Moths of North Carolina
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Catocala Members:
108 NC Records

Catocala amica (Hübner, 1818) - Girlfriend Underwing

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: ErebidaeSubfamily: ErebinaeTribe: CatocaliniP3 Number: 930859.00 MONA Number: 8878.00
Comments: One of 103 species in this genus that occur in North America (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010, 2015), 67 of which have been recorded in North Carolina. Amica was included by Barnes and McDunnough (1918) in their Group XX (also adopted by Forbes, 1954), which feed on Oaks. This group originally also included jair, with lineella now added as a separate species. At least one undescribed species may eventually be added.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954); Sargent (1976)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A relatively small, pale gray Catocala, with a conspicuous dark curvifascia line running from the middle of the costa to the outer margin below the apex. The ground color is pale gray and variably shaded with brown. The orbicular is a pale pear-shaped spot and the reniform is typically shaded with red brown. The hindwing is yellow and has only a single dark band running along the outer margin with a separated black dot located at the anal angle.

Catocala lineela has a similar hindwing pattern but is has a more mottled bluish-gray forewing pattern that lacks a curvifascia band. Catocala jair also has a similar hindwing but has a blackish forewing, a less dentate postmedian, and a brown subterminal area (Sargent, 1976). A third, currently undescribed species also appears to exist with a pattern more similar to jair but more brownish than blackish.
Wingspan: 35-40 mm (Sargent, 1976)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Found over most of the state, from the mountains to the barrier islands.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Found mainly in xeric sites in the Coastal Plain, including maritime forests and sand ridges. In the Piedmont and Mountains, however, it is associated with wet-to-mesic habitats, including alluvial forests, cove forests, and high elevation forests.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on oaks, including White Oak, Live Oak, Bear Oak and others (Wagner et al., 2011) - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Oak-Hickory Forests
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 S4
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments:

 Photo Gallery for Catocala amica - Girlfriend Underwing

36 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2023-09-05
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2023-09-05
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: tom ward on 2023-09-02
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: tom ward on 2023-08-24
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: tom ward on 2023-08-23
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2023-08-23
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2023-08-23
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin and Bo Sullivan on 2023-08-08
Wilkes Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin and Bo Sullivan on 2023-08-08
Wilkes Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper, Becky Watkins on 2023-07-30
Swain Co.
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Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper, Becky Watkins on 2023-07-29
Swain Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2023-07-08
Carteret Co.
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Recorded by: R. Newman on 2023-07-08
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-07-31
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: R. Newman on 2022-06-07
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2021-06-20
Carteret Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-09-05
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-08-28
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-08-28
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Darryl Willis on 2020-07-22
Cabarrus Co.
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Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-06-27
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-07-11
Guilford Co.
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Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-07-11
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-06-21
Guilford Co.
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Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-06-15
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-06-15
Guilford Co.
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Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-06-15
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Alicia Jackson on 2019-06-03
New Hanover Co.
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Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-06-02
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-06-02
Guilford Co.
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