Species Petrophila canadensis - Canadian Petrophila - Hodges#4779

4779

original combination Parargyractis canadensis Munroe, 1972

* phylogenetic sequence # 144100

wingspan 11-18 mm

Adult: forewing central area lacks triangular arrangement of 3 black spots, present in P. fulicalis; hindwing with two transverse brownish bands (proximal band broad, and distal one thin) separated by white space; trianglular patch of fine black speckling extends at least halfway down from costa of hindwing (may be hidden by overlapping forewing). Fine dark line capping the hindwing eyespots is usually more extensive (nearly complete) over all spots, but this can be a difficult mark to judge since the line wiggles close to the eyespots in the middle.(1)

southern Canada and northeastern United States: west to southeastern Manitoba and North Dakota, south to Tennessee and North Carolina (BG and iNaturalist data). Mapped MPG records in Alberta and Arizona almost certainly refer to other species in this group.(1)

larvae live inside underwater retreats (sheets of spun silk) on top of rocks in streams and rivers; adults can be found on nearby riparian vegetation during the day

adults fly from May to September (2 broods)

larvae feed preferentially on diatoms in the genera Navicula and Cymbella that become trapped in their silk sheets, and also scrape algae from rocks in streams and rivers

larvae are aquatic, developing in riffles of streams and rivers; two generations per year; overwinters as an adult

Petrophila fulicalis on BG and Moths of Maryland.

Lavery, Michael A. & Costa, Robert R. 1976. Life History of Parargyractis canadensis Munroe (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Amer. Midl. Nat. 96:407-417.

Sexton, C. W., 2021. Identification and Distribution of the Petrophila fulicalis species group (Crambidae): Taking Advantage of Citizen Science Data. J. Lep. Soc. 75(2):113-127.(1)

Moth Photographers Group

pinned adult image plus flight season (John Glaser, Maryland)