Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

25 July 2001   11:20PM EST  (top left)
4 June 2002   10:14PM EST  (top right)
30 May 2002   10:01PM EST  (center)
3 July 2002   12:24AM EST  (bottom)

Odontosia elegans, or Elegant Prominent, is an appropriate name for a subtly sleek moth.  Its forewing is mainly a smooth ash gray color, a little darker towards the costa, sometimes a little paler in the subterminal area outside the faint postmedial line.  In the basal area, a tan band bordered with white extends outward along the inner margin, culminating in a dark projecting tuft that is readily visible when the moth is resting with wings folded in a tent shape around its body (top right and bottom). Odontosia elegans is one of the larger Notodontids in my area; Covell (1984) indicates a wingspan of 4.5 to 6 cm.

The hindwing is mostly whitish, but a darker marking can be seen at the anal angle in the bottom photo, where the hindwing projects beyond the forewing outside the area of the protruding tuft of the forewing.

The main host plants of Odontosia elegans are species of poplar.  According to Handfield (1999), the adult moth may be observed in my general area from the end of May to early August.

I have photographed this species in 2001 on 25 July; in 2002 on 30 May, on 2 and 4 June, and on 3 and 24 July.