''Agrotis'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...

s of the family

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the othe ...

. The genus was erected by Ferdinand Ochsenheimer in 1816. A number of the species of this genus are extinct.

Description

The proboscis is well developed. Palpi obliquely porrect (extending forward), where the second joint evenly scaled and third joint prominent. Thorax and abdomen without tufts. Abdomen somewhat flattened. Tibia very strongly spined. Forewings with non-crenulate outer margin. Hindwings with veins 3 and 4 from cell.

Ecology

Many of the species are of great importance as

cutworm Cutworms are moth larvae that hide under litter or soil during the day, coming out in the dark to feed on plants. A larva typically attacks the first part of the plant it encounters, namely the stem, often of a seedling, and consequently cuts it ...

s, major agricultural pests whose

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

e hide by day and emerge at night to feed. The name ''cutworm'' refers to the habit of the larvae, of cutting down and partly eating garden and crop plants, especially seedlings. Not all cutworms are in the genus ''Agrotis'', though it may well be the genus that includes the largest number of cutworm species, and the most agriculturally important cutworm species. The

bogong moth The bogong moth (''Agrotis infusa'') is a temperate species of night-flying moth, notable for its biannual long-distance seasonal migrations towards and from the Australian Alps, similar to the diurnal monarch butterfly. During the autumn a ...

, itself a cutworm, also has been of importance as a seasonal

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ...

for humans, valued by indigenous Australians.

Species

* '' Agrotis admirationis'' Guenée, 1868 * '' Agrotis alexandriensis'' Baker, 1894 * '' Agrotis alpestris'' Boisduval, 1837 * '' Agrotis alticaffer'' Krüger, 2005 * '' Agrotis altivagans'' (Varga, 1979) * '' Agrotis antica'' Crabo & Lafontaine, 2004 * '' Agrotis apicalis'' Herrich-Schäffer, 1868 * '' Agrotis amphora'' Hampson, 1903 * '' Agrotis andina'' (Köhler, 1945) * '' Agrotis araucaria'' (Hampson, 1903) * '' Agrotis arenarius'' Neil, 1983 * '' Agrotis arenivolans'' Butler, 1879 * '' Agrotis atrux'' Pinker, 1971 * '' Agrotis aulacias'' Meyrick, 1899 * '' Agrotis baliopa'' Meyrick, 1899 * '' Agrotis bilitura'' Guenée, 1852 * '' Agrotis bigramma'' (Esper, 1790) * '' Agrotis boetica'' (Boisduval, 1837) * '' Agrotis bosqui'' (Köhler, 1945) * '' Agrotis brachystria'' (Hampson 1903) * '' Agrotis brachypecten'' Hampson, 1899 * '' Agrotis bryani'' Swezey, 1926 * '' Agrotis buchholzi'' Barnes & Benjamin, 1929 (syn: ''Agrotis carolina'' Schweitzer & McCabe, 2004) * '' Agrotis caffer'' (Hampson, 1903) * '' Agrotis canities'' (Grote, 1902) * '' Agrotis ceramophaea'' Meyrick, 1899 * '' Agrotis characteristica'' Alphéraky, 1892 * ''

Agrotis charmocrita ''Agrotis charmocrita'' is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1928. It is endemic to the Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Molokai Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major is ...

'' (Meyrick, 1928) * '' Agrotis chretieni'' Dumont, 1903 * '' Agrotis cinerea'' Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775 – light feathered rustic moth * '' Agrotis clavis'' Hufnagel, 1766 – heart-and-club moth * '' Agrotis consentanea'' Mabille, 1880 * '' Agrotis coquimbensis'' (Hampson, 1903) * '' Agrotis crassa'' Hübner, 1803 *

† A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...

'' Agrotis cremata'' Butler, 1880 – Maui agrotis noctuid moth *

'' Agrotis crinigera'' Butler, 1881 – poko noctuid moth, larger Hawaiian cutworm moth * '' Agrotis cursoriodes'' (Hampson, 1903) * '' Agrotis daedalus'' Smith, 1890 * '' Agrotis desertorum'' Boisduval, 1840 * '' Agrotis dislocata'' Walker, 1856 * ''

Agrotis dissociata ''Agrotis dissociata'' is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Punta Arenas and Patagonia in Chile as well as the Neuquén and Mendoza provinces of Argentina. The wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane i ...

'' Staudinger, 1899 * '' Agrotis edmondsi'' Butler, 1882 * '' Agrotis emboloma'' Lower, 1918 * '' Agrotis endogaea'' Boisduval, 1837 * '' Agrotis epicremna'' Meyrick, 1899 * '' Agrotis eremata'' (Butler, 1880) * '' Agrotis evanescens'' Rothschild 1894 * ''

Agrotis exclamationis The heart and dart (''Agrotis exclamationis'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. A familiar moth to many, it is considered one of the most commo ...

'' Linnaeus, 1758 – heart-and-dart moth * '' Agrotis experta'' (Walker, 1869) *

'' Agrotis fasciata'' Hübner, 1824 – Midway noctuid moth * '' Agrotis fatidica'' Hübner, 1824 * '' Agrotis fortunata'' Draudt, 1938 * '' Agrotis frosya'' Pekarsky, 2014 TL: Bering Island * '' Agrotis giffardi'' (Swezey, 1932) * '' Agrotis gladiaria'' Morrison, 1875 – swordsman dart moth, clay-backed cutworm moth * '' Agrotis graslini'' Rambur, 1848 * '' Agrotis gravis'' Grote, 1874 * '' Agrotis gypaetina'' Guenée, 1852 * '' Agrotis haesitans'' Walker, 1857 * '' Agrotis haifae'' Staudinger, 1897 * '' Agrotis hephaestaea'' (Meyrick, 1899) * '' Agrotis herzogi'' Rebel, 1911 * '' Agrotis hispidula'' Guenée, 1852 * '' Agrotis incognita'' Staudinger, 1888 * '' Agrotis inconsequens'' Rothschild, 1920 * '' Agrotis infusa'' Boisduval, 1832 – bogong * '' Agrotis innominata'' Hudson, 1898 * '' Agrotis interjectionis'' Guénée, 1852 * ''

Agrotis ipsilon ''Agrotis ipsilon'', the dark sword-grass, black cutworm, greasy cutworm, floodplain cutworm or ipsilon dart, is a small noctuid moth found worldwide. The moth gets its scientific name from black markings on its forewings shaped like the letter ...

'' Hufnagel, 1766 – ipsilon dart moth, dark sword-grass moth * '' Agrotis iremeli'' Nupponen, Ahola & Kullberg, 2001 *

'' Agrotis kerri'' Swezey, 1920 – Kerr's noctuid moth * '' Agrotis kinabaluensis'' Holloway, 1976 * '' Agrotis kingi'' McDunnough, 1932 * '' Agrotis lanzarotensis'' Rebel, 1894 (syn: ''Agrotis selvagensis'' Pinker & Bacallado, 1978) * '' Agrotis lasserrei'' (Oberthür, 1881) * '' Agrotis lata'' Treitschke, 1835 *

'' Agrotis laysanensis'' Rothschild, 1894 – Laysan noctuid moth * '' Agrotis longicornis'' Lafontaine & Troubridge, 2004 * '' Agrotis longidentifera'' (Hampson, 1903) * '' Agrotis luehri'' Mentzer & Moberg, 1987 * '' Agrotis magnipunctata'' Prout, 1922 * '' Agrotis malefida'' Guénée, 1852 – rascal dart moth, pale-sided cutworm moth * '' Agrotis manifesta'' Morrison, 1875 * '' Agrotis margelanoides'' (Boursin, 1944) *

'' Agrotis melanoneura'' Meyrick, 1899Zipcodezoo ''Agrotis melanoneura''
– black-veined agrotis noctuid moth * '' Agrotis mayrorum'' Ronkay & Huemer, 2018 * '' Agrotis mazeli'' Ronkay & Huemer, 2018 * '' Agrotis mesotoxa'' Meyrick, 1899 *

'' Agrotis microreas'' Meyrick, 1899 – microreas agrotis noctuid moth * '' Agrotis militaris'' Staudinger, 1888 (syn: ''Rhyacia furushonis'' Matsumura, 1925) * '' Agrotis mollis'' Walker, 1857 * '' Agrotis munda'' Walker, 1857 – brown cutworm moth, pink cutworm moth * '' Agrotis obesa'' Boisduval, 1829 * '' Agrotis obliqua'' Smith, 1903 * '' Agrotis orthogonia'' Morrison, 1876 – pale western cutworm moth *

'' Agrotis panoplias'' Meyrick, 1899 – Kona agrotis noctuid moth * '' Agrotis patricei'' Viette, 1959 * '' Agrotis perigramma'' Meyrick, 1899 *

'' Agrotis photophila'' Butler, 1879 – light-loving noctuid moth * '' Agrotis pierreti'' (Bugnion, 1837) * ''

Agrotis plumiger ''Agrotis plumiger'' is a moth of the family Noctuidae first described by Martin Krüger in 2005. It is endemic to Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave ...

'' Krüger, 2005 * '' Agrotis poliophaea'' Turner, 1926 * '' Agrotis poliotis'' Hampson, 1903 * '' Agrotis porphyricollis'' Guénée, 1852 – variable cutworm moth *

'' Agrotis procellaris'' Meyrick, 1900 – procellaris grotis noctuid moth * '' Agrotis psammocharis'' Boursin, 1950 * ''

Agrotis psammophaea ''Agrotis psammophaea'' is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1899. It is endemic to the Hawaiian islands of Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western ...

'' Meyrick, 1899 * '' Agrotis puta'' Hübner, 1803 – shuttle-shaped dart moth * '' Agrotis radians'' Guénée, 1852 * '' Agrotis rileyana'' (Morrison, 1875) * '' Agrotis ripae'' Hübner, 1823 – sand dart moth * '' Agrotis robustior'' Smith, 1899 * '' Agrotis ruta'' Eversmann, 1851 * '' Agrotis sabulosa'' Rambur, 1839 * '' Agrotis sardzeana'' Brandt, 1941 * '' Agrotis schawerdai'' Bytinski-Salz, 1937 * '' Agrotis scruposa'' (Draudt, 1936) * ''

Agrotis segetum ''Agrotis segetum'', sometimes known as the turnip moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is a common European species and it is found in Africa and across ...

'' Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775 – turnip moth * '' Agrotis sesamioides'' Rebel, 1907 * ''

Agrotis simplonia ''Agrotis simplonia'' is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in the Alps, Pyrenees, the Cantabrian Mountains and the Apennine Mountains on heights between 1,200 and 3,000 meters. The wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or ...

'' Geyer, 1832 * '' Agrotis spinifera'' Hübner, 1808 – Gregson's dart moth * '' Agrotis stenibergmani'' (Bryk, 1941) (syn: ''Rhyacia stenibergmani poverina'' Bryk, 1942) * '' Agrotis stigmosa'' Morrison, 1875 * '' Agrotis striata'' Lafontaine, 2004 * '' Agrotis subalba'' Walker, 1857 * '' Agrotis submolesta'' Püngeler, 8991900 * '' Agrotis syricola'' Corti & Draudt, 1933 * '' Agrotis taiwana'' B.S.Chang, 1991 * '' Agrotis talda'' (Schaus & Clements, 1893) *

'' Agrotis tephrias'' Meyrick, 1899 – Kauai agrotis noctuid moth * '' Agrotis trifurca'' Eversmann, 1837 * '' Agrotis trifurcula'' Staudinger, 1892 * '' Agrotis trux'' Hübner, 1824 * '' Agrotis turatii'' Standfuss, 1888 * '' Agrotis turbans'' Staudinger, 1888 * '' Agrotis vancouverensis'' Grote, 1873 – Vancouver dart moth * '' Agrotis venerabilis'' Walker, 1857 – venerable dart moth, dusky cutworm moth * '' Agrotis vestigialis'' Hufnagel, 1766 – archer's dart * '' Agrotis vetusta'' Walker, 1865 – old man dart moth, spotted-legged cutworm moth, muted dart moth * '' Agrotis villosus'' Alphéraky, 1887 * '' Agrotis volubilis'' Harvey, 1874 – voluble dart moth * '' Agrotis xiphias'' Meyrick, 1899 * '' Agrotis yelai'' Fibiger, 1990

Until recently placed here

* ''Agrotis dolli'' is now '' Eucoptocnemis dolli'' (Grote, 1882) * ''Agrotis repleta'' is now '' Feltia repleta'' (Walker, 1857) * ''Agrotis subterranea'' – tawny shoulder, granulate cutworm is now ''

Feltia subterranea ''Feltia subterranea'', formerly known as ''Agrotis subterranea'', and commonly known as the granulate cutworm or tawny shoulder, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in North America, from Massachusetts and New York to California and ...

'' (Fabricius, 1794)

References

* Pekarsky, O. (2014). "Contribution to the knowledge of Noctuidae fauna of Bering island." ''Fibigeriana supplement'': 2. 177–200 pp. color plates 299–304 pp. * Varga, Z. (1979). "Neue Noctuiden aus der Sammlung Vartian (Wien), II. (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae). ''Zeitschrift der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Österreichischer Entomologen'' 31: 1-12.

External links

''Agrotis'' - Encyclopaedia of Life
{{Taxonbar , from=Q1315870 Noctuinae Noctuoidea genera