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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 » Xestia speciosa - Hodges#10959 (Xestia speciosa)

Species Xestia speciosa - Hodges#10959

Classification · Hodges Number · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

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 speciosa (Xestia speciosa - Hodges#10959)

Hodges Number

10959

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Xestia speciosa (Hübner, [1813]) (1)

Noctua speciosa Hübner, [1813] (104)

Agrotis bremeri Erschov, 1870 (2), (501)

* Phylogenetic sequence #933596

Numbers

There are (about) 50 named species of Xestia in America north of Mexico. (1), (3)

Two subspecies are recognized.(4),(1)

Xestia speciosa apropitia Pacific Northwest

Xestia speciosa arctica found in more northern areas

Size

Forewing length 18-20 mm.(5)

Identification

Description:(6)

Determined by Lars Crabo.

Range

Holarctic (6), (3)

Alaska and Washington to western Hudson Bay and Maine. South to Colorado along the Rocky Mountains.

Across most of the Northern Hemisphere from Scandinavia to Japan

Moth Photographers Group - large map with some distribution data.

Type: [USSR]: [SE Siberia] Ussuri [Zl, Leningrad] (2)

Habitat

Boreal spruce-fir forests and subalpine forests. (6)

Season

Adults fly mid-June to late August. (6), (3), (5)

Food

Larvae are polyphagous feeding on a variety of broad-leaved plants. (5)

Larval hosts include:(5)

Betula nana L. (dwarf birch) * USDA plant profile

Vaccinium L. (blueberry) * USDA plant profile

Solidago L. (goldenrod) * USDA plant profile

Hieracium L. (hawkweed) * USDA plant profile

See Also

Xestia mixta, (6)

Print References

Lafontaine J.D., and B.C. Schmidt 2011. Additions and corrections to the checklist of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico. p. 150, 155.(4)

Lafontaine J.D., and B.C. Schmidt 2010. Annotated check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America North of Mexico. p. 108.(1)

Powell, J.A., and P.A. Opler 2009. Moths of Western North America. pl. 58.23f; p. 316.(5)

Lafontaine, J.D., 1998. Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 27.3: p. 141; pl. 3.43-45.(7)

Poole, R.W. 1989. Noctuidae: Lepidopterorum Catalogus (Lepidopterorum Catalogues New Series Fasc 118).(2)

Leech, J.H. 1889. The Lepidoptera of Japan and [C]orea. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. p. (501)

Internet References

Pacific Northwest Moths - detailed species page.

Moth Photographers Group - range map and pinned adults.

University of Alberta E. H. Strickland Entomological Museum - species page with pinned adult. description.

BOLD - Barcode of Life Data Systems - collection map and photos of pinned adults.

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.	Noctuidae; Lepidopterorum Catalogus (Lepidopterorum Catalogues New Series Fasc 118) Part 1 & 2) Poole, R. W. 1989. CRC Press .

3.	North American Moth Photographers Group

4.	Additions and corrections to the checklist of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico J. Donald Lafontaine & B. Christian Schmidt. 2011. Zookeys, 149.1805.

5.	Moths of Western North America Powell and Opler. 2009. UC Press.

6.	Pacific Northwest Moths

7.	The Moths of America North of Mexico, Noctuiodea, Noctuinae, Noctuini (Part), Fascicle 27.3 J. Donald LaFontaine. 1998. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation.

Contributed by Maury J. Heiman on 19 November, 2012 - 10:09pm
Last updated 13 February, 2013 - 2:59pm

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