Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

5 June 2005   11:09PM EST  (top)
5 June 2005   (date of moth capture)  (bottom left and right)
All photos are of the same specimen.

Heliothis acesias is one of two similar-appearing species of Heliothis that have been recorded from the Ottawa area. My thanks to Dr. J. Donald Lafontaine of Agriculture Canada for confirming my identification of the specimen illustrated above, which was collected and given to the Canadian National Collection in Ottawa.

Heliothis acesias has a yellow-tan to yellow-orange forewing with dark to very dark reddish brown markings.  The most prominent feature in the few specimens I have seen is the medial line, which arcs outward in a smooth curve from a point near the innermost end of the inner margin to skim the inner edge of the dark reniform spot and recurve slightly to the costa.  The postmedial and subterminal lines are less distinct, indicated by dots.  Between the medial and postmedial lines, there is reddish brown shading in the lower half of the wing, most intense along the inner margin.  There is also darker shading between the postmedial and subterminal lines, usually more intense than in the specimen illustrated here, with a dark brown mark at the costa.  Along the outer margin, the brown fringe is preceded by a row of dark brown dots with some reddish brown shading.  The hindwing is pale creamy yellow, with a prominent dark blotch in the middle of the wing.  A dark band along the outer margin encloses a yellowish spot near the midpoint.  The veins of the hindwing are picked out in dark brown to black, and the fringe is whitish.

According to Handfield (1999), the larvae of Heliothis acesias are believed to feed on aster and probably other herbaceous plants.  On the basis of the few records available, he suggests an adult flight season from about mid-July to mid-August for my general area, but with the possibility of an earlier generation.

My only record to date for Heliothis acesias (each date representing "the night of") is in the table below: