About Catocala cara Guenée, 1852
This species, Catocala cara Guenée, 1852, has a wingspan ranging from 70 to 85 mm. The upper side of its forewings is dark purplish brown, while the underside is light cream. The hindwings have a deep scarlet-pink base color, with a pattern of two distinct concentric blackish bands per wing: one crosses the midwing, and one runs along the pale outer margin. The base of the hindwing is thickly covered with dark hairs, so at a casual glance it can look like there is a black spot or streak in the center of the dark bands. Like many of its close relatives, this species has no spines on the foreleg tibia, while the tarsi have three rows of spines. Adult moths are in flight from June to October, with the timing varying by location. Caterpillars feed on Populus (poplar and cottonwood) and Salix (willow) species, particularly black willow (Salix nigra).
