Catocala junctura

Catocala junctura
kah-TOCK-uh-lahmm junct-YOUR-uh
Walker, [1858]

Catocala junctura, Chiricahua National Park, Arizona,
mountains, July 11, 2002, courtesy of Pierre Legault.
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

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DISTRIBUTION:

Catocala junctura, the Joined Underwing, (wingspan: 67-85mm), flies from western New York and Pennsylvania south to Kentucky and west to Kansas and Texas and Oklahoma and Arizona and New Mexico and as far north west as Montana and probably into Washington. Records exist for British Columbia, Canada, and south to southern California.
Scott Shaw reports junctura is taken (not common) "on Pole Mountain, in the Medicine Bow Forest, Wyoming, about 10 miles east of Laramie near I-80 in the mountain willow bogs."
David Wikle reports C.junctura August 17, 2003, from Bonita, San Diego County, California.
Catocala elsa and Catocala arizonae are synonymous with C. junctura.
C.junctura, September 12, 2003, Pinnacles National Monument,
San Benito, California, courtesy of Paul Johnson.

The forewing is usually dark brownish-gray without any significant markings. The thin, slightly darker antemedial and postmedial lines run from the costa to the inner margin and are widely spaced at the lower margin.
The hindwing is orange with a narrow inner black band that does not meet the inner margin, thus distinguishing it from unijuga.
Catocala junctura, courtesy of Bruce Walsh.

Catocala junctura seems more common in western portions of its range and is often encountered hiding in caves.
Form "julietta" French has a darker shade running from the basal area, almost reaching the outer margin of the forewing.

Catocala junctura, Chiricahua National Park, Arizona,
mountains, July 11, 2002, courtesy of Pierre Legault.
The underside hindwing of Catocala junctura is without a discal lunule.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Catocala junctura are on the wing from June (possibly even late May) to early October.
The Catocala junctura caterpillar feeds on willows and poplars.

ECLOSION:

Adults eclose from pupae at soil surface.

SCENTING AND MATING:

Catocala junctura 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.

Populus
Salix.......

Poplar
Willow

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