55 



CATOCALA.— UNDERWING MOTHS. 



BY G. J. BOWLES, MONTREAL. 



The Noctuida?, or night-flying moths form a large division of the order Lepidoptera 

 Generally speaking, they are clothed in a sober livery of grey or brown, and are therefore 

 not very conspicuous or attractive in their appearance. But on a closer examination, 

 many of them are found to be marked with beautiful patterns in lines and spots, while 

 some are spangled with gold or silver in different ways. There are some genera, however, 

 towards the end of the family, as at present classified by entomologists, which are remark- 

 able on account of their size and the richness and beauty of their markings. In their case 

 nature has departed from her rule, that quiet colours should be characteristic of the 

 Noctuidae, and has decked them out in gay apparel, as if, even in these night-flying insects, 

 she could not resist the impulse which has spread beauty of colour and form throughout 

 the whole creation. 



Chief among these is the genus Catocala, commonly called " under wings," and to 

 these moths we wish to draw the attention of our readers. 



The Catocalas are found both in the old and new worlds, and principally, if not 

 wholly, in temperate regions. Between thirty and forty species inhabit Europe, (four 

 of which occur in Britain, according to Newman,) while those taken in America number 

 more than sixty. These are, so far as known, confined to the North American continent, 

 and have not \et been taken in the West India Islands, with one exception, Ilia, which 

 the Rev. 0. J. S. Bethune states is found in Jamaica. Canada has more than thirty 

 species, all of which are also found in the United States. Some of these are comparatively 

 abundant, and inhabit large areas, extending as far north as Hudson's Bay ; others are 

 comparatively rave, or contined to certain localities. The species with black hind wings 

 are, with two exceptions, absent from the northern parts of the Province of Quebec, but 

 begin to appear in Western Ontario, and are most common in the Western, Middle and 

 Southern States. They seem to require milder climatic conditions than the others, and 

 to represent the less hardy portion of this extensive group of moths. 



Although these insects surpass the rest of the Noctuidae in average size, they are 

 never very numerous, and therefore their larvae are not destructive to vegetation in any 

 appreciable degree. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of various trees, such as oak, 

 poplar and willow. They are of peculiar shape, being long and narrow, flattened on the 

 under surface, and convex above, and bearing a row of pointed fleshy appendages on each 

 side, where the convex and flattened surfaces meet. They are also striped and marked in 

 various ways, according to the species, and all have flattened heads, which in some species 

 are bilobed. In the larva state, they are very active, and can walk quite rapidly. This 

 rapid motion gives them almost a geometrid appearance, which, in some species, is assisted 

 by the fact that the larva has only twelve feet instead of sixteen, the usual number 

 allotted to the Noctuidse. The caterpillars of the larger species are from two to three 

 inches long when full grown. 



When it ceases to feed, the larva spins a thin, gauzy cocoon, and changes into a 

 brown pupa or chrysalis, covered with a purplish bloom like that of a plum. The perfect 

 insects all emerge during July, August and September, some species appearing earlier than 

 others, but it is probable that all pass the winter in the egg state, hatching out at the 

 same time in spring as the leaves of their food plant appear. 



The moths are strong, active insects, with good powers of flight. Though night 

 flyers, and therefore having the habit, common to the Noctuidse, of resting in the day- 

 time as if asleep, they are very easily disturbed. In fact some species seem to be always 

 wide awake, so that they can hardly be approached during daylight without taking to 

 flight. As evening approaches, the moths gradually arouse themselves, and at this time 

 may sometimes be seen flitting around the trees in gardens or on the outskirts of the 

 woods. A Catocala, thus seen flying, is a very pretty object, particularly one of the red- 

 winged species. With its richly-coloured bind wings, and the contrasted grey fore wings, 

 all in rapid motion, it is indeed a " thing of beauty." Their proper time of flight, how- 



