lost sallow

not listed

NNR - Unranked

SNR - Unranked

not listed

Lost sallow is an uncommon, early and late season, medium-sized moth. It occurs in the United States from New Hampshire to Pennsylvania, west to Minnesota and northern Illinois. There is a disjunct population in North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, and another in western Montana and there is a single isolated record in North Dakota. It also occurs across southern Canada from Nova Scotia to British Columbia. It is uncommon throughout its range.

The larvae feed mostly on aster and goldenrod, but also on cherry and oak. Adults are found in fields, prairies, meadows, marshes, and open woodlands. They are among the first Lepidoptera to emerge in the spring, they disappear before summer, and they reappear in late fall. In Minnesota, the recent adult sightings are from April to May and in October, with just one sighting in June.

Adults are thick bodied, are ⅝″ to ¾″ (17 to 19 mm) in length, and they have a 13⁄16″ to 17⁄16″ (30 to 36 mm) wingspan. Moth size is sometimes given in terms of forewing length, which for this moth is 9⁄16″ to ⅝″ (14 to 16 mm).

The forewings are relatively short and are squared off at the tip. The basal, median, and lower subterminal areas are brown, alternating with the remaining areas that may be grayish brown or lilac gray. The antemedial (AM) line is pale, bold, straight, and slightly angled downward. The postmedial line is pale, thin, and slightly S-shaped, curving up toward the inner margin, down in the middle, and up toward the leading edge (costal margin). The subterminal (ST) line is pale, thin, and jagged. A bold pale line, similar to the AM line and halfway between the PM and ST lines, separates the upper, grayish-brown half of the subterminal area from the lower brown half. The usual round spot (orbicular spot) in the upper median area is absent. The kidney-shaped spot (reniform spot) in the lower median area is a faint, pale, narrow, sometimes incomplete outline filled with the ground color or darker. The fringe is brown.

The hindwing is slightly paler than the forewing. The terminal line and the veins are dark, and the fringe is pale.

Total length: ⅝″ to ¾″ (17 to 19 mm)

Wingspan: 13⁄16″ to 17⁄16″ (30 to 36 mm)

Fields, prairies, meadows, marshes, and open woodlands

April to May and October

Adults are active at night and will come to lights.

Aster, goldenrod, cherry, and oak

Sources

4, 21, 29, 30, 71, 75, 82, 83.

Uncommon

Eupsilia devia (lost sallow)

Eupsilia devia, lost sallow, caterpillar on aster species leaf, Barnes Prairie near the hedgerow, Racine Co., WI. Photos were taken on June 7, 2023.

Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI

Eupsilia devia, lost sallow, caterpillar on aster species leaf, Barnes Prairie near the hedgerow, Racine Co., WI. Photos were taken on June 7, 2023.