Numbers
one of 7 species in this genus in North America listed at
All-LepsIdentification
Adult: forewing reddish-brown, faintly mottled with gray; lines gray, inconspicuous except for partial whitish subterminal line; orbicular and reniform spots whitish with gray centers; hindwing grayish-brown with faint median line
(1)Range
Newfoundland to South Carolina, west to Texas, north to Nebraska and southern Ontario
(1)Habitat
moist woods and maple groves; adults are nocturnal and come to light [Handfield, 1999]
Season
adults fly from March to early June
Food
larvae feed on Common Dandelion,
American Red Raspberry (
Rubus idaeus),
Meadow Willow (
Salix petiolaris), Chokecherry, Paper Birch, and
Velvetleaf Huckleberry (
Vaccinium myrtilloides) [Handfield, 1999]
See Also
Cerastis fishii forewing has contrasting black-and-white markings in its reniform and orbicular spots (
compare images of both species at CBIF)
Print References
Handfield, Louis. 1999. Les Guides des Papillons du Quebec. Broquet. 662 pp. [species account, p. 453; photo of male, p. 117]
Internet References
live adult images (Bob Patterson, Maryland)
live adult images (Al Sinclair, Ontario)
pinned adult image of male by Michael Pogue (Discover Life in America, dlia.org)
pinned adult image (James Adams, Dalton State College, Georgia)
foodplants; PDF doc plus flight season and life cycle (Macrolepidoptera of Mont Saint-Hilaire Region, McGill U., Quebec)
flight season (Ohio State U.)
distribution in Canada list of provinces (U. of Alberta, using CBIF data)
