Species Details

Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum Read more about this collection »

IdentificationA medium-size (2.7–3.6 cm, females smaller than males) creamy white moth with a heavy dusting of brownish grey scales, heavier on the forewings. A faint but thick straight grey line runs across the outer third of the wing from the apex to lower margin. Discal dot faint to obsolete. Hindwing less heavily dusted with grey and with a prominent grey discal spot, in some specimens connected to the wing base by a straight grey line, and with a straight grey line crossing from the apex to the inner margin. The pattern is repeated but much stronger and darker on the ventral surface. Male antennae strongly bipectinate; female finely dentate. The adults of both subspecies and the genitalia of both sexes are illustrated by McGuffin. Aspitates taylori is similar but darker and more strongly marked, and is restricted to open boggy areas in the boreal forest region. There are also excellent characters in the genitalia of both sexes for separating the two species, including the illustrated single pronged aedeagus in males (double pronged in taylori).

Scientific Name Aspitates aberrata Habitat
Widespread in Alberta in the Grasslands region, in open habitat in the Aspen parklands, and in low elevation grassland in the southern mountains; disjunct in the Peace River grasslands. Aberrata is replaced in the…
Widespread in Alberta in the Grasslands region, in open habitat in the Aspen parklands, and in low elevation grassland in the southern mountains; disjunct in the Peace River grasslands. Aberrata is replaced in the Boreal forest region by the closely related Aberrata taylori (Butler). Aberrata is found in relatively xeric ungrazed or lightly grazed grassland.
Identification
A medium-size (2.7–3.6 cm, females smaller than males) creamy white moth with a heavy dusting of brownish grey scales, heavier on the forewings. A faint but thick straight grey line runs across the outer third of…
A medium-size (2.7–3.6 cm, females smaller than males) creamy white moth with a heavy dusting of brownish grey scales, heavier on the forewings. A faint but thick straight grey line runs across the outer third of the wing from the apex to lower margin. Discal dot faint to obsolete. Hindwing less heavily dusted with grey and with a prominent grey discal spot, in some specimens connected to the wing base by a straight grey line, and with a straight grey line crossing from the apex to the inner margin. The pattern is repeated but much stronger and darker on the ventral surface. Male antennae strongly bipectinate; female finely dentate. The adults of both subspecies and the genitalia of both sexes are illustrated by McGuffin. Aspitates taylori is similar but darker and more strongly marked, and is restricted to open boggy areas in the boreal forest region. There are also excellent characters in the genitalia of both sexes for separating the two species, including the illustrated single pronged aedeagus in males (double pronged in taylori).
Life History
There is a single annual brood, with adults from mid May through mid July, peaking in mid June and with the occasional specimen to mid August. Adults are nocturnal and most specimens have been collected at light,…
There is a single annual brood, with adults from mid May through mid July, peaking in mid June and with the occasional specimen to mid August. Adults are nocturnal and most specimens have been collected at light, although they are easily flushed and consequently frequently collected by net during the day. The larvae are undescribed and the larval host or hosts are unknown. Larval hosts for European species of Aspitates include herbs in the genera Lotus, Thymus, and Potentilla.
Range A grasslands species with a rather restricted range. It is known only from northern Minnesota north and west across southern MB to western Alberta and the Peace River area of BC. Notes
Both the genus and species names have appeared in the literature with different spellings (Aspilates and aberratus). It was also listed as a subspecies of Aspitates orciferaria (i.e. Bowman, 1951). Munroe (1963)…
Both the genus and species names have appeared in the literature with different spellings (Aspilates and aberratus). It was also listed as a subspecies of Aspitates orciferaria (i.e. Bowman, 1951). Munroe (1963) separated Aspitates aberrata into two subspecies, with the larger and slightly darker populations in most of Alberta the nominate subspecies. He named the smaller and paler populations from eastern Alberta (Lloydminster area, Hanna and the Cypress Hills) SK and MB subspecies assiniboiarus. It is not uncommon for many animals to produce larger darker populations in the cooler mesic western parts of the Prairie Provinces, and smaller paler populations in the warmer and more xeric eastern areas. In the case of aberrata Alberta specimens vary considerably in appearance and there appears to be little justification for the application of more than one name.

Citation

Page Citation for Aspitates aberrata

Page Citation

"Species Details - Aspitates aberrata, University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum." University of Alberta Museums Search Site, https://search.museums.ualberta.ca/g/2-6156. Accessed 07 Oct. 2024.

References

Specimen Information

There are 102 specimens of this Species.

102 results plotted on map in 51 markers.
Note: Only records with latitude and longitude coordinates are plotted on map.

UASM9864 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Cypress Hills Collected ByBowman, K. Date Collected1945-06-24

UASM9865 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Milk River Collected ByStrickland, Edgar H. Date Collected1951-06-04

UASM9867 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Red Deer Collected ByBowman, K. Date Collected1916-06-20

UASM9868 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Orion Collected ByBowman, K. Date Collected1949-08-11

UASM9869 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Red Deer Collected ByBowman, K. Date Collected1923-06-13

UASM9870 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Waterton Lakes National Park, Waterton Park Collected ByBowman, K. Date Collected1930-06-15

UASM9871 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Edmonton Date Collected1920-06-29

UASM9872 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Edmonton Date Collected1920-06-29

UASM9873 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Beaverlodge Collected ByBowman, K. Date Collected1924-06-15

UASM9874 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Cowley Collected ByChrystal, R. N. Date Collected1918-06-17

UASM9875 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Calgary Collected ByBowman, K. Date Collected1919-07-10

UASM9884 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Calgary Date Collected1923

UASM9885 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Calgary Date Collected1923

UASM9886 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Calgary Date Collected1923

UASM9889 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Edmonton Date Collected1921-06-02

UASM9891 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Beaverlodge Collected ByBowman, K. Date Collected1924-06-18

UASM9893 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Calgary

UASM9894 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Calgary Date Collected1923

UASM9899 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Calgary Date Collected1923

UASM9900 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Calgary Collected BySalt, George Date Collected1920-07-12

UASM24507 - Aspitates aberrata

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Dinosaur Provincial Park Collected ByAnweiler, G. G. Date Collected2000-06-24

Adult Seasonal Distribution