Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

8 July 2003  12:46AM EDT

Apamea lignicolora is one of about 20 species of Apamea known to occur in the Ottawa area.

The forewing of Apamea lignicolora is yellowish, shaded with reddish brown in a busy, complex pattern reminiscent of wood-grain, giving rise to the moth's common name of Wood-Colored Apamea.  The reddish brown shading is heaviest near the costa, and there are also two dark reddish brown areas in the subterminal area outside the subterminal line.  The yellowish subterminal line has two sharp points extending to the center of the outer margin, forming a sort of W shape.  The fringe color alternates between dark red-brown and yellow.  The hindwing is yellowish beige, shaded in gray towards the outer margin.

This species has some superficial similarity to Morrisonia confusa (Hodges 10521, also illustrated on this web site), but is larger and more yellow; also, Morrisonia confusa flies earlier in the year than Apamea lignicolora.

The larvae of Apamea lignicolora feed on quack grass and other grasses (Covell, 1983).  Handfield (1999) indicates an adult flight season from early June to early August for my general area.

I have photographed this species in 2000, on 7 and 22 July; in 2001, on 1 July; in 2002, on 6 and 15 July; in 2003, on 26 June, and on 8, 17, 21, 23 and 26 July.