Darling underwing
Catocala cara
The darling underwing is a big moth with a secret. Its front wings are dark purplish brown, but its back wings are a deep scarlet pink with two black bands. When it rests, the plain front wings hide the bright ones underneath.
Lives in
The eastern United States and just a little bit of southern Canada
Wingspan
7 to 8.5 cm (2.8 to 3.3 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat the leaves of poplars, cottonwoods and willows, especially black willow.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🧱wings as wide as 2.5 toy building bricks⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 19 seconds
How big is Darling underwing compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
Darling underwing about 20 km/h (12 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Its wings measure 7 to 8.5 centimetres from tip to tip.
2
The moths fly from June to October, depending on where they live.
3
The base of its back wings is covered in thick dark hairs.
4
Underneath, its front wings are a light cream colour.
you asked
Most asked questions about Darling underwing
?What does the darling underwing caterpillar eat?
Leaves of poplars, cottonwoods and willows.
?Is the darling underwing dangerous?
No. It is a harmless moth.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Catocala cara
- Named by
- Guenée, 1852
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Erebidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Erebidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Catocala cara (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Sproch, H. J.. CC0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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