False Underwing

Allotria elonympha

June 24, 2009

This moth has long tried to pawn itself off as a real underwing (catocola), but no one's buying it.  It's missing that second band of black through the orange hind wing, a characteristic present in the catocala.

The species name of elonympha does follow the tradition of the romanticized naming of underwings.  A nymph is a bride or maiden.  Elo is an acronym for Electric Light Orchestra, a band popular in the '70s.  Together, it can be loosely translated to mean "Young female groupie of the Electric Light Orchestra" - a prophetic name as it was coined by Hubner back in 1818!

Science rocks!