Catocaline Dart

Appearance

Wingspan 25-30 mm. Forewing olive-green or various shades of brown with light gray costal border expanding downward to include reniform spot; median area grayish brown, bordered by sharply-scalloped AM and PM lines; pale subterminal area has wavy gray ST line that terminates as a blackish patch at the costa; a second blackish patch midway along costa; terminal band black. Hindwing bright yellow centrally with broad blackish border and yellow fringe.

Distribution

USA: Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshore, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin
Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan

Status

May be locally very common in some areas (e.g. southern Quebec) or a species of special concern in other areas (e.g. Indiana).

Habitat

Moist spruce-fir forests, or in hardwood forests of birch and quaking aspen.

Food

Larvae are reported by various sources to feed on arrowhead (Sagittaria spp.), cherry, dock (Rumex spp.), dogbane (Apocynum spp.), elderberry (Sambucus spp.), meadowsweet (Spiraea spp.), St. Johnswort (Hypericum spp.), and yarrow (Achillea spp.), but these are probably erroneous claims that have been repeated over and over until they carry some sort of authoritative weight. McCabe (1979) determined that only dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium) was an acceptable larval host for this moth species:

"The first instar larvae initially accepted the blossoms of Hypericum perforatum L., Sagittaria latifolia Willd., the blossoms and leaves of Apocynum androsaemifolium L., and the leaves of Prunus virginiana L., Achillea millefolium L., Sambucus canadensis L., and Spiraea latifolia (Ait.) Borkh., but the limited feeding and continual wandering of the first instar larvae indicated that most of these plants were unacceptable. Only A.
androsaemifolium was continuously utilized by the first instar larvae and all later instars were reared to maturity on A. androsaemifolium leaves. Plants refused by the first instar larvae include: Rubus idaeus L., Amelanchier laevis Wieg., Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn, and Vaccinium myrtilloides Michx."

Adults nectar at flowers.