Catocala atocala
kah-TOCK-uh-lahmmah-TOCK-uh-lah
Brou, 1985

Catocala atocala (male-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 atocala, Brou's underwing, (wingspan: mm) flies from Louisiana west to Oklahoma and north to southern Illinois (possibly).

Vernon A. Brou chose the species name (rhyming) to try "to do something unique: atocala is simply Catocala without the C. (ka-ta-ko-la a-ta-ko-la)"

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Catocala atocala are usually on the wing in July and August. The Catocala atocala caterpillar eats Juglans nigra and Juglans cinerea.

ECLOSION:

Adults eclose from pupae at soil surface.

SCENTING AND MATING:

Catocala atocala 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.

Juglans cinerea..... Juglans nigra

Butternut Black walnut

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