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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 » Xestia » Greater Black-letter Dart  - Hodges#10942.1 (Xestia dolosa)

Species Xestia dolosa - Greater Black-letter Dart - Hodges#10942.1

Classification · Hodges Number · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Food · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Gray moth with some black and brown - Xestia dolosa Greater Black-letter Dart - Hodges#10942.1 - Xestia dolosa Greater Black-letter Dart - Xestia dolosa Greater Black-letter Dart - Xestia dolosa Pennsylvania Moth - Xestia dolosa Xestia dolosa Greater Black-letter Dart - Xestia dolosa Xestia dolosa
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 Xestia
Species dolosa (Greater Black-letter Dart - Hodges#10942.1)
Hodges Number
10942.1
Other Common Names
Woodland spotted cutworm
Spotted cutworm
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Xestia dolosa Franclemont, 1980
Phylogenetic sequence # 933589
Numbers
Lafontaine & Schmidt (2010) listed 50 species of the genus Xestia in America north of Mexico. (1)
Size
forewing length 18-24 mm (2)
Identification
Specimen identified by DNA analysis (BOLD). (3)

In The Owlet Moths of Ohio, Roy Rings writes: "The maculation of X. c-nigrum is identical to X. dolosa. The best way to separate the two species is by size. X. c-nigrum averages 6 mm (fore wing apex to apex) smaller than X. dolosa."
Range
Eastern United States; Arizona; British Columbia and Alberta records. (4)
Moth Photographers Group map
Food
The larva feed on crop plants such as barley, clovers, corn, and tobacco. Also reported on apple and maples.
Remarks
Considered agricultural pest.

Considered invasive in this country (from Europe). (Capinera, John L. North American Vegetable Pests. The Pattern of Invasion. American Entomologist. Spring 2002)
See Also
Lesser Black-letter Dart (Xestia c-nigrum) is smaller but otherwise similar. In The Owlet Moths of Ohio, Roy Rings writes: "The maculation of X. c-nigrum is identical to X. dolosa. The best way to separate the two species is by size. X. c-nigrum averages 6 mm (fore wing apex to apex) smaller than X. dolosa."
Another way to separate the two in some cases is by geographical range: X. dolosa is not found west of a line from Texas to North Dakota and Manitoba. See BugGuide's c-nigrum/dolosa complex page.
Also compare other Xestia species on the pinned plates of Moth Photographers Group.
Print References
Lafontaine, J.D., 1998. The Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 27.3. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation. p. 134; pl. 3.30-31.(2)
Internet References
Moth Photographers Group (4)
Forestryimages.org
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (3)
Works Cited
1.Annotated check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico.
Donald J. Lafontaine, B. Christian Schmidt. 2010. ZooKeys 40: 1–239 .
2.The Moths of America North of Mexico, Noctuiodea, Noctuinae, Noctuini (Part), Fascicle 27.3
J. Donald LaFontaine. 1998. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation.
3.BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data Systems
4.North American Moth Photographers Group
Contributed by Maury J. Heiman on 2 April, 2010 - 2:26pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Robin McLeod, JohnMaxwell22, Robert Lord Zimlich, Randy Hardy, JoAnneRusso, Steve Morris
Last updated 13 September, 2022 - 3:28pm

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