Xestia perquiritata

Xestia perquiritata
Xestia perquiritata orca male
Xestia perquiritata orca male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Noctuidae
Genus:	Xestia
Species:	X. perquiritata
Binomial name
Xestia perquiritata (Morrison, 1874)[1]
Synonyms
Polia perquiritata Morrison, 1875 Anomogyna perquiritata Agrotis baileyana Grote, 1880 Aplectoides beddeci Hampson, 1913 Anomogyna partita McDunnough, 1921 Anomogyna clarkei Benjamin, 1933

Xestia perquiritata, the boomerang dart, is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found across North America from Newfoundland, Labrador and northern New England, west to central Yukon, British Columbia and Washington. There are several disjunct populations, including one in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and a coastal bog in central Oregon.

The wingspan is 38–45 mm. Adults are on wing from June to August. There is one generation per year.

The larvae feed on various spruce-fir species. They have been reared on Picea glauca, Picea engelmannii, Abies balsamea and Abies lasiocarpa.

Subspecies

• Xestia perquiritata perquiritata
• Xestia perquiritata beddeki (Hampson, 1913)
• Xestia perquiritata clarkei (Benjamin, 1933)
• Xestia perquiritata orca Crabo & Hammond, 2013 (Pacific Coast of Oregon and Washington)
• Xestia perquiritata partita (McDunnough, 1921)

References

1. Crabo, L.G. ; Davis, M. ; Hammond, P. ; Mustelin, T ; Shepard, J., 2013: Five new species and three new subspecies of Erebidae and Noctuidae (Insecta, Lepidoptera) from Northwestern North America, with notes on Chytolita Grote (Erebidae) and Hydraecia Guenée (Noctuidae). Zookeys 264: 85-123. Abstract and full article: doi:10.3897/zookeys.264.4304

External links

• Bug Guide
• The Noctuinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S.A.
• Images
• Species info