Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

20 August 2005   8:03PM EST

Discestra trifolii, sometimes referred to as The Nutmeg, has a very patterned forewing with a medium to light yellowish to grayish or brownish ground color.  The antemedial and postmedial lines are double, scalloped, and outlined in dark brown to black with pale yellow-gray filling.  The orbicular spot is outlined in black with yellow-gray filling, darkest in the center of the spot.  The claviform spot appears as a dark-filled loop extending outward from the am line.  The reniform spot is outlined in black, edged on the inside with a pale line, with very dark filling in the lower half of the spot.  The pale and somewhat indistinct subterminal line zigzags sharply in the lower half of the wing to make two wedge-shaped points near the anal angle, which may be shaded on the inner side with a light reddish brown.  The veins in and near these points are evident as dark-brown to black dashes.  The hindwing is a somewhat dirty white, with some darker shading along the outer margin.  Covell (1984) gives a wingspan ranging from 3.0 to 4.0 cm for this species.

The larva of Discestra trifolii is commonly known as the Clover Cutworm.  According to Handfield (1999), its main host plant is clover, but it also feeds on a wide variety of market garden vegetable crops. He indicates two generations per year in my general area, with adult flight seasons from the earlier part of May to the earlier part of July, and from near mid-July to the early part of September.

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