Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

7 June 2004   9:39PM EST  (top left and right)
7 June 2004   9:40PM EST  (bottom)
The first two photos are of the same specimen.

My thanks to Dr. Jean-François Landry of Agriculture Canada for determining the identification of the first specimen above, which was collected and given to the Canadian National Collection in Ottawa.  This specimen has also been included in the All Leps Barcode of Life project of the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario at the University of Guelph.  Some additional information has been obtained from Forbes, William T.M., The Lepidoptera of New York and Neighboring States, Primitive Forms, Microlepidoptera, Pyraloids, Bombyces (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University, 1923).

Retinia albicapitana, also known as the Northern Pitch Twig Moth, has a light reddish-brown buff forewing crossed with silver to lead-gray striae.  In some lights the striae appear quite shiny.  The head and the front of the thorax are creamy white, but the rest of the thorax is orange, with a whitish scale tuft at the posterior end.  Forbes (1923) describes the fringe as "lead gray with black basal line," clearly visible in the bottom photo above.  Forbes indicates a wingspan of 16 to 19 mm.

It should be noted that Retinia albicapitana is one of several species in this group of moths that have considerable similarity in gross physical appearance.  Identification on the basis of photos alone is therefore likely to be unreliable.

According to Forbes (1923) and various Internet sources, the larvae of Retinia albicapitana form large pitch nodules on the twigs and branches of various pine species.  I have no information on adult flight season beyond my own observations.

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