Copablepharon grandis Strecker 1875

A rare and very local species in Alberta.

Adults have been collected in Alberta in late July and early August.

Southern Alberta east to southwestern Manitoba, the eastern parts of the Dakotas and eastern Iowa; west to California and south to southern Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas. In Alberta there are historical records from Lethbridge, Monarch, High River and Calgary. The only recent records are for a colony discovered by Chris Schmidt in 2004 in dunes north of Chauvin (east of Wainwright).

A medium-size (3.8-4.1 cm wingspan) moth with pale yellow forewings and immaculate white hindwings. Occasional specimens may have fine dark dots at the veins indicating the antemedian and postmedian lines. Copablepharon viridisparsum is white (not yellow) with a faint green cast, dark scaling in the central hindwing area and a faint dark discal spot. C. longipenne is a dull grey-brown or tan moth with light grey hindwings.

Sand dunes and sandy prairie.

Poorly known. The larvae overwinter buried in the soil when partly grown. They complete their development in the spring, then pupate in an earthen cell in the soil. There is a single annual brood. Adults are nocturnal and are attracted to light.

No data. In the lab a larvae was reared on alfalfa and barley (Strickland, 1920).

Copablepharon grandis, the pale yellow dune moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Strecker in 1878. It is found in North America from southern Alberta east to south-western Manitoba, the eastern parts of South Dakota, North Dakota and Iowa, west to California and south to southern Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas.

The wingspan is 38–41 mm. Adults are on wing from July to August depending on the location. There is one generation per year.