Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

5 June 2005   (moth captured on the night of 4/5 June 2005)

My thanks to Mr. James T. Troubridge of Agriculture Canada for confirming my identification of the specimen illustrated above, which was collected and given to the Canadian National Collection in Ottawa.  I have found it somewhat confusing to distinguish between Metalectra discalis (Hodges 8499) and Metalectra quadrisignata, both of which occur in my area, but the more uniform, grayish ground color of the wing of Metalectra quadrisignata and the heavy shading in the inner half of the median of Metalectra discalis seem to be useful clues for telling the two species apart.

The ground color of the forewing of Metalectra quadrisignata is grayish, overlain with reddish or purplish color.  Scalloped basal and antemedial lines are usually evident, more whitish than the background color and with dark shading between them.  A somewhat diffused, scalloped, black median band crosses the median.  The reniform spot appears as a solid black oblong.  The postmedial line is easiest to distinguish at the costa, and its curve can be traced as a series of blackish spots followed by a parallel series of near-white dots along to its outer edge.  Outside the pm line, there is a near-black patch at the costal edge, beyond which the subterminal line appears as a somewhat jagged diffuse paler line.  The terminal line is most visible as a series of black-and-whitish dots adjacent to the dark gray fringe.  The pattern of the hindwing is somewhat similar to that of the forewing, and Covell (1984) notes the presence of discal spots on the hindwing, not visible in the photo above.  According to Covell, the wingspan ranges from 2.5 to 3.5 cm.

Covell (1984) has termed Metalectra quadrisignata the Four-Spotted Fungus Moth, and notes that its larvae feed on a species of bracket fungus. Handfield (1999) indicates an adult flight season from early June to about mid-August for my general area.

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