University of Alberta Museums Search

A relatively small (2.5-2.8 cm. wingspan) long-winged moth. The forewings are blue-grey with dark streaking and maroon near the base and apex. The antemedian and postmedian lines are partially marked by doubled narrow dark lines, and a small black dot marks the reniform. The hindwings are overlain with dark maroon, particularly on the outer half, and there is a diffuse discal patch and a blackish patch at the anal margin. The fringe on both wings is grey broken by dark patches, giving the wings an uneven, angular appearance. The wings are folded up and held perpendicular to the body when at rest, and at such times they are reminiscent of large, dark plume-moths (Pterophoridae).

This odd little moth has only recently been added to the Alberta list. The only specimen I have seen personally was one that showed up in our traps in the magnificent habitat on the south-facing slopes of the South Saskatchewan River south of Bindloss. The slopes here are a mix of clay and shale outcrops, unbroken and lightly grazed native prairie on the benches and gentler slopes, and series of sandstone outcrops lower down. In the trap, with its wings rolled and held at nearly right angles to the body, I thought it was an odd microlepidopteran. Dave Lawrie, who has collected it in the eastern USA, recognized it immediately.