Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

27 July 2003  (specimen captured on 25 July 2003)  (top and center)
25 July 2003   9:29PM EDT  (bottom left)
27 July 2003  (specimen captured on 25 July 2003)  (bottom right)
All four photographs are of the same specimen.

Eudryas grata, also known as the Beautiful Wood-Nymph, is one of two species of Eudryas that occur in the Ottawa area.

The forewing of Eudryas grata is dominated by a large shimmering white area, with dark red-brown shading in the inner half of the wing at the costa, and along the inner margin. These dark shades are partly bordered in olive green. The orbicular and reniform spots are outlined with fine white lines, and there is a white dot in the center of the orbicular spot.  There is a smoothly curved band of dark reddish brown along the outer margin, bordered with olive green along the inside.  The thorax has a raised band of dark reddish brown scales down the center, bordered by white.  The hindwing is bright rich yellow, bordered in rust.  The underside of both forewing and hindwing is rich yellow, with a few dark blotches.  The forelegs look as if the moth is wearing fur sleeves with cuffs, in gray and white.  The abdomen is yellow on the dorsal side, with black spots down the center and along the sides, but white on the ventral side.

Eudryas grata is similar to Eudryas unio (Hodges 9299, also illustrated on this web site), but is somewhat larger.  The two species can easily be distinguished by the fact that the dark band along the outer margin of the forewing in Eudryas grata is smoothly curved on the inside, whereas it is scalloped in Eudryas unio.

The larvae of Eudryas grata feed on amelopsis, buttonbush, grape, hops and Virginia creeper (Covell, 1983).  Handfield (1999) indicates an adult flight season from mid-May through early August for my general area.

I have photographed this species only twice, in 2002 on 29 July; in 2003, on 25(27) July.