Catocala cleopatra
kah-TOCK-uh-lah mm klee-OH-pa-truh
Strecker, 1874

Catocala cleopatra, British Columbia .

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>

DISTRIBUTION:

Catocala cleopatra, (wingspan: 65mm) flies from British Columbia south to California.

I am not sure, but I think cleopatra is synonomous with faustina.

The head and thorax are a dark bluish grey while the abdomen is a brownish grey. The primaries are dark bluish grey. The transverse lines, reniform and sub-reniform are indistinct with some yellowish brown shading on the upper surface.

The bands are relatively narrow, the fringe (unbroken) is white on the exterior margin and grey near the abdomen.

Catocala faustina cleopatra, male, Bakersfield, Kern County, CA,
400', Kelly Richers collector, on fence, June 22 1983.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Catocala cleopatra are usually on the wing from June to early September. The Catocala cleopatra caterpillar feeds on Gleditsia triacanthos, Malus, Malus pumila, Prunus, Prunus americana, Prunus ilicifolia and Ulmus.

ECLOSION:

Adults eclose from pupae at soil surface.

SCENTING AND MATING:

Catocala cleopatra 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.

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.

Gleditsia triacanthos Malus Malus pumila Prunus Prunus americana Prunus ilicifolia Ulmus

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