Hanham's snout moth

Appearance

A small dark chocolate brown or purple-grey moth. The forewings are dark, with the antemedian and postmedian lines indistinct but visible, and with the subterminal line better marked in blackish scales, outlined on the distal side in contrasting paler scales. The most prominent marking is the short, black crescent or bent bar indicating the reniform. The hindwings are lighter brown, crossed by two narrow indistinct and incomplete darker bands. Much darker than P. metonalis, which also has much broader bipectinate antennae and longer palps.

Naming

Phalaenostola hanhami J.B. Smith, 1899)
Philometra hanhami J.B. Smith, 1899

Named in honor of expert conchologist (shells) and avid microlepidoptera collector Abdiel William Hanham (1857–1944) of Duncan, Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Hodges Number #8365

Distribution

Nova Scotia west across Canada to central Alberta, south to Massachusetts and New York. In Alberta, it has been taken several times along the southern edge of the boreal forest, east to the Edmonton area and north to Lac la Biche.