Xestia perquiritata, the boomerang dart, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Herbert Knowles Morrison in 1874.[1][2] 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.
| Xestia perquiritata | |
|---|---|
| |
| Male Xestia perquiritata orca | |
| |
| Male Xestia perquiritata orca | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
| Family: | Noctuidae |
| Genus: | Xestia |
| Species: | X. perquiritata
|
| Binomial name | |
| Xestia perquiritata (Morrison, 1874)
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
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
edit- 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
edit
- ^ 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. doi:10.3897/zookeys.264.4304
- ^ Savela, Markku, ed. (August 29, 2020). "Xestia perquiritata (Morrison, 1875)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
External links
edit- Murray, Tom (September 3, 2008). "Species Xestia perquiritata - Hodges#10962". BugGuide. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
- "The Noctuinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S.A."
- "933606.00 – 10962 – Xestia perquiritata – (Morrison, 1874)". North American Moth Photographers Group. Mississippi State University. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
- Anweiler, G. G. (2007). "Species Details Xestia perquiritata". University of Alberta Museums. E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
 | This Xestia article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |