Lepidoptera
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Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada 10 May 2005 1:12AM EST (top) Eupithecia ravocostaliata is one of more than 25 species of Eupithecia that have been recorded in the Ottawa area (J.D. Lafontaine, pers. comm., 2001). Many of these species are similar enough in appearance that they cannot be reliably identified without expert examination, but E. ravocostaliata is sufficiently distinctive to be one of the few that can be identified relatively easily on the basis of its appearance. At rest, Eupithecia ravocostaliata takes the typical resting position of most of the Eupithecia species, with its somewhat elongated forewings extended to the sides, showing a small part of the hindwing, and displaying its whole body. The thorax is pearly yellowish-white, with a very smooth appearance. The head and often the tip of the abdomen are very white. The forewings are mostly light gray, with a dark rusty-gray streak down the costal edge nearly to the apex, interrupted by the double white antemedial and postmedial lines, and terminating at the white subterminal line. These lines are scalloped along the inner edge, and are clearest at the costa and inner margin. The lower third of the forewing is also usually colored rusty-brown to darker gray. There is a dark blotch midway down the wing between the postmedial and subterminal lines. The discal dot is evident as a vertical black dash. The pattern continues onto the hindwing at the inner margin, but the rest of the hindwing is pale with little pattern evident. E. ravocostaliata is larger than many other Eupithecia species, and I estimate that the specimens I've photographed have wingspans in the order of 2.5 cm or more. According to Handfield (1999), the main host plant for Eupithecia ravocostaliata is willow, but the larvae may also feed on cherry, viburnum, birch, poplar and alder. He indicates an adult flight season from the end of April nearly to mid-June for my general area. My records to date for Eupithecia ravocostaliata (each date representing "the night of") are in the table below: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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