Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
formerly Plathypena scabra
Numbers
abundant in most of range
Size
wingspan 25-35 mm; male usually larger than female
Identification
Adult: forewing narrow, blackish-brown or grayish, sometimes with yellowish or orangish areas (color and pattern varies considerably); thin black horizontal line midway along inner margin, and pale triangular patch usually present along costa at apex; PM line slightly wavy with small but conspicuous outward bulge near costa; hindwing broad (2x width of forewing) and uniformly medium to dark grayish-brown with darker veins and faint discal spot
Larva: body light grayish-green with prominent yellowish-white lateral line, fainter subdorsal line, and thin faint whitish band across each abdominal segment; head greenish to brownish
Range
United States and southern Canada east of the Rockies
Habitat
fields, gardens, wood edges, waste places; adults are nocturnal and attracted to light
Season
adults fly from March to November, or all year in warmer regions, but are most common in late summer and fall
Food
larvae feed on leaves of alfalfa, beans, clover, ragweed, raspberries, strawberries
Life Cycle
at least three generations per year
Remarks
The former genus
Plathypena was included in
Hypena by Robert W. Poole in 1989 (
1).
As of 2005, no one has argued against Poole's action but the name Plathypena scabra still appears on many web sites, presumably because the site owners are not aware of the change or haven't taken the time to update the contents of their site.
See Also
Hop Vine Moth (
Hypena humuli) is much less common, its forewing lacks a thin dark horizontal line midway along inner margin, and its hindwing is pale brownish-yellow (
compare images of both species at CBIF)
Hypena californica forewing has scalloped outer margin, and PM line lacks outward bulge near costa - compare images of this and other related species at
MPG Internet References
live and pinned adult images by various photographers, showing range of color and pattern (Moth Photographers Group)
pinned adult image and technical description (California Dept. of Food and Agriculture)
live adult images (Larry Line, Maryland)
live larva images by various photographers (insectimages.org)
common name reference plus foodplants, flight season, and status in Ohio (Ohio State U.)
distribution in Canada list of provinces (U. of Alberta, using CBIF data)
