Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

12 June 2004   11:12PM EST  (top left)
19 June 2003   12:17AM EST  (top right)
13 May 2004   9:18PM EST  (bottom left and right)
The bottom two photos are of the same specimen.

Panthea acronyctoides is one of two species of Panthea recorded in the Ottawa area (J.D. Lafontaine, pers. comm., 2001).

Panthea acronyctoides, which Covell (1984) terms the Black Zigzag moth, is richly patterned, with bold jagged black lines on a white background. The pattern is somewhat variable, mainly because of varying amounts of gray shading. The inner half to two-thirds of the basal area is shaded in gray, as is the lower part of the median nearest the inner margin. There is also gray to black shading on the inner side of the very jagged subterminal line, and immediately preceding the black dashed terminal line. The orbicular spot is white with a black spot in the center; the reniform spot is dark gray to black. A near-black median band crosses the wing between the orbicular and reniform spots. The fringe of the forewing is checkered black and white. The hindwing is gray with a white fringe. According to Covell, the wingspan ranges from 3.0 to 3.5 cm.

The larvae of Panthea acronyctoides feed on balsam fir, white spruce and tamarack (larch), as well as other coniferous trees (Handfield, 1999). Handfield indicates an adult flight season from very late May to the end of July for my general area, but I have recorded this species as early as 12 May.

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