Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

19 July 2003   8:43PM EST  (left)
19 July 2003   10:14PM EST  (right)

My identification of this species was initially based on Covell (1984) and subsequently checked by comparison of my photos with specimens in the Canadian National Collection in Ottawa.  My thanks to Dr. J. Donald Lafontaine for access to this resource.

Sparganothis reticulatana is one of about 15 species of Sparganothis known to occur in the Ottawa area.  The forewing is yellow, overlain by a netlike pattern of orange lines.  The antemedial line is dark brown, thicker at the costa, terminating in a triangular blotch at the inner margin.  The postmedial line begins with a blotch at the costa, and divides after this blotch to form a Y shape with the top toward the inner margin.  According to Covell (1984), the wingspan ranges from 1.5 to 1.7 cm.

Covell indicates that the larvae feed on a wide variety of plants, including alder, apple, ash, aster, beech, blueberry, cherry, maple, oak, pear, etc.

I have photographed this species in 2000, on 31 July, and on 19 August; in 2001, on 19, 23, 24 and 29 July, and on 15 August; in 2002, on 19 and 29 July; in 2003, on 14, 19, 21, 22, 28 and 30 July, and on 1 August.