Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

24 April 2004   (specimen captured on 23 April 2004)  (top)
23 April 2004   11:40PM EST  (bottom)

Lithophane amanda is one of over 20 species of Lithophane that have been recorded from the Ottawa area (J.D. Lafontaine, pers.comm., 2001).  My thanks to Dr. J.D. Lafontaine of Agriculture Canada for confirming the identification of the specimen above, from the actual specimen.

Lithophane amanda has a light gray-beige forewing, more gray towards the inner margin and more beige towards the costa.  There is a fairly distinctive brown mark around the lower end of the reniform spot, but neither the orbicular nor the reniform spot is clearly defined.  The terminal area includes a subapical patch of orangish brown, and there is also an indistinct patch of the same color near the inner angle.

The larvae of Lithophane amanda feed primarily on willow, but also are reported to feed on a wide of other deciduous and evergreen species, including birch and poplar (Handfield, 1999).  According to Handfield, this species overwinters as an adult, with flight seasons in my general area from early May into the second half of May, and from the later part of August to late September. 

I have recorded this species at my location only once to date, in 2004 on 23 April.