White Underwing vs Cleopatra Butterfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute White Underwing Cleopatra Butterfly
Scientific Name Catocala relicta Gonepteryx cleopatra
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Erebidae Pieridae
Size 70-85 mm wingspan Wingspan 50-70mm
Habitat Woodlands Heathland
Diet Sap Feeders Herbivores
Regions Northern United States and southern Canada Europe, Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

White Underwing

A striking underwing moth with white and black banded forewings that mimics birch bark. Its hindwings are black with broad white bands.

💡

Did You Know?

It is one of the only underwing moths with white rather than colored hindwings, matching the white bark of its birch tree hosts.

Cleopatra Butterfly

A large butterfly with deep orange forewings in males and pale greenish wings in females. Common in Mediterranean areas.

💡

Did You Know?

Males have the deepest orange coloring of any European pierid butterfly, contrasting with their lemon-yellow undersides.