Quebec moth, tussock with spots?

[squigs]

First post, I apologize if I've done anything wrong

I'm usually the person people ask to identify bugs, and maybe I'm over tired but this one has me stumped! I'm on Lac St Jean in Quebec Canada, it's early July.
www.flickr.com/photos/claycave/
to see other, larger photos. It looks sort of like a spotted tussock moth but it has those 4 white dots. Pale pink, transparent under wings. Any ideas? Wing tip to head, 5cm

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[rayrard]

looks like a silver-spotted ghost moth

[squigs]

Yep, that's it.. thanks!

[agriaslover]

Dear sqigs,
do you have one or more in exchange or can you sell me this moth?
Regards
August

[leptraps]

It is s Hepialidea: Sthenopis purpurascens. Commonly known as Ghost Moths.

These are very primitive moths.

[megagyas]

Thought you might enjoy seeing a pairing of Sthenopis auratus in my backyard woodlot. Once thought to be rare, we worked out the life cycle a few years ago- now they are established in ferns that abound in my woodlot and can be seen shortly after dark pairing (or, the males fanning to distribute their pheromones) on warm, early July nights. Now, if I can only figure out the life cycle of Merope tuber (I collect dozens in a malaise trap but cannot find the imagos) I can surprise my friend Louis Somma at the Univ. of Florida or the Wigglesworth Society at my alma mater- Cornell. Best to all-
Howard Romack

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