Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

10 June 2003   10:48PM EDT  (top)
18 June 2003   10:10PM EDT  (bottom)

Apamea sordens is one of about 20 species of Apamea known to occur in the Ottawa area.  My thanks to Dr. J. Donald Lafontaine of Agriculture Canada for assistance with identification.

The forewing of Apamea sordens is grayish beige in color.  The antemedial and postmedial lines are generally well marked.  The median is often a darker reddish brown, although in some specimens the darker color may only be evident as mottling.  The orbicular spot may be fairly inconspicuous, with its whitish outline and grayish beige filling.  The reniform spot is usually more clearly marked, outlined in dirty white and filled with beige, with a blackish spot at the lower end.  A reddish brown patch is evident in the subterminal area at the costal edge, and a pale subterminal line may be noticeable.  The hindwing is pale, shaded with grayish brown towards the outer margin.

The larvae of Apamea sordens feed on wheat, wild rice, timothy, corn, and other grasses and sedges (Rockburne and Lafontaine, 1976; Handfield, 1999).  Handfield indicates an adult flight season from late May to early August for my general area.

I have photographed this species in 2002, on 19, 20, 26, 29 and 30 June; in 2003, on 10, 18, 19, 20 and 21 June.