Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

14 May 2004   9:20PM EST  (top)
6 August 2003   (moth captured on 5 August 2003)  (bottom)  

My thanks to Dr. J. Donald Lafontaine of Agriculture Canada for confirming my identification of the specimen illustrated in the bottom photo.  Trichodezia albovittata is a day-flying moth, and seldom visits lights at night; consequently it is a species I don't see and photograph very often, as my main observation time is after dusk until after midnight.

Trichodezia albovitatta is a small moth with a wingspan of 2.0 to 2.5 cm (Covell, 1984).  The wings are black with a smooth sleek appearance.  On the forewing, a white bar crosses the wing from about the mid-point of the costa to a point near the inner angle; this bar tapers to a point and curves slightly at the lower end.  A very short white bar extends from the lower curve of the larger bar to the outer margin just above the inner angle.  The apex of the forewing is also touched with white.  The fringe of the black hindwing is white near the apex, as can be seen in the top photo.  The head, thorax and abdomen are black.

According to Handfield (1999), the larvae of Trichodezia albovittata feed on fireweed, meadow-rue and impatiens. He indicates two generations per year for my general area, with adult flight seasons from early May to the end of June, and from the beginning of July into the second half of August.

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