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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Owlet Moths and kin (Noctuoidea) » Owlet Moths (Noctuidae) » Cutworm or Dart Moths (Noctuinae) » Noctuini » Noctuina » Cerastis

Genus Cerastis

reddish speckled dart - Cerastis tenebrifera - female Greenish-spotted Moth - Cerastis tenebrifera Cerastis tenebrifera - Cerastis tenebrifera - male Moth - Cerastis tenebrifera Cerastis tenebrifera - female Moth - Cerastis tenebrifera - male Cerastis tenebrifera Cerastis tenebrifera
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Noctuoidea (Owlet Moths and kin)
Family Noctuidae (Owlet Moths)
Subfamily Noctuinae (Cutworm or Dart Moths)
Tribe Noctuini
Subtribe Noctuina
Genus Cerastis
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Cerastis Ochsenheimer, 1816
Glaeae Ochsenheimer, 1816
Cerastia Stephens, 1850
Sora Heinemann, 1859
Matuta Grote, 1874
Metalepsis Grote, 1875
Gypsitea Tams, 1939
Facastis Beck, [1992]
* formerly Metalepsis in part.
Explanation of Names
Generic epithet Cerastis is from an ancient name for the island of Cyprus and the Greek word for "horned." Ochsenheimer often used ancient place names when naming insects. (1)
Range
Holarctic. (2)
Habitat
Temperate forests. (2)
Season
Adults fly in spring, unusual among the Noctuinae. (2)
Print References
Crabo, L. & J.D. Lafontaine 1997. A revision of the Cerastis cornuta group of the genus Cerastis subgenus Metalepsis (Noctuidae). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, 51(3): 237-248 (2)
Ochsenheimer, F. 1816. Die schmetterlinge von Europa 4: 84
Internet References
pinned adult images of 4 species occurring in Canada (CBIF)
Works Cited
1.An accentuated list of the British Lepidoptera, with hints on the derivation of the names.
Anonymous. 1858. The Entomological Societies of Oxford and Cambridge.
2.A revision of the Cerastis cornuta group of the genus Cerastis subgenus Metalepsis (Noctuidae)
Lars Crabo, J Donald Lafontaine. 1997. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, 51(3): 237-248.
Contributed by Robin McLeod on 18 April, 2005 - 9:35pm
Additional contributions by Maury Heiman, Randy Hardy
Last updated 29 June, 2014 - 8:28pm

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