Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

17 June 2003   10:58PM EST  (top)
21 June 2003   11:39PM EST  (bottom)  (form irrorata)

Oreta rosea is a richly colored drepanid with two forms; the type form is brown and yellow, while the form "irrorata" is entirely brown.  The shape of the forewing is distinctive, the apex forming a curved hook, giving rise to the common epithet for this family as hooktip moths.  The antemedial and postmedial lines are brown, and the postmedial line points sharply outward near the costa.  The costa often has a somewhat reddish color.  The area outside the postmedial line is mainly yellow in the type form, with brown outside the subterminal line.  Two black dots may be visible near the anal angle.  The hindwing has similar color, except that the only brown outside the median is a smudge at the apex.  Dashed lines are sometimes visible in the subterminal area of the hindwing.  In the irrorata form, the yellow areas are replaced with a brown that is slightly paler than the rest of the wing, on both forewing and hindwing.  The wingspan ranges from 2.5 to 3.4 cm, according to Covell (1983).

The larvae of Oreta rosea generally feed on birch and viburnum (Handfield, 1999).  Handfield indicates two generations per year for this species in my general area, with flight seasons from early June to late July, and from early August to early September.

I have recorded this species at my location in 2000, on 17 June, on 10 and 22 July, and on 14 August; in 2001, on 10, 14, 15, 18, 19 and 21 June, on 4 and 28 July, and on 5 and 12 August; in 2002, on 18, 21 and 30 June, on 1 July, and on 7 and 9 August; in 2003, on 17, 18, 21 and 28 June, on 5, 6 and 9 July, and on 5, 6, 7 and 20 August; in 2004, on 9, 13, 14, 16, 18 and 21 June, and on 2, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 18 July.