''Catocala amatrix'', the sweetheart underwing, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwings ('' Catocala'') ...

. The species can be found from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, south through

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and west through

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and north to

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, and

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. An exhibition model done by the Denton Brothers of Wellesley, Massachusetts was discovered in a consignment shop in Flagler Beach, Florida on September 12, 2013 by Brittany Durocher, a resident of that city. It was collected by the Denton Brothers in Virginia and named ''Catocala amatrix virginurus''. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 75–95 mm. The moths flies from August to October depending on the location. The larvae feed on ''

Populus deltoides ''Populus deltoides'', the eastern cottonwood or necklace poplar, is a Populus sect. Aigeiros, cottonwood Populus, poplar native to North America, growing throughout the eastern, central, and southwestern United States as well as the southern Ca ...

'', ''

Populus grandidentata ''Populus grandidentata'', commonly called large-tooth aspen, big-tooth aspen, American aspen, Canadian poplar, or white poplar, is a deciduous tree native to eastern North America. Name The name ''Populus'' is from the Latin for poplar, and ' ...

'', ''

Populus nigra ''Populus nigra'', the black poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar, the type species of section ''Aigeiros'' of the genus ''Populus'', native to Europe, southwest and central Asia, and northwest Africa.Flora Europaea''Populus nigra''/ref> ...

'', ''

Populus tremuloides ''Populus tremuloides'' is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, one of several species referred to by the common name aspen. It is commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, mountain or golden aspen, tr ...

'', and ''

Salix nigra ''Salix nigra'', the black willow, is a species of willow native to eastern North America, from New Brunswick and southern Ontario west to Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and Texas. Description ''Salix nigra'' is a medium-sized decid ...

''.

Gallery

File:Denton Brothers display of Catocala Amatrix Virginurus.jpg, picture of the specimen found by Ms. Durocher File:Inscription on edge of a Denton Brothers specimen.jpg, Attribution to the Denton Brothers File:Catocala amatrix 2154069.jpg File:Catocala nurus.JPG, Lectotype of ''Catocala nurus'', now considered to be a synonym of ''Catocala amatrix''

References

External links

butterfliesandmoths.org

Moths described in 1813 amatrix Moths of North America {{Catocalini-stub