Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

25 June 2003  10:48PM EDT

My initial identification of this species was based on photographs in Handfield (1999) and Covell (1983), and subsequently confirmed by Dr. J. Donald Lafontaine of Agriculture Canada.

Ogdoconta cinereola is well-suited to take a quiet rest on our brick wall, as its soft pinkish rust and brown colors provide excellent camouflage against the brick background.  The forewing is brownish, with a darker median area marked with a slight tracery of thin whitish lines marking the locations of the orbicular and reniform spots.  According to Covell, the basal area is also usually brownish, but more pinkish in some specimens, such as the one illustrated above.  Beyond the median, between the postmedial and subterminal lines, there is a fairly wide pinkish band, for which this moth is sometimes referred to as the Common Pinkband.  Outside the pinkish band, the color is brownish, although not as dark a shade as in the median.  The pm line bends inward fairly sharply just before it reaches the costa.  Along the costal edge of the wing, there are several short whitish marks between the pm line and the apex of the wing (best visible on the right wing of the specimen illustrated above).  The hindwing is light grayish brown.

The larvae of Ogdoconta cinereola feed on Stachys, beans, ragweed and sunflowers (Covell, 1983; Handfield, 1999).  According to Handfield, there are three generations during the warm months, flying in June, July, and August to mid-September.

I have photographed this species only once to date, in 2003, on 25 June.