David Element
Wildlife Photography and Digital Video Images
_________________________________________________________________________Moths
8 – Red Underwing Moths
RED
UNDERWING MOTH Catocala nupta
·
This freshly emerged Red Underwing Moth Catocala
nupta (Noctuidae, Catocalinae) was remaining entirely motionless and resolutely
refusing to show off its flash coloration in front of the camera when this
photograph was taken some years ago. Scanned from a (slightly underexposed)
transparency. Taken in the photographer’s garden, but this large moth has been
conspicuous by its absence there recently. The cryptic upperside
markings provide excellent camouflage against dark tree bark (although perhaps
not so effectively on fences), thwarting the attentions of predatory birds.
There are several similar Catocala species
with red flash colours on their hindwings in the UK, but all are smaller and
rarer. The larvae feed on Poplars
Populus spp. and Willows Salix spp. and the flight season is comparatively late in the
year – from August until October.
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