Species Thera contractata - Contracted Spanworm - Hodges#7218

7218

one of 4 species in this genus in North America listed at All-Leps

local and very rare in Quebec, and apparently rare elsewhere, judging from the few images and small amount of information on the Internet

wingspan 23-25 mm, based on two Internet photos

Adult: forewing ground color white, densely speckled with brownish-gray; basal line black, wavy; AM and PM lines enclose darker median area which is wide at costa but narrow and constricted at inner margin; subterminal line white, zigzagged or toothed, with dark shading along proximal edge; terminal line black, almost straight, interrupted by white dots along its length; fringe checkered dark and light; hindwing pale brownish-gray with small discal dot, dark terminal line, and pale checkered fringe

Newfoundland to Manitoba, and adjacent northern states (but see Remarks section below)

sand dunes, rock outcrops and barrens containing foodplant

adults fly in August and September in Quebec

larvae in July and August

larvae feed on foliage of Common Juniper (Juniperus communis) and rarely, Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera) [Handfield, 1999]

There appears to be confusion or disagreement over the western distribution of this species. All-Leps shows 10 collection sites in central British Columbia, and a government of BC PDF doc indicates its presence in the province, but CBIF's Moths of Canada gives Manitoba as the western limit of T. contractata, and the only Thera species listed in British Columbia is T. otisi.

Handfield, Louis. 1999. Les Guides des Papillons du Quebec. Broquet. 662 pp.

pinned adult image (CBIF)

pinned adult image by Jim Vargo (Moth Photographers Group)

common name reference and the same live adult image by Janice Stiefel as shown at BugGuide (Moth Photographers Group)

presence in Michigan and Wisconsin plus dates and locations - search on species "contractata" (Lepidopterists Society Season Summary, U. of Florida)

distribution in Canada list of provinces (CBIF)