Catocala benjamini benjamini Brower, 1937

Hawks, David, 2010, Review of the Catocala delilah species complex (Lepidoptera, Erebidae), ZooKeys 39 (39), pp. 13-35 : 22-23

Catocala benjamini benjamini Brower

Fig. 9

Type material. Catocala andromache race benjamini : holotype ♁ [ USNM, examined]. Type locality: Mohave County, Arizona, [ USA].

Diagnosis. Catocala b. benjamini is similar to C. caesia on the upperside, but the undersides differ (see account for C. caesia above for points of distinction). Nominate C. benjamini is also similar to C. andromache and the only fairly reliable difference in color pattern is that the dorsal forewing of C. andromache tends to have a distinctly greenish cast due to iridescent scales. Most populations of C. benjamini and C. an-

Figures 9–Ι6. Adults of Catocala . 9 C. benjamini benjamini Brower Ι0 C. benjamini ute Peacock & Wagner ΙΙ holotype, C. benjamini jumpi Hawks Ι2 allotype, C. benjamini jumpi Hawks Ι 3 holotype, C. benjamini mayhewi Hawks Ι4 allotype, C. benjamini mayhewi Hawks.

dromache are allopatric, although C. benjamini mayhewi and C. andromache occur in sympatry in southern California. Differences between the larvae of C. benjamini and C. andromache were reported by Johnson (1985).

Distribution and biology. Southeastern California, Arizona, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah. County records for USA are as follows. ARIZONA: Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Mohave, Maricopa, Navajo, Pima, Yavapai; CALI- FORNIA: San Bernardino; NEVADA: Clark, Lincoln; UTAH: Washington. Adults have been collected from May to September with most from June and July. The immature stages of the nominate subspecies are unknown. However, at several of the known collecting localities (e.g., Hualapai and Pinal Mountains) Quercus turbinella Greene is the only species of oak. Additionally, the known distribution of C. b. benjamini closely coincides with the distribution of Q. turbinella . Like C. frederici , C. b. benjamini primarily inhabits dry desert mountain ranges.