Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Adita chionanthi
Explanation of Names
CHIONANTHI: from the genus name of the Fringe-Tree (Chionanthus virginicus), one of the larval host plants
Identification
Adult: forewing pale gray with darker gray shading; AM and PM lines and spot outlines sharp, black; orbicular and reniform spots pale gray, darker toward center; claviform spot connected to AM line, forming a sharp hollow wedge; black blotch along costa in median area; thin black anal dash
hindwing white with narrow grayish-brown border
[description by Charles Covell]
Larva: middorsal line broad, lightened over thorax, broken into spots on anterior of abdomen, and whitened on seventh and eighth segments; black subdorsal stripe ends on seventh segment; eighth segment slightly humped; brown spiracular stripe edged with whitened stripe to either side
[description adapted from Caterpillars of Eastern Forests]
Range
from British Columbia to New Brunswick, south to Georgia, west to Kansas and South Dakota
Season
adults fly from August to October
larvae in May and June
Food
larvae feed on ash (Fraxinus spp.) and Fringe-Tree (Chionanthus virginicus)
Internet References
live adult images plus description, food plants, and flight season (Lynn Scott, Ontario)
live adult image (Cindy Mead, Michigan)
pinned adult image (James Adams, Dalton State College, Georgia)
live larva image plus description, food plants, and larval season (David Wagner and Valerie Giles, Caterpillars of Eastern Forests; USGS)