Catocala grynea
kah-TOCK-uh-lah mm GRYE-nee-uh
(Cramer, 1780) Phalaena grynea

Catocala grynea, Peterborough, Ontario, courtesy of Tim Dyson, September 3, 2004.

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 grynea, the Woody Underwing (wingspan: 40-50mm), flies in Ontario and Quebec (rare) through Maine and Connecticut, south to Florida, west to Texas and north through Iowa to Wisconsin and Minnesota. The forewing is a dull greenish grey with orangey-brown shading along the inner margin. The antemedial, median and postmedial lines are quite faint. Image courtesy of Lynn Scott, Ontario. Praeclara is somewhat similar but has a break in the brown shading between the am and pm lines. Praeclara also has a paler orange hindwing color.

Catocala grynea courtesy of Vernon A. Brou.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS: Catocala grynea are on the wing from May (Texas) to September. Peak flight is probably in July. The Catocala grynea caterpillar reportedly feeds on hawthorns, plums and apples. Gabe Larrabee reports success only with apple. Always ready for a quick getaway, this grynea flashes its hindwings revealing checkered fringe considerably lighter than orange banding. Catocala grynea courtesy of Lynn Scott.

ECLOSION:

Adults eclose from pupae at soil surface.

SCENTING AND MATING: Catocala grynea females emit an airbourne pheromone and males use their antennae to track the scent plume. Tim Dyson has captured the ventral surface as this specimen, July 21, 2005, Peterborough, Ontario, is enjoying the bait along Tim's trail.

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....... Prunus Malus

Hawthorn Plum Apple

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