Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

12 September 2005   10:04PM EST  (left)
7 September 2005   (date of moth capture)  (center)
7 September 2005   11:38PM EST  (right)
The same specimen is illustrated in the photos at center and right.

My initial identification of Scythris limbella was based on Internet sources, and subsequently checked against specimens in the Canadian National Collection in Ottawa.  From my searches, this species appears mainly to be illustrated from Europe.  The North American occurrences appear to have been considered different species, and more recently recognized as being the same as the European species.

Scythris limbella has a yellowish buff forewing, with dark brown to black markings.  A brownish shade runs the length of the costa.  There are several dark blotches in the yellow-buff part of the wing, the most consistent being a somewhat square patch near the midpoint of the inner margin, and the dark-brown to black at the apex.  Other dark markings are located where one would expect the antemedial and postmedial lines, and may appear as blotches, or as small groups of dark streaks, or sometimes even as zigzag lines.  Note the upturned "tail" of the ends of the wings when the moth is resting with wings closed, most evident in the center photo above.  The hindwing is brownish.  This is a small moth, with wingspan less than 1.5 cm.

I have no information on the life cycle of Scythris limbella except that the larva is reported to feed on lambsquarters (Chenopodium).

My records to date for Scythris limbella (each date representing "the night of") are in the table below: