''Agrotis'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s of the family

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family (biology), family of moths. Taxonomically, they are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly ...

. The genus was erected by

Ferdinand Ochsenheimer Ferdinand Ochsenheimer (17 March 1767 – 2 November 1822) was a German actor and entomologist (lepidopterist). Life Ochsenheimer was born and brought up in Mainz (then in the Electorate of Mainz) and began to show an interest in butterflies ...

in 1816. A number of the species of this genus are

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

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 (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

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 Nocturnal, night-flying moth, notable for its biannual long-distance seasonal Lepidoptera migration, migrations towards and from the Australian Alps, similar to the diurnal monarch ...

, itself a cutworm, also has been of importance as a seasonal Insects as food, food 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'' (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 * extinction, †''Agrotis cremata'' Butler, 1880 – Maui agrotis noctuid moth * extinction, †''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'' 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'' Linnaeus, 1758 – heart-and-dart moth * ''Agrotis experta'' (Walker, 1869) * extinction, †''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'' Hufnagel, 1766 – ipsilon dart moth, dark sword-grass moth * ''Agrotis iremeli'' Nupponen, Ahola & Kullberg, 2001 * extinction, †''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 * extinction, †''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) * extinction, †''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 * extinction, †''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 * extinction, †''Agrotis panoplias'' Meyrick, 1899 – Kona agrotis noctuid moth * ''Agrotis patricei'' Viette, 1959 * ''Agrotis perigramma'' Meyrick, 1899 * extinction, †''Agrotis photophila'' Butler, 1879 – light-loving noctuid moth * ''Agrotis pierreti'' (Bugnion, 1837) * ''Agrotis plumiger'' Krüger, 2005 * ''Agrotis poliophaea'' Turner, 1926 * ''Agrotis poliotis'' Hampson, 1903 * ''Agrotis porphyricollis'' Guénée, 1852 – variable cutworm moth * extinction, †''Agrotis procellaris'' Meyrick, 1900 – procellaris grotis noctuid moth * ''Agrotis psammocharis'' Boursin, 1950 * ''Agrotis psammophaea'' 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'' Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775 – turnip moth * ''Agrotis sesamioides'' Rebel, 1907 * ''Agrotis simplonia'' 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, [1899] 1900 * ''Agrotis syricola'' Corti & Draudt, 1933 * ''Agrotis taiwana'' B.S.Chang, 1991 * ''Agrotis talda'' (Schaus & Clements, 1893) * extinction, †''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'' (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 Agrotis, Noctuinae Noctuoidea genera