Xestia

Pogue, Michael G., 2006, The Noctuinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U. S. A., Zootaxa 1215 (1), pp. 1-95 : 58

25. Xestia c­nigrum (Linnaeus)

( Figs. 66, 81 )

Identification: Forewing length 14.0–18.0 mm. Xestia c­nigrum and X. dolosa Franclemont are very similar and difficult to separate. The forewing length is less in X. cnigrum than in X. dolosa . Habitats are also different; X. c­nigrum prefers more disturbed areas like abandoned orchards and farmland, whereas X. dolosa is associated with rich deciduous forests ( Lafontaine 1998). The best character for separating these species is in the shape of the ostium bursae in the female genitalia, which is U­shaped with parallel sides in X. c­nigrum ( Fig. 81 ) and V­shaped in X. dolosa ( Fig. 82 ).

Flight period: There are two generations per year from early May to July and from July to early October ( Lafontaine 1998).

Collected localities: This species is not yet recorded in the Park, but it is likely to occur there.

General distribution: This is a widespread species occurring from coast to coast across Canada and the northern United States to western Alaska . It occurs in the Rockies from Montana to southern Arizona and New Mexico. In the East it ranges from Maine to North Carolina ( Lafontaine 1998). The collections from GSMNP are new records for the state of Tennessee .

Larval hosts: Larvae have been reared on Indianpipe ( Monotropa uniflora L., Monotropaceae ), raspberry ( Rubus idaeus L., Rosaceae ), and common plantain ( Plantago major L., Plantaginaceae ) ( McCabe 1991). It was not until 1980 that X. c­nigrum was considered a different species from X. dolosa Franclemont. Based on habitat, other hosts probably attributed to X. c­nigrum include apple ( Malus sp. , Rosaceae ), barley ( Elyhordeum sp. , Poaceae ), corn ( Zea mays L., Poaceae ), clover ( Trifolium sp. , Fabaceae ), and tobacco (Nicotania sp., Solanaceae ) (Rings, et al. 1992).

Figures

FIGURES 79–82. Genitalia. 79, Abagrotis cupida, m, New York, genitalia slide USNM 46289; 80, Abagrotis magnicupida, m, Maryland, Montgomery Co., Colesville, 17 July 1975, D.C. Ferguson, genitalia slide USNM 46279; 81, Xestia c­nigrum, f, Utah, Utah Co., Provo, 17 Aug. 1908, T. Spalding, genitalia slide USNM 49706; 82, Xestia dolosa, f, Tennessee, Sevier Co., Greenbrier Ranger Station, 20 May 2001, J. Brown, USNMENT 00153558, genitalia slide USNM 49701.