Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

23 May 2004   10:03PM EST  (top left)
2 June 2004   9:34PM EST  (top right)
30 May 2004   9:58PM EST  (center left)
18 May 2003   9:36PM EST  (center right)
26 May 2004   10:36PM EST  (bottom)

Colocasia propinquilinea has a light to medium gray forewing. Although it is often relatively uniform in color, some specimens present more contrast, as in the top left photo above. The median area, bounded by black antemedial and postmedial lines, is often a slightly darker gray than the rest of the wing. The orbicular spot often stands out, because of its white or near-white filling inside a black circle. The reniform spot is less obvious, edged in white, but with a sharp black outline only evident along the inner side. The jagged scallops of the subterminal line often have darker gray shading along the inner side, and may be edged with near-white along the outer edge. The hindwing is gray, sometimes with a brownish tone. Covell (1984) gives a wingspan of 3.5 to 4.5 cm.

Like Colocasia flavicornis (Hodges 9184), Colocasia propinquilinea has orange antennae. The most obvious difference between the two species is the presence of the very dark "shield" in the median area when C. flavicornis has its wings closed. C. propinquilinea has no bar joining the am and pm lines across the median, and the median area is more or less the same shade of gray from costa to inner margin.

According to Handfield (1999), the primary host plant for Colocasia propinquilinea is birch, but the larvae may also feed on other trees including basswood, maple, poplar, willow, etc. He indicates an adult flight season from almost the beginning of May nearly to the middle of July for my general area.

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