''Euxoa tessellata'', the tessellate dart or striped cutworm is a
moth 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 other f ...
. It is the most widespread ''Euxoa''-species in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. It is found from
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
to
Alaska, south in the west to
California,
Arizona,
New Mexico, south in the east to
Florida. It seems to be absent from
Texas and adjacent eastern states.
The
wingspan is 30–38 mm. Adults are on wing from June to September.
The larvae feed on tobacco, various garden crops, as well as the leaves of apple, cherry and pear.
The ''tessellata'' GROUP in North America consists of two species - ''E. tessellata'' and ''E. plagigera''. The two species are dissimilar in appearance, but are related by genital features
Lepidoptera genitalia. They will hybridize in the lab, but the result is a sterile offspring.
[Lafontaine, J. D., 1987. ''Noctuoidea: Noctuidae'' (part)
in Dominick, R. B., et al.,
The Moths of America North of Mexico, fasc. 27.2]
References
External links
ImagesBug GuideThe Noctuinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S.A.
Euxoa
Moths of North America
Moths described in 1841
{{Euxoa-stub