Raphia frater, the brother moth or simply the brother, is a moth of the family Noctuidae.
It is found from Nova Scotia west, across the forested regions of Canada to British Columbia, south to Mississippi in the east.
The southern limits in the west are uncertain due to confusion with several closely related species or forms.
Adults are on wing from April or May to August.
[1] The larvae mainly feed on aspen, but have also been recorded from alder, birch, cottonwood, and willow.
Geographic distribution and phenotypic variation of
Raphia frater
subspecies: green – subsp.
piazzi
; pink – subsp.
abrupta
; black – subsp.
frater
; blue – subsp.
coloradensis
; yellow – subsp.
cinderella
. Multi-coloured circles indicate transitional populations and/or phenotypically intermediate specimens between respective subspecies. a
R. f. piazzi
; b
R. f. abrupta
; c
R. f. abrupta
; d
R. f. abrupta
; e
R. f. abrupta
; f, g
R. f. frater
; h
R. f. abrupta
–
frater
intermediate i
R. f. abrupta
–
frater
–
coloradensis
intermediate from highly variable population in Cherry Co., NE; j
R. f. coloradensis
; k
R. f. coloradensis
; l
R. f. coloradensis
; m
R. f. coloradensis
; n
R. f. cinderella
; o, p
R. f. coloradensis
–
frater
intermediates; q
R. f. elbea
; r
R. f. elbea
; s
R. f. elbea
. All specimens are males.
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