Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

13 June 2004   11:26PM EST  (left)
21 June 2004   11:31PM EST  (right)

Raphia frater has a bluish gray forewing with darker gray shading. The black antemedial line is fairly straight as it comes downward from the costa, but then makes a narrow curve inward before swooping sharply outward toward the medial line (which it sometimes touches) just above the inner margin. The black smudgy medial band or line is strongest close to the costa and in the lower half of the wing. The postmedial line is black, edged with pale gray on the outer side; its shape is useful for identification of this moth, as it bends outward to make a distinctive angular (as opposed to curved) shape outside the reniform spot. The subterminal line is jagged and pale gray, shaded with dark gray between it and the pm line. The orbicular and reniform spots are usually quite distinct, outlined in black and filled with gray; the reniform spot usually also has black in the center. The hindwing is very white, with faint dots marking the pm line and with a dark blotch at the inner angle.

According to Handfield (1999), the primary host plant for Raphia frater is poplar, but the larvae may also feed on other trees such as willow and birch. He indicates an adult flight season from the later part of May into early August for my general area.

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