Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

22 June 2003   (date of moth capture)  (top left and right)
22 June 2003   10:03PM EST  (bottom left)
22 June 2003   (date of moth capture)  (bottom right)
All photos are of the same specimen.

My thanks to Dr. J. Donald Lafontaine of Agriculture Canada for identifying the specimen illustrated above, which was collected and given to the Canadian National Collection in Ottawa.

Hadena capsularis, formerly called Anepia capsularis, has a light gray forewing shaded with brown.  The antemedial and postmedial lines are black, double, and filled with gray-brown.  A sharp black claviform wedge appears almost to connect the two lines across the median.  The orbicular spot is quite large, white with a gray-brown center.  The gray-brown reniform spot has a double outline that touches the pm line at the lower end.  Much of the subterminal area is paler than the median, with a faint pale subterminal line.  Near the midpoint of the outer margin there are three very narrow black wedges pointing inward, interrupted by the st line.  There is a pale apical patch preceded by a dark gray-brown area at the costa.  The hindwing is light gray-brown with a darker medial line.  Covell (1984) indicates a wingspan from 2.5 to 3.0 cm for this species. 

According to Handfield (1999), the larvae of Hadena capsularis feed on the seed capsules of members of the pink family (Caryophyllaceae), including carnation, lychnis, silene, snow-in-summer and others, undoubtedly the reason why Covell calls it the Capsule Moth. Handfield indicates an adult flight season from the second half of June nearly to mid-July for my general area.

My sole record to date for Hadena capsularis (each date representing "the night of") is in the table below: