Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

22 June 2003   12:10AM EDT  (left)
15 July 2003   12:20AM EDT  (right)

My thanks for Dr. J. Donald Lafontaine of Agriculture Canada for determining the identification of the actual specimen shown at left above.  Photographs formerly shown on this page were misidentified, thanks to a combination of my own inexperience and some mixed-up specimens in collections.

Meganola minuscula is one of two species of Meganola recorded from the Ottawa area.

The forewing of Meganola minuscula is pale gray, somewhat mottled in appearance.  In the photo at left above, it is easy to see three tufts of light gray scales protruding near the costa.  The darker gray antemedial line is usually only evident at the costa and inner margin.  The double postmedial line, beginning as a small dark blotch at the costa, shows as a series of black dots, sometimes connected toward the inner margin, which curves steeply outward just below the costa to go around the very faint reniform spot.  The terminal line is evident as a line of black dots along the outer margin.  In a very fresh specimen, there may be some sign of the subterminal line and some shading in the subterminal area as in the specimen at left above.  The hindwing is near white, with slight gray shading.  Covell (1983) indicates a wingspan from 1.4 to 2.4 cm.

The literature indicates a variety of larval host plants for Meganola minuscula, including beech, oak and willow (Handfield, 1999).  For my general area, Handfield gives an adult flight season from mid-June to early July.

I have recorded this species in 2003, on 21/22 June, and on 14/15 July.