''Euxoa cursoria'', the coast dart, is a

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 ...

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 ...

. It is found in northern and central Europe as well as the coastal regions of the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

, central

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. The subspecies ''Euxoa cursoria wirima'' is found in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Technical description and variation

Forewing sandy ochreous, often much suffused and speckled with brownish grey; claviform stigma absent, or with dark outline only; orbicular and reniform with dark centres and pale rings, the lower lobe of reniform always deeper; sometimes the cell, the claviform, and a basal streak before it are dark olive brown; hindwing dull greyish ochreous with fuscous termen and pale cilia; a variable insect ab. ''obscura'' Stgr. has the forewings almost wholly red-brown, the stigmata with white rings, and occurs on the shores of the Baltic; -ab. ''currens'' Stgr. has both wings dark; — while ab.''vaga'' Stgr. is uniform brownish grey; - lastly, ab. ''sagittata'' Stgr. is a more variegated form, with red-brown suffusion and little dusting, and the costal streak, the upper stigmata, and the postmedian area whitish; the three last are Central Asian; specimens from

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

have the hindwings wholly white. ''Euxoa cursoria'' is difficult to certainly distinguish from its congeners. See Townsend et al. *''

Euxoa obelisca ''Euxoa obelisca'', the square-spot dart, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in the Palearctic realm (Europe, Central Asia, North Africa Asia minor). Technical description and variation Forewing purplish brown; costa pale to outer ...

'' ( enis & Schiffermüller 1775) *'' Euxoa tritici'' (Linnaeus, 1761) *'' Euxoa nigricans'' (Linnaeus, 1761)

Biology

This moth flies from July to September depending on the location. Larva pale ochreous tinged with greenish; the lines paler, edgedwith grey-green; the head pale ochreous. The

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 feed on various sandhill plants, including ''

Honckenya peploides ''Honckenya peploides'', the sea sandwort (UK) or seaside sandplant (Canada), is the only species in the genus ''Honckenya'' of the plant family Caryophyllaceae. Other common names include sea chickweed, sea pimpernal, sea-beach sandwort, and sea ...

'' and ''

Elytrigia juncea ''Thinopyrum junceum'', commonly named sand couch-grass, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is found in Europe and temperate Asia, and grows from rhizomes. They have a self-supporting growth form and simple, broad leaves. Individuals ...

'', as well as '' Elymus arenarius'', ''

Rumex The docks and sorrels, genus ''Rumex'', are a genus of about 200 species of annual, biennial, and perennial herbs in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae. Members of this genus are very common perennial herbs with a native almost worldwide distri ...

'', ''

Atriplex littoralis ''Atriplex littoralis'', the grassleaf orache or grass-leaved orache (; also spelled orach) is a species of shrub in the family Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae ( ) is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in referenc ...

'', '' Minuartia pebloides'', ''

Cakile maritima ''Cakile'' is a genus within the flowering plant family Brassicaceae. Species in this genus are commonly known as searockets, though this name on its own is applied particularly to whatever member of the species is native or most common in the ...

'', '' Lathyrus maritimus'' and ''

Asparagus Asparagus (''Asparagus officinalis'') is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus (genus), Asparagus'' native to Eurasia. Widely cultivated as a vegetable crop, its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. Description ...

''. .

Subspecies

*''Euxoa cursoria cursoria'' *''Euxoa cursoria wirima'' Hardwick, 1965 (Canada)

References

External links

Lepiforum
Taxonomy
Fauna EuropaeaUKmoths
Euxoa Moths of Europe Moths of North America Moths described in 1766 Taxa named by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel {{Euxoa-stub