Explanation of Names
the suggested common name above follows the pattern of including the larval foodplant and the word "Borer" in the common name of Papaipema species
Identification
Adult: forewing orangish-brown to grayish-brown with reniform, orbicular, and claviform spots either white and conspicuous or dark brown and showing little contrast against ground color; subterminal area grayer than rest of wing; PM line almost straight but appears to be toothed due to dark wing veins projecting into subterminal area; ST line irregular/jagged; a dark brown or blackish medial line runs from reniform spot to inner margin; 4 or 5 tiny pale dots along costa near apex
Range
Nova Scotia to North Carolina, west to Illinois, north to Manitoba; also recorded in Arizona
Habitat
damp meadows and grasslands where foodplants grow
Season
adults fly from August to October
Food
larvae bore into stems and roots of
Cutleaf Coneflower (
Rudbeckia laciniata), called Green-headed Coneflower in Peterson's Guide to Eastern Wildflowers
also reported on burdock (Ohio State U.)
See Also
may be mistaken for
P. eupatorii, whose PM line lacks "teeth" and shows sharp contrast between dark medial area and paler subterminal area (
compare images of both species)
Internet References
pinned adult image of white-spotted form from Canada (CBIF)
pinned adult image of all-dark form from eastern United States [at Smithsonian Institute] (presented by Bruce Walsh, Arizona)
pinned adult image of all-dark form from Arizona (Bruce Walsh, Moths of Southeastern Arizona)
pinned adult image of all-dark form by Jim Wiker, Illinois (Moth Photographers Group)
foodplant and synonyms (Markku Savela, FUNET)
foodplants and flight season (Ohio State U.)
presence in North Carolina; list (Great Smoky Mountain National Park "Bioblitz"; USGS)
distribution in Canada list of provinces (U. of Alberta, using CBIF data)
Contributed by
Robin McLeod on 12 January, 2006 - 11:07pm
Last updated 3 March, 2007 - 6:14pm
