Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

4 August 2006   8:39PM EST  (top left and right)
8 August 2006   8:09PM EST  (bottom)
The first two photos are of the same specimen.

Phaneta ochroterminana is one of about 20 species of Phaneta recorded from the Ottawa area  (J. D. Lafontaine, pers. comm., 2001).  My thanks to Dr. P. T. Dang of the Canadian Forest Service for his assistance with my earliest identifications.  Additional information has been gleaned from Internet resources and from Forbes, William T.M., The Lepidoptera of New York and Neighboring States, Primitive Forms, Microlepidoptera, Pyraloids, Bombyces (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University, 1923).

The forewing of Phaneta ochroterminana is nearly black for most of its length, with some hints of darker lines or bands, and often with a slight purple-blue sheen in fresh specimens.  The outermost part of the wing is predominantly yellowish tan, with a few dark striations in the area near the anal angle.  There is a short, curved cream mark at the costa near the apex, and a straighter cream bar at the inner margin, separating the blackish area from the yellowish terminal area.  The head and thorax are rusty brown.  Forbes (1923) indicates a wingspan of 10 to 15 mm.

According to Rings and Metzler (Rings, R.W. and Metzler, E.H. 2002.  The Lepidoptera of Portage County, Ohio.  OARDC Research Bulletin 1195; available on the Internet), the larvae of Phaneta ochroterminana feed on the flower heads of goldenrod, and the adult moths are active from July to August.  Forbes (1923) states that the adult Phaneta ochroterminana flies in August and September.

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