Catocala becoming more taxonomically unruly?

I've had no luck with baiting the last two summers in southern Wisconsin. I think last summer with the extreme heat and dry killed off the catocala and many other species. This latter part of summer has been excessively dry as well. Going to upper Michigan later this week to give it one more try this season.

Must be global warming doing this.

Evra:
I believe there's another factor at play in depleting Catocala populations here on the California coast: predation by stray warblers from the East. We get lots of vagrant eastern warblers every fall, some of which hunt insects on tree bark -- unlike our native western warblers. Since our Catocalas (in particular C. semirelicta hippolyta) usually exist in small, fragmented populations associated with isolated groves of host trees, a single eastern warbler in such a tree grove could make quite a dent, especially since the birds tend to stay in one place for weeks at a time even during migration. And, many populations of semirelicta hippolyta occur in parks in coastal cities -- which is, for some reason, where most of the eastern warblers end up as well!

For example, one of my favorite fall warbler locations is Albany Hill Park in Richmond, CA. It's got a nice stand of willows and poplars that seems perfect for Catocala irene and semirelicta, but it's always overrun with migrating warblers, including occasional eastern strays. And there are NO CATOCALAS! EVER! In a seemingly perfect habitat! I do suspect that the warblers have something to do with this...

I also think that various forms of habitat destruction in the East may cause these warblers to stray. For example, if a warbler's nest tree is cut down and a disoriented, too-young warbler tries to migrate because its habitat is gone, it might easily go the "wrong way" and end up in coastal California.

It is an interesting observation that Catocala in the west (California) do not respond to bait. Perhaps it is not a traditional bait that would attract them, but they must feed on something??? that could be used as bait.

I do have a report from Josephine County, Oregon, of a female ophelia feeding on a ruptured plum.

The Catocala are readily attracted to fermenting fruit in the east, and as a boy I often saw them nectaring on fermenting oak tree sap in New Jersey.

Maybe there are flower species in the west that serve as a major energy source??

I am hoping someone from the west coast will report on feeding observations for Catocala.


Bill Oehlke

Thanks, Evan,
Can I post your comments, credited to you, to the California Catocala page?
Bill Oehlke

This is secondhand information, but John Peacock always told me that bait works fine in the west. He uses an "old-time" recipe, that ferments for weeks, and uses pureed fruit (apples I think) black-strap molasses, and ferments for weeks, if not months before using. John used to make big month long swings through the west, camping and trapping exclusively for Catocala - with great success. Based on what he told me, he would simply use this bait in traps hung in appropriate stands of hostplants, and then got a good nights sleep.

John's love in life is Catocala, and he has about three cabinets of what must be one of the coolest collections of the genus in private hands. He also has a pretty solid butterfly collection, in part because he "had to do something during the day" (my impression at least).


I will try and track down his bait recipe and post it here.

Shuey