Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Apharetra dentata
Apharetra purpurea
A. pyralis
described in 1875 by Grote, who originally placed it in genus Apatela
Numbers
one of 2 species in this genus in North America (and the world) listed at
All-Leps
local and uncommon to rare throughout most of its range
Size
wingspan about 29 mm, based on photo by Jim Vargo at MPG
Identification
Adult: forewing light gray with scalloped black AM line and toothed black PM line; dark line runs from middle of AM line to lower edge of reniform spot and sometimes continues to middle of PM line; orbicular spot lacking or not notceable; small pale patch usually present at anal angle; hindwing gray with faint irregular PM line, dark veins, and paler shading toward base; top of head and thorax same color as forewing; female forewing darker and more uniformly colored than male, with less noticeable lines
Range
Yukon (and Alaska?), Northwest Territories, and British Columbia to Newfoundland plus northern states, south in the east to New Jersey
apparently not present in
Oregon or
California where
A. californiae occurs
Habitat
acidic spruce bogs and swamps, pine-oak barrens on sandplains, rocky summits and ridges where foodplants grow; adults are nocturnal and come to light
Season
adults fly from July to early September
Remarks
This is the type species of the genus Apharetra. The type specimen was collected in Quebec.
See Also
Sympistis californiae forewing is darker gray, has a noticeable orbicular spot, and has a larger and more conspicuous pale patch at the anal angle; the species is restricted to the west from California to British Columbia
Print References
Handfield, Louis. 1999. Les Guides des Papillons du Quebec. Broquet. 662 pp. (pinned adult images of male and female on plate 99; text on page 408)
Internet References
live adult images plus description, larval foodplants, and flight season (Lynn Scott, Ontario)
19 pinned adult images and collection site map (All-Leps)
pinned adult image and photos of related species by Jim Vargo (Moth Photographers Group)
presence in Alberta; list of 34 specimen records with dates and locations (Strickland Entomological Museum, U. of Alberta)
common name reference [Toothed Apharetra] and status in New York state (New York Natural Heritage Program)
common name reference; PDF doc [Blueberry Sallow] plus larval foodplants (David Wagner, U. of Connecticut)
habitat and larval foodplants; PDF doc plus status in several states (David Wagner
et al, courtesy North American Butterfly Association)
number of world species plus type species and type specimen locality (Brian Pitkin
et al, Butterflies and Moths of the World)
distribution in Canada listing provinces and territories of occurrence (U. of Alberta, using CBIF data)
synonyms purpurea and
pyralis listed as separate species here but as synonyms of
dentata at
All-Leps (Markku Savela, FUNET)
