Catocala concumbens
kah-TOCK-uh-lah mm kon-KUM-bens
Walker, [1858]

Catocala concumbens, posed scan on poplar bark by Bill Oehlke,
Montague, Prince Edward Island, August 22, 2002

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>

Catocala concumbens, Peterborough, Ontario,
courtesy of Tim Dyson, copyright, August 16, 2004

DISTRIBUTION: Catocala concumbens, the Sleepy or Pink Underwing (wingspan: 60-75mm), flies from the Yukon south to Alberta and east to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia in Canada. In the United States concumbens is found east of the Rockies. Tom Middagh reports them in Minnesota. In the east it flies at least as far south as Connecticut. I believe I have seen them in New Jersey but am not 100 % sure. The forewings are a silvery gray and have no streaks or dashes. The hindwing has an uninterrupted white fringe and there is a prothoracic brown collar clearly visible in this Lynn Scott photo. At lights or on tree trunks, this species rests with wings folded and head down.

Catocala cara and C. amatrix are similar species, but concumbens lacks the checking of these two in the hindwing fringe and concumbens has a thicker and more even black median band that terminates before the inner margin. This species comes readily to lights and to baits. Catocala concumbens August 15, Peterborough, Ontario, courtesy of Tim Dyson copyright. Tim is using some red wine in his bait.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Catocala concumbens are usually on the wing from June to early October.

Catocala concumbens Longueuil, Quebec,
August 10, 1997, courtesy of Pierre Legault.

The Catocala concumbens caterpillar feeds on willows and poplars.

ECLOSION:

Adults eclose from pupae at soil surface.

SCENTING AND MATING:

Catocala concumbens females emit an airbourne pheromone and males use their antennae to track the scent plume.

EGGS, CATERPILLARS, COCOONS AND PUPAE: Eggs are deposited on tree bark in the fall and hatch the following spring. Eggs can be overwintered in the fridge crisper and this species oviposits readily on the sides of brown paper bags. Tiny hatchlings crawl like inchworms and are remarkably fast. They can escape through the smallest openings. At maturity larvae will utilize a few strands of silk to fashion cocoons amongst leaf litter. Adults emerge about 18-21 days later. Catocala concumbens larva, courtesy of Martin Jagelka

I am extremely grateful to Kirby Wolfe for his photographs of Catocala eggs. Concumbens females oviposit readily in inflated paper sanwich or grocery bags.

Catocala concumbens courtesy of Kirby Wolfe

Catocala relicta courtesy of Kirby Wolfe.

The eggs look like miniature pin cushions, well rounded, but slightly flattened with intricate sculpting.

Tim Dyson sent me images of several different instars (below) from eggs I sent to him in the fall of 2004. He also sent an images of pupae and cocoons.

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.

Populus deltoides Populus nigra Populus tremuloides..... Salix

Eastern cottonwood Lombardy poplar Quaking aspen Willow

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