Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

7 August 2005   8:46PM EST  (top left)
30 July 2003   9:47PM EST  (top right)
2 August 2005   (date of moth capture)  (bottom)

My thanks to Scott Griggs of Vermont for his assistance with identifying my first specimen of Fumibotys fumalis.  I have also relied on Munroe, E., in Dominick, R.B. et al., The Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 13.2A, Pyraloidea Pyralidae (Part) (London: E.W. Classey, 1976) and Forbes, William T.M., The Lepidoptera of New York and Neighboring States, Primitive Forms, Microlepidoptera, Pyraloids, Bombyces (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University, 1923), as well as specimens in the Canadian National Collection in Ottawa.

The forewing of Fumibotys fumalis has variously been described as foxy brown to smoky brown, or fawn to chocolate brown.  The dark brown antemedial and postmedial lines are lightly toothed.  A somewhat diffuse dark blotch partly obscures the reniform spot.  A continuous brown terminal line precedes the fringe.  In my experience, the forewing generally has a smooth, shiny appearance.  The hindwing is a lighter grayish brown with a wavy postmedial line.  Forbes (1923) indicates a wingspan of 22 mm.

According to Munroe (1976), the larva of Fumibotys fumalis is a borer in the rhizomes of peppermint and possibly other mints. He indicates an adult flight season from June to September in the northern part of this moth's range.

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