Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

28 April 2003   7:22PM EST

Pyreferra citromba is the less common of the two species of Pyreferra known to occur in the Ottawa area.  It is a pale straw yellow in color, with well-defined brown lines.  The antemedial, medial and postmedial lines are all quite straight.  At the costal end, the postmedial line looks as if it has run into an irregular U- or V-shaped line, the ends of which terminate at the costa.  In the specimen above, the reniform spot is only faintly present, but the orbicular spot is evident on the left wing as a hollow brown circle.

Because this species overwinters as an adult, it is likely that specimens seen in the spring are somewhat worn, so that some markings may be fainter or absent, as compared to a fresh specimen.  The loss of wing scales due to wear can also affect the color.  Caution is needed, therefore, in distinguishing similar species when the specimens are not fresh, for example, Pyreferra citromba and Pyreferra pettiti (9932), both of which occur in my area. 

The larvae of Pyreferra citromba feed on hazel and witchhazel.  To the best of my knowledge, witchhazel does not grow in my area, but there are plants of beaked hazel (Corylus cornuta) in my immediate vicinity.  Handfield (1999) indicates adult flight seasons from mid-April to mid-May and from mid-September through October in my general area.  This moth hibernates as an adult through the winter. 

I have photographed this species only once, in 2003 on 28 April.