University of Alberta Museums Search

A species with primarily grey forewings, sometimes with a grey-brown area distal to the PM line; four dark, evenly spaced, prominent costal wedges, and a black discal spot. Hindwing slightly paler grey, also with a discal spot and a PM line. Males with pectinate antennae, females have slightly paler wings (but not significantly reduced in size) and filiform antennae. Macaria loricaria and exauspicata are similar; loricaria males have much larger antennal pectinations giving a more feathery appearance, and females have vestigial wings. Macaria exauspicata has a wider forewing and lacks the more pronounced concavity of the forewing apex in sp. nr. anataria (giving the latter a more notched appearance to the forewing). Species nr. anataria also has darker grey hindwings compared to exauspicata.

Published information for Macaria anataria does not differentiate between anataria and sp. near anatraia. The life histrory is probably very similar to that of M. anataria. There is a single annual brood, with adults in Alberta the last half of July. Adults come to light.

All but 4 of the many hostplant records for anataria in Prentice (1963) are from western Canada, and thus refer to sp. nr. anataria and not anartaria. Larval hosts listed are predominantly birches (Betula spp.), especially dwarf birch (B. glandulosa). Also on cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa), alder (Alnus sp.) and a few collections on aspen (Populus tremuloides) and willow (Salix sp.).

Due to confusion with anataria in the literature, it is impossible to define the exact range for sp. nr. anataria. Macaria anataria occurs west only to MB (C. Schmidt, pers. comm.) and Alberta material thus belongs to sp. nr. anataria.