Among the largest and most often encountered Salix-feeding Catocala as larvae east of the Rockies, cara and carissima are both recognizable by the beige-colored cranial protrusions that give the head capsule a strongly concave appearance viewed laterally, large bulbous protuberance on A5, and orange tinged venter with prominent black spotting limited to A3-A5. However, larvae of cara and carissima overlap in these characteristics, and until more rearings are available, can not be reliably separated in the several geographic areas where they co-occur. Their two close relatives, amatrix and concumbens have less concave head capsules and additional black spotting ventrally above A3.