Catocala delilah
kah-TOCK-uh-lahmmdee-LYE-luh
Strecker, 1874

Catocala delilah desdemona courtesy of Bruce Walsh.

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

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

DISTRIBUTION:

Catocala delilah, The Delilah Underwing (wingspan: 60-65mm), flies from Ohio south to Florida and west to Texas and Oklahoma, Arizona and Utah, through Mexico to Honduras.

The forewing is gray-brown with prominent black antemedial and postmedial lines. The hindwing is yellow-orange, with a narrow inner black band which reaches the inner margin. There is a large yellow spot at the apex, and the fringe is faintly barred. The underside of the wings is deep yellow with black bands.

I believe subspecies C. delilah desdemona has now been elevated to full species status as Catocala desdemona.

Catocala delilah desdemona, Honduras, courtesy of Kirby Wolfe.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Catocala delilah are usually on the wing from May to June. The Catocala delilah caterpillar feeds on oaks and willows.

ECLOSION:

Adults eclose from pupae at soil surface.

SCENTING AND MATING: Catocala delilah females emit an airbourne pheromone and males use their antennae to track the scent plume. Catocala delilah, Onion Saddle, 7600'. Cochise County, Arizona. July 17, 1998. Kelly Richers, collector, at uv trap.

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.

Quercus gambeli Quercus macrocarpus....... Salix

Gambel Oak Bur oak Willow

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