Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

11 August 2005   10:09PM EST  (top)
11 August 2005   10:04PM EST  (center left)
7 August 2005   11:46PM EST  (center right)
15 August 2004   8:42PM EST  (bottom left)
1 August 2005   10:58PM EST  (bottom right)
The same specimen is pictured in the photos at top and center left.

Members of the Geometrinae subfamily of Geometridae are often called the Emeralds, or emerald moths, because so many of the species are green in color.  Synchlora aerata, sometimes called the Wavy-Lined Emerald, is one of eight species of Emerald recorded from the Ottawa area (J.D. Lafontaine, pers. comm., 2001), of which six are illustrated on this web site.  Distinguishing between similar species in this group is often problematic, and in checking my identifications and revising my web pages for this group of moths, I have relied heavily on the work of the late Dr. Douglas C. Ferguson (Ferguson, Douglas C., in Dominick, R.B., et al., 1985, The Moths of America North of Mexico, Fasc. 18.1, Geometroidea: Geometridae (in part)).

The Synchlora aerata specimens illustrated above are all, I believe, of the subspecies albolineata, which Ferguson (1985) describes as a northern form of the species.  The continuous white mid-dorsal stripe on the abdomen generally serves to distinguish Synchlora aerata from the Nemoria species that occur in my area.  The wings are medium green, with slightly sinuous or toothed white antemedial and postmedial lines on both forewing and hindwing.  A line of white dots precedes the green fringe along the outer margins.  In some specimens, the veins are lightly traced in white.  The wing length ranges from 9 to 12 mm in males, and from 12.0 to 13.5 mm in females (Ferguson, 1985).

The larvae of Synchlora aerata albolineata feed on raspberry and huckleberry.  Ferguson (1985) states that this subspecies is single-brooded, flying from late June to early August in its northern range.  Handfield (1999), however, indicates that Synchlora aerata albolineata is double-brooded in southwestern Quebec, adjacent to my area, and my observations also suggest two generations per year.  According to Handfield, the adult flight seasons in my general area are from the later part of May to mid-July, and from mid-July to early September.

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