Numbers
status varies from common northward (Quebec) to rare southward (Indiana, Ohio)
Size
wingspan about 43 mm, based on Canadian Forest Service specimen
Identification
Adult: forewing light brown in upper half, dark brown with black steaks in lower half, except for speckled gray strip bordering inner margin; black basal, median, and anal dashes almost join to form a continuous stripe parallel to inner margin; black subapical dash present; PM line represented by double series of black dots in upper half; AM line lacking
hindwing brownish-gray with dark veins and faint discal lunule; fringe yellowish with scattered dark scales
Range
Newfoundland to North Carolina, northwest to Saskatchewan
Season
adults fly from June to September
Food
larval host unknown but presumably grasses and sedges, as in most Apamea species
See Also
very similar to Drunk Apamea (Apamea inebriata) but that species is restricted to the east coast from Nova Scotia to North Carolina
resembles Apamea cariosa, which has a zigzag AM line, and less extensive black streaking on lower half of forewing
(
compare images of all three species)
Internet References
pinned adult image by John Glaser, plus collection dates and comments on
Apamea food plants (Larry Line, Maryland)
pinned adult image (A.W. Thomas, Canadian Forest Service)
flight season and food plants of other Apamea species; PDF doc plus common status in Quebec (Macrolepidoptera of Mont Saint-Hilaire Region, McGill U., Quebec)
flight season and rare status in Ohio (Ohio State U.)
common name reference; PDF doc [Boreal Apamea] and rare status in Indiana (Endangered, Threatened and Rare Species List, Govt. of Indiana)
presence in North Carolina; list (Great Smoky Mountains Moth and Butterfly "Bioblitz", USGS)
distribution in Canada list of provinces (U. of Alberta, using CBIF data)
