;
Visit Catocala unijuga, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, courtesy of Maurice Bottos.
Visit Catocala unijuga male, recto and verso, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, July 29, 2009, courtesy of Tim Taylor, Saskatchewan Collection.
Visit Catocala unijuga form agatha, male, recto and verso, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, August 22, 2009, courtesy of Tim Taylor, Saskatchewan Collection.
Visit Catocala unijuga, Sidney, Kennebec County, Maine, August 14, 2011, Steve Lemieux.
Visit Catocala unijuga, Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland, September 6, 2015, Jonathan Willey.
Visit Catocala unijuga, Worthington, Nobles County, Minnesota, September 16-19, 2011, Tom Middaugh.
There is a melanic form,"agatha", Beutenmuller, whose forewings are a dark, smoky grey.
The aberration "fletcheri", Beutenmuller has hindwings which are entirely black.
John Acorn confirms C. unijuga from Redcliff, Alberta, Canada.
Catocala unijuga bait, Mason, Ingham County, Michigan,
80mm, July 14, 1994, courtesy of Harry King
Catocala unijuga female, Regina, Saskatchewan,
77mm, August 18, 2009, courtesy of Tim Taylor
Catocala unijuga female (verso), Regina, Saskatchewan,
77mm, August 18, 2009, courtesy of Tim Taylor
Catocala unijuga bait (verso), Mason, Ingham County, Michigan,
80mm, July 14, 1994, courtesy of Harry King
I sometimes have difficulty distinguishing this species from the generally smaller Catocala semirelicta, especially in those semirelicta specimens lacking the diffuse dark bar just above the forewing inner margin.Usually there is a large pale patch on the body side of the reniform spot in C. unijuga. C. unijuga courtesy of Jim Vargo. |  |
Generally C. unijuga has a greyer forewing with not quite as much contrast. The subreniform spot is closed (open in semirelicta), and the tooth just below the longest tooth in the pm line is more reduced in unijuga than it is in semirelicta. C. unijuga also seems to lack the yellowish scales in the subreniform spot and outside the pm line.
In unijuga the hindwing inner black band is thicker and almost reaches the inner margin.
Many thanks to Ray who provides the following images of a small (65mm) Catocala unijuga from northwestern Massachusetts.
Catocala unijuga, 65 mm, NW Massachusetts, id confirmed by Larry Gall,
courtesy of Ray.
Catocala unijuga, 65 mm, NW Massachusetts, id confirmed by Larry Gall,
courtesy of Ray.
:
Catocala unijuga, (form agatha) Peterborough, Ontario,
July 12, 2005,
courtesy of Tim Dyson, form id by Larry Gall.
This species probably has one of the longest flight periods of all the Catocala but is still believed to be univoltine (single brooded).Larvae feed on cottonwoods, poplars and willows. Adults come to lights and to bait and can sometimes be "caught with a flashlight" while nectaring on joe-pye-weed (pond or stream edges), milkweed (open fields, roadsides) or other nectar sources. They often rest high on tree trunks with head up. Image courtesy of Tim Dyson, July 27, 2006. |  |
:Catocala unijuga, (form agatha) Peterborough, Ontario, July 12, 2005, courtesy of Tim Dyson.
Catocala unijuga eggs, courtesy of Tim Dyson. copyright
The dark grey larvae attain lengths of 50 mm. The middorsal stripe is very irregular and pale, and the head has black side stripes broadly connected across the vertex.
Catocala unijuga fourth instar, courtesy of Gabriel Larrabee. copyright
Catocala comparison Plate, Peterborough, Ontario,
courtesy of Tim Dyson.
Populus tremuloides..... |
Quaking aspen |
Use your browser "Back" button to return to the previous page.
Return to Main Index
Visit additional Catocala unijuga images.
Visit Catocala unijuga, Thornton, Grafton County, New Hampshire, August 31, courtesy of Deb Lievens.
Goto Main Catocala Index
This page is brought to you by Bill Oehlke and the WLSS. Pages are on space rented from Bizland. If you would like to become a "Patron of the Sphingidae/Catocala Sites", contact Bill.
Please send sightings/images to Bill. I will do my best to respond to requests for identification help.
Enjoy one of nature's wonderments: Live Saturniidae (Giant Silkmoth) cocoons.
|
butterfly to the left, a link to many worldwide insect sites. |
I replied:
"Hi Tom,
"I would go with unijuga even though they are on small side of wingspan range.
"I have also been told by Harry Dale King, who is quite knowledgable, that wingspan of semirelicta is usually more in 55mm range in Michigan.
I wish permission to post them, credited to you, from a link on unijuga page?"
After posting this reply to Tom, I also posted the "plate" to both the semirelicta page and to the unijuga page, and I noticed an additional character which seems
fairly consistent:
In unijuga, in the same respective areas, the 1) internal cap is thinner and almost reaches wing veins, 2) the outer circles are less distinct and greyish,
3) the outer, thinner arcs are common to both species. I do not know if this feature is consistent, but if present with other characters mentioned above,
it will add additional confidence in determining the two species.
Reasons:
1) black median band on hindwing almost reaches the inner margin; I expect it to be more distant in semirelicta;
2) there are some dark hairs in basal median area of hindwings on all three specimens, typical of unijuga; I expect a “clearer complexion” in semirelicta
(no blackish grey hairs in hindwing basal median areas) This is my primary reason;
3) semirelicta usually have a lighter overall appearance to forewing ground colour, less contracting than in unijuga;
4) absence of diffuse dark bar on forewing, paralleling the inner margin, usually present in semirelicta, reduced to thick outline along inside of last
inward projection on unijuga.
In semirelicta, there seems to be, in the marginal area of the forewing outer margin, moving from body to outer wing edge,
1) thick black arcs, not extending to wing veins between each pair of veins, 2) atop small whitish circles outlined in black except for outer edge of circles, 3)
atop thin black arcs that
run from wing vein to wing vein.
Catocala semirelicta, Wagner Bog, edmonton, Alberta, August 2, 1998, SEM.
