Identification
Adult: wings grayish-brown, evenly peppered with black; no orangish-brown shading; subterminal spot on forewing white, irregular, inconspicuous; lines blackish; PM line sinuous, toothed; black discal spots on all wings; hindwing margin scalloped
[description by Charles Covell]
Larva: head light brown with dark mottling; body light reddish-brown; pale yellow diamond pattern on dorsum; black chevron on dorsum of each abdominal segment
[description by Canadian Forest Service]
Range
southern Canada and northern United States, south in the east to North Carolina
Habitat
coniferous and mixed forests
Season
adults fly from June to August
larvae overwinters and feeds until June or July
Food
larvae feed on coniferous trees: cedar, fir, hemlock, pine, spruce, tamarack
Life Cycle
one generation per year; overwinters as a larva; larvae become active in spring, and feed until June or July; pupation occurs in July and August
See Also
One-spotted Variant (
Hypagyrtis unipunctata) has orangish-brown shading in subterminal area, and a pale oval spot in subterminal area near costa of forewing
Esther Moth (
Hypagyrtis esther) has darker, evenly violet-gray wings that are not mottled
Internet References
live adult images (Moth Photographers Group)
pinned adult images and comparison images of similar species (Moth Photographers Group)
overview including description, habitat, seasonality, biology, food plants, distribution (Strickland Entomological Museum, U. of Alberta)
live larva images plus description, food plants, biology, distribution (Canadian Forest Service)
presence in North Carolina; list (Great Smoky Mountains Moth and Butterfly "Bioblitz"; USGS)
distribution in Canada list of provinces (CBIF)
Contributed by
Robin McLeod on 31 January, 2006 - 7:34am
Last updated 31 January, 2006 - 12:12pm
