Identification
forewing median area medium to dark gray, bordered by crooked AM line and very irregular PM line; basal band (borderded by AM and basal lines) varies from almost white to light brown with orangish shading; subterminal line a thick white zigzag, reduced to small rounded scallops in some individuals; subterminal area orangish except for bicolored dark and light gray patch at costa; dark apical dash usually present
hindwing pale gray basally, pale brownish distally, with irregular median line
Specimens identified by DNA analysis:
Range
an unusual disjunct distribution - the far west (BC to SK, south to AZ, CA) and the far northeast (NF, NB, QC, and NY)
Season
adults fly from June to August
Food
larvae feed on leaves of currant and gooseberry (Ribes spp.)
Remarks
Not much information and no other live images found on Internet, as of December 2005.
See Also
D. rutlandia has white-bordered lines and a large black discal spot [and the shape of its median area resembles the head and neck of an embryonic lamb]
compare images of both species
D. formosa and
hersiliata are similar, and show considerable variation in color, but none of the variants fit all the characteristics listed in the Identification section above (compare multiple images of
all 3 species)
also see other genera in the tribe Hydriomenini on
this pageInternet References
pinned adult image plus description, food plants, flight season, similar species (Jeff Miller, Macromoths of Northwest Forests and Woodlands; USGS)
pinned adult image (Bruce Walsh, Moths of Southeastern Arizona)
presence in New York; list (Olive Natural Heritage Society, New York)
presence in California; list (U. of California at Berkeley)
distribution in Canada list of provinces (CBIF)