Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

7 August 2005   (date of moth capture)  (top left)
11 August 2005   8:30PM EST  (top right)
1 August 2005   9:16PM EST  (bottom)

Euxoa obeliscoides is one of about 20 Euxoa species recorded from the Ottawa area (J. D. Lafontaine, pers. comm., 2001), of which I have photographed only four at my location to date.  My thanks to Dr. J. Donald Lafontaine of Agriculture Canada for confirming my identification of the specimen illustrated at top left above.

Euxoa obeliscoides has a reddish brown forewing with a smooth, sleek appearance. A whitish beige streak along the costa is a prominent feature; this streak is crossed by the ends of the basal, antemedial and postmedial lines, and fades toward the end of the pm line where it terminates. Beyond the pm line, there are three yellowish white dots at the costa, followed by a blackish shade or mark immediately inside the subterminal line. The ovoid orbicular spot and the reniform spot stand out against a blackish streak in the median, their fillings rimmed with whitish beige with brownish color inside. The scalloped antemedial and postmedial lines are clear. In the median a black loop extends outward from the am line to mark the location of the claviform spot. A grayish streak extends along the inner margin from base to pm line and beyond. The pale, irregular, jagged subterminal line is followed by gray-brown shading preceding the blackish dashes of the terminal line. The center part of the thorax varies from reddish brown to beige, sometimes contrasting strongly with the grayish brown tegulae. The hindwing is light grayish brown, slightly darker towards the outer margin, with a pale whitish fringe, barely visible in the bottom photo.

According to Handfield (1999), the host plant for Euxoa obeliscoides is unknown. He indicates an adult flight season from the beginning of July nearly to mid-September for my general area.

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