Other Common Names
Blackcheeked Aspen Caterpillar (larva)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Ipimorpha pleonectusa (Grote, 1873)
Numbers
the only Ipimorpha species in the east; uncommon
Identification
Adult: FW light to medium brown, grayish, or orangish; AM and PM lines pale, fairly straight; AM line oblique; reniform, orbicular, claviform spots usually distinct, dark with thin pale outlines; claviform spot flattened basally where it connects to AM line. HW yellowish brown, paler than FW.
Larva: head with black "cheeks"; body shiny yellowish-green, smooth, with 1 thick pale middorsal stripe and 2 thin pale dorsolateral stripes
Range
Yukon and British Columbia to Newfoundland, south in the east to Maryland and Kentucky, south in the west to Utah and Oregon (?) - perhaps farther south
Habitat
boreal forest, mixed woods, aspen groves, edges of forest clearings and treed flood plains
Season
adults fly from July to September
Food
larvae feed on leaves of Populus spp. (poplar) and willow
Life Cycle
one generation per year; overwinters as an egg
Larva; adult
Internet References
live adult and larva images and other info (Jeremy Tatum, Butterflies and Moths of Southern Vancouver Island)
adult image (Larry Line, Maryland)