Catocala is a generally Holarctic genus of moths in the family Erebidae. The genus was erected by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of Systema Naturae. The moths are commonly known as underwing moths or simply underwings. These terms are sometimes used for a few related moths, but usually – especially when used in plural, not as part of a species name – they are used to refer to Catocala only.
Catocala piatrix, the penitent underwing, is a moth from North America. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1864. It is placed in subfamily Catocalinae, either of the family Noctuidae, or – if the Noctuidae are circumscribed more strictly – of family Erebidae. Within the Catocalinae, it belongs to tribe Catocalini and – if the Noctuidae are circumscribed widely – subtribe Catocalina.
Catocala retecta, the yellow-gray underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1872. It can be found in North America from southern Ontario and Quebec south through Maine and New Jersey, south through Tennessee to Georgia and west to Arkansas and Kansas and north to Wisconsin. There is one recognised subspecies, Catocala retecta luctuosa, which is sometimes treated as a valid species with the common name yellow-fringed underwing.
Catocala meskei, or Meske's underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1873. It is found in North America from Maine and Quebec west to southern Alberta and Montana, south to South Carolina in the east and at least Montana in the west.
Catocala coccinata, the scarlet underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1872. It is found in southern Canada and the eastern United States, following river valleys onto the Great Plains and down to Florida.
Catocala amica, the girlfriend underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1818. It is found from southern Canada through the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, ranging westward to Oklahoma and Arizona, northward to Minnesota and southwestward to Texas.
Catocala junctura, the joined underwing or Stretch's underwing, is an moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1858. It is found throughout temperate North America ranging from New York and Pennsylvania west to Montana, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arizona and into Texas, and north to southern Illinois, extreme southern Alberta and Saskatchewan; it has also been recorded west of the Rocky Mountains from California and south-eastern British Columbia. It is typically found near water, where the food plants of its caterpillar larvae grow plentifully.
Catocala praeclara, the praeclara underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote and Coleman Townsend Robinson in 1866. It is found in North America from Nova Scotia west to south-eastern Alberta, south to Florida and Kansas.
Catocala residua, the residua underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1874. It is found in North America from southern Ontario, Quebec and Maine south to North Carolina and Georgia west to Mississippi and Missouri and north to Iowa, Illinois and Michigan.
Catocala badia, the bay underwing, bayberry underwing or old maid, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found from southern Maine and New Hampshire south to New York and Connecticut.
Catocala flebilis, the mourning underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1872. It is found in North America from Massachusetts and Connecticut south to North Carolina and Georgia, west to Arkansas and north to Michigan and Illinois and into southern Ontario.
Catocala robinsonii, or Robinson's underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1872. It is found in North America from southern Ontario and New Hampshire south to Florida west to Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas and northward to Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan.
Catocala habilis, the habilis underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1872. It is found in North America from Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and New Brunswick south through Connecticut and New Jersey to North Carolina and west to Arkansas.
Catocala subnata, the youthful underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1864. It is found in North America from Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick to Nova Scotia, south through Maine and Connecticut to North Carolina and west to Tennessee, Kentucky, and Texas, then north to Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Catocala clintoni, Clinton's underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found from Ontario and Quebec, southward to Florida, west to Texas and north to Wisconsin.
Catocala verrilliana, or Verrill's underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1875. It is found in the US from Washington and Oregon to Colorado and south to California, Arizona and Texas, and Cimarron County in western Oklahoma.
Catocala mira, the wonderful underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1876. It is found in North America from Manitoba through southern Ontario and Quebec through New Hampshire and Connecticut to Florida, west to Texas and north through Iowa and Illinois.
Catocala sordida, the sordid underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1877. It is found in North America from Saskatchewan east to New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island and south through Maine and Connecticut to Florida, west to Texas and north to Manitoba.
Euparthenos is a monotypic moth genus in the family Erebidae erected by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1876. Its only species, Euparthenos nubilis, the locust underwing, was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1823. The adults resemble some of the underwing moths of genus Catocala, which are fairly close relatives, in color, pattern, and the habit of resting on tree trunks. But E. nubilis can usually be immediately recognized by the four concentric black bands per hindwing, as opposed to one or two in Catocala. Color morphs of E. nubilis with altered pattern are known, however, and these may be hard to recognize without detailed examination.
