Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

11 June 2003  1:10AM EDT

My thanks to Dr. J. Donald Lafontaine of Agriculture for identifying this specimen, which was collected and given to the Canadian National Collection in Ottawa.

Like other species of Rivulinae, Melanomma auricinctaria is quite small, and I estimate its wingspan to be less than 2 cm.

The forewing of Melanomma auricinctaria is light gray brown, with much of the outer half of the median shaded in dark brown.  The antemedial and postmedial lines are dark brown and somewhat scalloped.  The reniform spot is quite distinctive, when lighting conditions are right to show its very dark blue, almost black color, with a tiny silvery dot in the center.  The subterminal line is double, with a whitish filling.  At its inner margin, the lines and shading on the lighter hindwing reflect a similar pattern to that of the forewing.

The larvae of Melanomma auricinctaria feed on huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata), but may also eat other related plant species (Handfield, 1999).  Handfield indicates two generations per year in my general area, with adult flight seasons during the first three weeks of July, and from early August until after mid-September.

I have recorded this species only once to date, in 2003, on the night of 10 June.