Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

18 September 2006   10:50PM EST  (top left and right)
19 September 2005   7:24PM EST  (bottom left)
19 September 2005   7:23PM EST  (bottom right)
The two photos at top are of the same specimen, as are the two photos at bottom.

Epinotia radicana, formerly classified as Griselda radicana, is one of about 25 species of Epinotia that have been recorded from the Ottawa area.  My thanks to Dr. Jean-François Landry of Agriculture Canada for identifying several specimens that were collected and given to the Canadian National Collection in Ottawa, including the first specimen illustrated above.  Some additional information has been gleaned from Internet resources, most of which focus on the caterpillar, and from Stevens, R.E., Carolin, V.M. and Stein, C., 1983, "Lepidoptera associated with western spruce budworm in the southwestern United States," J. Lep. Soc., vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 129-139.

Epinotia radicana has a pale grayish forewing, lightly washed with rust, giving it a faintly pinkish orange color.  A blackish antemedial fascia is preceded by varying amounts of blackish speckling in the basal area.  A medial fascia is somewhat irregular in width, most consistently present and widest at the inner margin.  There are several blackish marks along the outer half of the costa, one of which is heavier and extends about halfway down the wing, sometimes connecting to the medial fascia with a finer curved line.  Stevens et al. (1983) indicate a wingspan of 12 to 16 mm.

The larvae of Epinotia radicana, commonly called the Spruce Tip Moth, feed on spruce buds, having overwintered as eggs.  The adult moth flies in late summer, according to Stevens et al. (1983).

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