Abbreviated Underwing
Catocala abbreviatella Grote, 1872
Family: Erebidae
Status: Resident
Range: Found from Wisconsin and the Dakotas south to Texas and Missouri.
Larval Hostplant(s): Leadplant (Amorpha).
NENHP Ranking: Not listed
Broods/Flight Times: A single summer brood peaking in July.
Habitat: Prairies, meadows containing host plants.
Avg. Wingspan: Small Underwing, 1 1/2 – 2 Inches.
Found at: Box Elder WMA, Happy Jack Chalk Mine, Indian Cave SP, Niobrara Valley Preserve.
Overwintering: As eggs on woody stems.
Identification: FW pale gray. The antemedian is heavy and black but extends obliquely from the costa only to the fold, then becoming obsolete. (6) The reniform is also marked by a heavy black outline and has a black central lunule. HWs yellow-orange and black-banded, the bands ending abruptly before the inner margin (2)
Similar Species: Married Underwing (C. nuptialis) has a small solid black reniform and Whitney’s (C. whitneyi) Underwing has a dark heavy am line ending in a broad triangle at the middle of the FW. The Three Staff Underwing (C. amestris) has doubled FW lines.
Notes: Identifying features illustrated.
Literature Cited: (2) Sargent, T. D. 1976 Legion of the Night. The Underwing Moths, Univ. Mass. Press; Amherst; 222 pp. (6) Forbes, W. T. M. Lepidoptera of New York and Neighboring States. Part III, Noctuidae. Memoir 329, Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station of the New York State College of Agriculture, Ithaca, New York.
🔗Links: Moth Photographers Group, BugGuide.Net
