Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

7 June 2004   9:42PM EST  (top left)
31 May 2004   7:44PM EST  (top right)
9 June 2004   12:02AM EST  (bottom left)
31 July 2005   7:51PM EST  (bottom right)

Lacanobia atlantica is one of four species of Lacanobia recorded from the Ottawa area (J.D. Lafontaine, pers. comm., 2001), two of which are illustrated on this website.

The ground color of the forewing of Lacanobia atlantica is grayish yellow, variably streaked with dark gray, grayish brown and reddish brown.  The costal half of the basal area is yellowish above a sharply defined black basal dash.  Below the dash, a reddish brown streak extends outward through the antemedial line and the medial area.  The double, scalloped antemedial line is often not well defined, except where it marks the inner edge of the claviform spot, which forms a distinctive loop enclosing blackish filling.  The orbicular and reniform spots are defined mainly by pale whitish outlines partly rimmed in black.  The lower end of the reniform spot is filled with black, and it almost appears as if the end is covered by a streak of dark gray extending approximately from the outer edge of the orbicular spot into the subterminal area.  Like the am line, the postmedial line is double, scalloped and, for the most part, poorly defined.  The one line that is sharply defined is the subterminal line, which arches inward shortly below the apex, then zigzags outward to form two sharp points touching the outer margin, with a second inward arch before it terminates near the anal angle.  The hindwing is a dirty yellow-gray color, shaded darker near the outer margin.  In fresh specimens, such as the one in the top left photo, the reddish brown streaking can be quite vivid, washing over the upper end of the reniform spot and coloring parts of the subterminal area. 

According to Handfield (1999), the larvae of Lacanobia atlantica have been reported to feed on plantain, dandelion, oak, willow, poplar, clover, alfalfa, ash and honeysuckle. He notes that two generations per year occur in my general area, with adult flight seasons from early May to early July and from shortly before mid-July into early September.

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