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Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada
6 May 2005 10:22PM EST (top)
7 May 2005 (moth captured on 6 May 2005) (bottom)
Both photos are of the same specimen, illustrating dorsal and ventral views.
Scoliopteryx libatrix, sometimes called The Herald, is a
handsome moth, with its distinctive pattern on a light to medium brown
forewing. One's eye is immediately drawn to the streak of orange-red
midway down the wing in the basal and median areas, which is accented by a row
of sparkling white dots along a vein. The white antemedial line forms a
single somewhat diffuse scallop above the orange streak, then is much straighter
from the white-dotted vein to the inner margin. The double white
postmedial line angles sharply outward just below the costa, then turns down to
cross the wing in a near-straight line. The area along the costa is
somewhat whitish, and outside the pm line there is a group of closely spaced
white lines curving towards the costa near the apex. A whitish, somewhat
irregular subterminal line is also visible, clearest near the apex. There
is a single larger white dot near the base of the wing, and another in the
median approximately where the orbicular spot would be. The reniform spot
appears only as a pale brownish area with a dark dot at either end. The
thorax is partly orange, partly brown. The forewings and hindwings are
scalloped along the outer margin. Looking at the underside of the moth,
the wings in a closed position appear light tan, with dark markings especially
noticeable on the underside of the hindwing. Seen from the upper side in a
closed resting position, Scoliopteryx libatrix takes on a flared bell
silhouette. Covell (1984) indicates a wingspan from 3.8 to 4.5 cm.
According to Handfield (1999), the larvae of Scoliopteryx
libatrix feed on willow and poplar. He comments that the adult appears
to have a relatively long life. Some adults hibernate in sheltered places
through the winter, then fly again in early spring. For the in-year
generation, there is a very long adult flight season, from mid-June to
mid-October.
My records to date for Scoliopteryx libatrix (each date
representing "the night of") are in the table below: |
