''Catocala benjamini'', or Benjamin's 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 was first described by Auburn Edmund Brower in 1937. It is found in the US states of

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 ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, southern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and southern

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

''Catocala benjamini'' was formerly considered to be a subspecies of ''

Catocala andromache ''Catocala andromache'', the Andromache underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Henry Edwards in 1885. It is found in the United States from southern California to Arizona. Subspecies ''Catocala andromach ...

''. Adults are on wing in June. There is probably one generation per year. The larvae feed on '' Quercus gambelii'' (Gambel oak).

Subspecies

*''Catocala benjamini benjamini'' (south-eastern California, Arizona, southern Nevada, and south-western Utah) *''Catocala benjamini mayhewi'' Hawks, 2010 (along the desert-facing slopes of the Laguna, Santa Rosa, San Jacinto, San Bernardino,

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...

, and Little San Bernardino Mountains in

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

) *''Catocala benjamini jumpi'' Hawks, 2010 (

Kofa Mountains The Kofa Mountains (Yavapai: Wi:kasayeo) of Yuma and La Paz counties in Arizona is the central mountain range of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. The range lies about 60 miles northeast of Yuma in the southwestern part of the state. Kofa Wi ...

, Arizona) *''Catocala benjamini ute'' Peacock & Wagner, 2009 (Grand and San Juan counties in south-eastern Utah)

External links

Species info
Moths described in 1937 benjamini Moths of North America {{Catocalini-stub