Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada
30 May 2003
9:29PM EDT (top)
17 June 2003 11:09PM EDT (center left)
20 June 2003 10:03PM EDT (center right)
7 June 2003 9:43PM EDT (bottom) Hypena
palparia is one of about 10 species of Hypena recorded from the
Ottawa area. The forewing of Hypena palparia is
brown, with scalloped whitish antemedial and postmedial lines usually
evident. The basal area is often mottled, and resembles a sort of
"collar" to the dark brown "cape" of the median.
In the dark brown median, the orbicular spot is usually clearly marked by a
black spot, often made more distinctive by a whitish streak on the
background. At the inner margin, there is a slightly paler streak, but
in many specimens it is dark enough that it looks as though the dark brown
"cape" extends right to the inner margin. If I have
understood Covell (1983) correctly, the paler areas are more pronounced in
the female. The rather toothy postmedial line usually looks
double. Outside the pm line, the color is often mottled or shaded with
brown, and a black apical dash is very evident. The hindwing is dark
brown. Covell notes a wingspan from 2.7 to 3.3 cm. Hypena
palparia can be distinguished from similar Hypena species by its
whitish scalloped antemedial line and mottled basal area, as well as by the
fact that the dark brown of the median often appears to extend right to the
inner margin. The postmedial line is somewhat toothy or scalloped,
rather than smooth as it is in Hypena abalienalis. Handfield
(1999) cites references indicating that the larvae of Hypena palparia
feed on hop-hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) and hazel (Corylus);
Covell (1983) suggests oak as a possible host plant. For my general
area, Handfield indicates two generations per year, with flight seasons from
about mid-May to mid-July and from later July to late August. I
have recorded this species in 2000, on 21 and 29 June, and on 20 and 22
July; in 2001, on 16, 17, 19, 21 and 23 May, on 5, 9, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21
and 23 June, and on 6 July; in 2002, on 30 May, on 21 and 25 June, and on 2,
3 and 28 July; in 2003, on 23, 28 and 30 May, on 6, 7, 10, 12, 17, 20, 21,
25, 26 and 30 June, and on 10 and 14 July; in 2004, on 23, 25, 27 and 31 May. |
