Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

15 July 2005   11:57PM EST  (top left)
28 May 2005   11:12PM EST  (top right)
23 May 2005   9:58PM EST  (center)
4 June 2004   9:10PM EST  (bottom left)
19 June 2005   9:09PM EST  (bottom right)  (melanic)

Melanchra adjuncta has a near-black forewing, somewhat mottled with dark greenish gray.  The basal area is white, bounded by a scalloped white-filled basal line.  There are white bars at the costa, one at the end of the antemedial line and another approximately level with the reniform spot, and three small white marks along the costa in the subterminal area.  The double antemedial and postmedial lines are generally indistinct as they cross the wing.  The round orbicular spot is outlined in white and filled with dark gray to black.  The reniform spot is also outlined in white but with a very narrow dark filling, so that it is a much more prominent feature than the orbicular spot.  The jagged subterminal line is white, and there is considerable white beyond it in the terminal area.  The thorax is marked with white, most visible in the photo at bottom left.  In melanic specimens, most or all of the white is replaced with dark greenish gray.  The hindwing is dirty yellowish gray, shaded darker along the outer margin, and with the terminal line appearing as a row of black dashes just inside the fringe.  Covell (1984) gives a wingspan ranging from 2.9 to 4.0 cm for this species. 

According to Handfield (1999), the larvae of Melanchra adjuncta feed on many different plants, generally grasses but also apple, blueberry, members of the cabbage family, clover and many others. For my general area, he indicates two generations per year, with adult flight seasons from early May to the beginning of July, and from early July almost to mid-September.

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