Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

3 July 2003   10:17PM EST  (top)
14 July 2003   12:27AM EST  (bottom)

Eubaphe mendica, also known as the Beggar, is a small yellow moth with a somewhat fragile appearance due to its translucent wings.  Most of the specimens I have photographed have been pale, as in the top photo; the richer color of the moth in the bottom photo suggests that this moth may have been quite freshly emerged.  The yellow of the wing is quite uniform, except for a noticeably darker yellow, almost orange streak along the costa.  Where one would expect the antemedial and postmedial lines on the forewing, there are two rows of irregularly shaped, light bluish gray spots, most of which appear to be joined together.  There is also one smaller gray spot in the subterminal area at about the midpoint of the outer margin.  The hindwing is somewhat paler, with some faintly gray, smudgy spots in the outer half.  Covell (1984) indicates a wingspan of 2.1 to 3.0 cm.

According to Handfield (1999), the larvae of Eubaphe mendica feed on violets and maple. He indicates an adult flight season from late May to late July for my general area.

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