Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

10 August 2005   12:03AM EST  (top left)
9 August 2005   11:19PM EST  (top right)
20 August 2003   8:24PM EST  (bottom)
The photos at top left and right are of the same specimen.

Lacinipolia meditata is one of seven species of Lacinipolia that have been recorded from the Ottawa area (J.D. Lafontaine, pers. comm., 2001), of which six are illustrated on this website. My thanks to Dr. J. Donald Lafontaine of Agriculture Canada for identifying the bottom specimen illustrated above.

Lacinipolia meditata, sometimes called The Thinker, has a reddish brown forewing with grayish shading, somewhat darker towards the costa.  Markings are generally inconspicuous; the specimen pictured at top right is better marked than others I've photographed.  The median is slightly darker brown than the rest of the wing, and is bounded by double antemedial and postmedial lines in dark brown with a slightly paler filling.  The orbicular and reniform spots are a lighter brown than the surrounding medial area, and the outer edge of the reniform spot is often sharper with more contrast against the darker brown median.  The subterminal area is the palest area of the wing, with some darker brown shading at the costa, a faint pale subterminal line, and gray between the st line and the outer margin.  Covell (1984) comments that the inner margin of the wing is concave just before the anal angle, and this feature is marginally visible in the bottom photograph above, which also affords a glimpse of the dark gray-brown hindwing. Covell indicates a wingspan from 2.7 to 3.3 cm for this species. 

According to Handfield (1999), the reported host plants for Lacinipolia meditata are varied, including dandelion, apple, aster, goldenrod, grape, clover, tobacco and blueberry. For my general area, he indicates two generations per year, with adult flight seasons from the later part of June to late July, and from late July to the end of August, the second generation being more numerous.

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