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Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada
5 June 2005 11:09PM EST (top)
5 June 2005 (date of moth capture) (bottom left and right)
All photos are of the same specimen.
Heliothis acesias is one of two similar-appearing species
of Heliothis that have been recorded from the Ottawa area. My thanks to Dr. J. Donald Lafontaine of Agriculture Canada for confirming my identification of the specimen
illustrated above, which was collected and given to the Canadian National
Collection in Ottawa.
Heliothis acesias has a yellow-tan to yellow-orange
forewing with dark to very dark reddish brown markings. The most prominent
feature in the few specimens I have seen is the medial line, which arcs outward
in a smooth curve from a point near the innermost end of the inner margin to
skim the inner edge of the dark reniform spot and recurve slightly to the costa.
The postmedial and subterminal lines are less distinct, indicated by dots.
Between the medial and postmedial lines, there is reddish brown shading in the
lower half of the wing, most intense along the inner margin. There is also
darker shading between the postmedial and subterminal lines, usually more
intense than in the specimen illustrated here, with a dark brown mark at the
costa. Along the outer margin, the brown fringe is preceded by a row of
dark brown dots with some reddish brown shading. The hindwing is pale
creamy yellow, with a prominent dark blotch in the middle of the wing. A
dark band along the outer margin encloses a yellowish spot near the
midpoint. The veins of the hindwing are picked out in dark brown to black,
and the fringe is whitish.
According to Handfield (1999), the larvae of Heliothis
acesias are believed to feed on aster and probably other herbaceous
plants. On the basis of the few records available, he suggests an adult flight season from
about mid-July to mid-August for my general area, but with the possibility of an
earlier generation.
My only record to date for Heliothis acesias (each date
representing "the night of") is in the table below: | 
