''Ctenucha multifaria'' is a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

of the family

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family (biology), family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwin ...

. It was described by Francis Walker in 1854. It is found along the coast in the US states of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, north of the city of Santa Maria, and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. This is a diurnal moth, meaning it is active during the day. Adult ''C. multifaria'' is similar to the brown-winged ctenucha of southern California, but with black wings instead of brown. The body is blue and in length. Head and shoulder markings are red. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is .BugGuide
/ref> Forewings are black with white margin. Larvae are hairy, and the eventual cocoon is formed by these hairs.

References

multifaria Moths described in 1854 {{Ctenuchina-stub