Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

19 April 2005   9:11PM EST  (top left)
6 April 2005   9:47PM EST  (top right)
19 April 2005   8:39PM EST  (bottom left)
1 April 2005   (moth captured on 30 March 2005)  (bottom right)

Eupsilia vinulenta is one of four species of Eupsilia that have been recorded from the Ottawa area (J.D. Lafontaine, pers.comm., 2001).

Eupsilia vinulenta has a reddish brown forewing, often dusted with dark scales as in the two photos at left.  Most lines are usually evident: a slightly curved basal line, a fairly straight antemedial line often whitish along the inner side, a curved and slightly scalloped postmedial line, and a somewhat jagged subterminal line that is often shaded in brown along the inner side.  The darkest area of the wing is usually the median, but the terminal area may also be darker in color.  The orbicular spot is not evident.  The reniform spot may be white or orange, with white dots above and below, and a dark blotch around the lower dot.  A median band of darker brown is often evident, bending outward to that dark blotch and then bending back inward to form a shallow V.  The hindwing is a fairly dark grayish brown.  According to Covell (1984), the wingspan ranges from 3.3 to 3.8 cm.

Eupsilia vinulenta is very similar to several other species of Eupsilia, one of which (E. tristigmata, Hodges 9935) occurs in the Ottawa area.  Fortunately, it is easily possible to distinguish between E. vinulenta and E. tristigmata by looking at the scales under a microscope, where the scales of E. vinulenta are seen to end in four small straight teeth.  There are also other visible differences between these two species, but sometimes these are inconclusive, especially in a worn or damaged specimen.

The larvae of Eupsilia vinulenta feed on cherry, maple, oak and various other trees (Covell, 1984).  According to Handfield (1999), this species overwinters as an adult, with flight seasons in my general area from before mid-March to the beginning of June, and from late August to early November.

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