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Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada
12 May 2004 11:23PM EST (top)
16 April 2005 (date of moth capture) (bottom left and right)
Orthosia segregata is one
of five species of Orthosia that have been recorded from the Ottawa area
(J.D. Lafontaine, pers. comm., 2001), all of which are illustrated on this
website. Several of these species are quite variable in appearance, an
issue complicated by the frequent occurrence of worn specimens and the
propensity of the forewing color and pattern to be obscured by reflections from
flash photography. My thanks to Dr. J. Donald Lafontaine of Agriculture Canada for
confirming my identification of the specimen
illustrated at top above, which was collected and given to the Canadian National
Collection in Ottawa. Mr. J. T. Troubridge of Agriculture Canada captured
the two specimens illustrated at bottom in a trap at my location, and kindly
provided me with the opportunity to photograph them for my own records.
Orthosia segregata has a gray forewing with reddish
shading; in some specimens the red shading is very intense, as in the specimen
at bottom right above. The double antemedial line, with its pale tan
filling, is generally clearly marked, but the postmedial line is obscure except
in the lower half of the wing near the inner margin. A distinctive black
bar runs between the am and pm lines about 2/3 of the way down the wing.
The orbicular spot is somewhat elongated, filled with light grayish tan.
The reniform spot has a pale outline and very dark filling in its lower
end. The area beyond the pale, irregular subterminal line tends to have
little reddish shading; and some specimens show a light gray apical patch.
The hindwing is grayish with a pale fringe.
According to Handfield (1999), the larvae of Orthosia
segregata are reported to feed on buffalo berry/soapberry (Shepherdia
canadensis). For my general area, he indicates an adult flight season from
shortly after mid-April to mid-May.
My records to date for Orthosia segregata (each date
representing "the night of") are in the table below: | 
