Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

4 June 2004   10:41PM EST  (top)
23 May 2003   9:31PM EST  (second from top, left)
16 July 2004   10:16PM EST  (second from top, right)
29 July 2003   9:01PM EST  (third from top)
18 May 2003   8:52PM EST  (bottom)

Drepana arcuata is one of two species of Drepana reported to occur in the Ottawa area (J.D. Lafontaine, pers. comm., 2001).

Drepana arcuata ranges in color from pale yellowish white to a light orangish yellow.  The lighter color usually coincides with darker, more vivid lines and other markings.  The shape of the forewing is distinctive, the apex forming a curved hook, giving rise to the common epithet for this family as hooktip moths.  The antemedial and postmedial lines show a somewhat irregular zigzag habit, with a pronounced outward zig in the upper third, especially in the postmedial line.  The strongest and darkest line is the smoothly curved subterminal line, which extends out to the point of the hook.  The hindwing lines are somewhat less distinct than those of the forewing, and are strongest near the inner margin.  The wingspan ranges from 2.4 to 4.0 cm, according to Covell (1983).

The larvae of Drepana arcuata feed on birch and alder (Handfield, 1999).  Handfield indicates two generations per year for this species in my general area, with flight seasons from early May to late July, and from early to late August.

I have recorded this species in 2000 on 1 and 28 June; in 2001, on 21 May, and on 15 and 16 June; in 2002, on 28 May, on 29 and 30 June, and on 23 July; in 2003, on 18, 19, 23, 25 and 28 May, on 4, 5, 6, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26 and 28 June, on 4, 5, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 29 July, and on 6 August; in 2004, on 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 25 and 27 May, on 4, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20 and 21 June, and on 7, 13, 16 and 21 July.