''Xestia'' is a genus of

noctuid moth The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. Taxonomically, they are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along w ...

s (

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Noctuidae). They are the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...

of the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Xestiini in

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Noctuinae The Noctuinae are a subfamily of the family Noctuidae, and is composed of moths. The larvae of many species feed on roots or stems of various grasses. Some are generalist feeders which makes them potential pests. Noctuid systematics is in a ...

, though some authors merge this tribe with the

Noctuini Noctuini is a Tribe (biology), tribe of owlet moths in the family Noctuidae. There are at least 520 described species in Noctuini. Noctuini genera * ''Abagrotis'' Smith, 1890 * ''Actebia'' Stephens, 1829 * ''Adelphagrotis'' Smith, 1890 * ''Agnor ...

Species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in this genus are commonly known as "

clays Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

", "

darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...

" or " rustics", but such names are commonplace among Noctuidae. ''Xestia'' moths have a wide distribution, though they most prominently occur in the

Holarctic The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical reg ...

. With almost 200 species included at one time, ''Xestia'' was something of a " wastebin genus". But almost half of the traditional species are now placed elsewhere (see

below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor * Bottom (disambiguation) *Less than *Temperatures below freezing *Hell or underworld People with the surname * Ernst von Below (1863–1955), German World War I general * Fred Belo ...

), and some of the remaining ones are liable to be assigned to another genus also. On the other hand, new moths that probably do belong in this genus are still being discovered (e.g. '' X. hypographa'', which led to the 2002 transfer of '' X. ornata'' from ''

Eugraphe ''Eugraphe'' is a genus of noctuid moths (family Noctuidae). They belong to the tribe Xestiini of the typical noctuid subfamily Noctuinae, though some do not separate this tribe and include the genus in the Noctuini. It is closely related to '' ...

'' to here). Thus, unless there are drastic

taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...

changes in the future, ''Xestia'' is likely to remain one of the larger noctuine genera.

Ecology

''Xestia'' adults are usually of medium size and robust build, with stout hairy bodies and strong wings. Some are quite colorful, with bold lighter markings and hindwings in delicate yellowish, reddish or bluish hues. Generally, they are cryptic while at rest however, with unmarked pale or dull brownish hindwings; they do not have metallic hues and few species possess obvious eyespots.See references in Savela (2009) Xestia triangulum larva

This genus includes many species living at high

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

s and altitudes, in

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

and

taiga Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

s. Some have two-year ( semivoltine) life cycles and only occur as adults every other year; typically the

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

larva overwinters to

pupa A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

te in spring, with the moths flying around midsummer, but some species eclose later, their moths flying from late summer into autumn. ''Xestia''

s are generally stout and cryptically colored; in some species they have quite prominent dark lengthwise spots, but may e.g. be entirely green or whatever else gives best camouflage. Some species' larvae are notoriously

polyphagous Feeding is the process by which organisms, typically animals, obtain food. Terminology often uses either the suffixes -vore, -vory, or -vorous from Latin ''vorare'', meaning "to devour", or -phage, -phagy, or -phagous from Greek φαγε ...

, e.g. the

setaceous Hebrew character The setaceous Hebrew character (''Xestia c-nigrum'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is found in the Palearctic realm. It is a common specie ...

(''X. c-nigrum''), the food of which includes all sorts of core

eudicot The eudicots or eudicotyledons are flowering plants that have two seed leaves (cotyledons) upon germination. The term derives from ''dicotyledon'' (etymologically, ''eu'' = true; ''di'' = two; ''cotyledon'' = seed leaf). Historically, authors h ...

s – including

solanaceae Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...

and others which are poisonous to many

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat ...

s – as well as some

monocots Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, ( Lilianae '' sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are flowering plants whose seeds contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. A monocot taxon has been in use for several decades, but with various ranks a ...

. The latter are mainly

Poaceae Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...

however, and few other monocots are utilized by ''Xestia'' larvae in general.

Ericaceae The Ericaceae () are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread acros ...

, as well as

Betulaceae Betulaceae, the birch family, includes six genera of deciduous nut-bearing trees and shrubs, including the birches, alders, hazels, hornbeams, hazel-hornbeam, and hop-hornbeams, numbering a total of 167 species. They are mostly natives of ...

and Poaceae, are key food plants for many of the high-latitude species.

Gymnosperm The gymnosperms ( ; ) are a group of woody, perennial Seed plant, seed-producing plants, typically lacking the protective outer covering which surrounds the seeds in flowering plants, that include Pinophyta, conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and gnetoph ...

s are food plants of secondary importance in this genus, but

Pinaceae The Pinaceae (), or pine family, are conifer trees or shrubs, including many of the well-known conifers of commercial importance such as Cedrus, cedars, firs, Tsuga, hemlocks, Pinyon_pine, piñons, larches, pines and spruces. The family is incl ...

form the mainstay or exclusive food of some species which occasionally become more than nuisance

pests PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...

. Altogether, ''Xestia'' moths are only known as major pests within limited areas or in regard to specific plants, in which cases damage can be economically significant though. Even though the larval food plants of many ''Xestia'' species are not or insufficiently known, those on record are from all major lineages of core eudicots. Among the basal core eudicots,

Caryophyllales Caryophyllales ( ) is a diverse and heterogeneous order of flowering plants with well-known members including cacti, carnations, beets, quinoa, spinach, amaranths, pigfaces and ice plants, oraches and saltbushes, goosefoots, sundews, Venu ...

(especially

Polygonaceae The Polygonaceae are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants known Common name, informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The Botanical name, name is Basionym, based on the genus ''Polygonum'', ...

) are particularly significant, of the

asterids Asterids are a large clade (monophyly, monophyletic group) of flowering plants, composed of 17 Order_(biology), orders and more than 80,000 species, about a third of the total flowering plant species. The asterids are divided into the unranked cl ...

the

Asterales Asterales ( ) is an Order (biology), order of dicotyledonous flowering plants that includes the large Family (biology), family Asteraceae (or Compositae) known for composite flowers made of Floret#floret, florets, and ten families related to th ...

(especially

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

Ericales The Ericales are a large and diverse order of flowering plants in the asterid group of the eudicots. Well-known and economically important members of this order include tea and ornamental camellias, persimmon, ebony, blueberry, cranberry, l ...

(especially Ericaceae) and

Lamiales The Lamiales (also known as the mint order) are an order of flowering plants in the asterids clade of the Eudicots. Under the APG IV system of flowering plant classification the order consists of 24 families, and includes about 23,810 species ...

(especially

Plantaginaceae Plantaginaceae, the plantain family or veronica family, is a large, diverse family (biology), family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales that includes common flowers such as Antirrhinum, snapdragon and Digitalis, foxglove. It is unrelated ...

), and of the

rosids The rosids are members of a large clade (monophyly, monophyletic group) of flowering plants, containing about 70,000 species, more than a quarter of all angiosperms. The clade is divided into 16 to 20 Order (biology), orders, depending upon Circu ...

the

Malpighiales The Malpighiales comprise one of the largest Order (biology), orders of flowering plants. The order is very diverse, with well-known members including willows, Viola (plant), violets, aspens and Populus, poplars, Euphorbia pulcherrima, poinsett ...

(numerous families) and

Rosales Rosales (, ) are an order of flowering plants. Peter F. Stevens (2001 onwards). "Rosales". At: Trees At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see ''External links'' below) Well-known members of Rosales include: ...

(especially

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus '' Rosa''. The family includes herbs, shrubs, and trees. Most species are deciduous, but som ...

). Less important asterid

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

s among ''Xestia'' food plants are for example

Dipsacales The Dipsacales are an order of flowering plants, included within the asterid group of dicotyledons. In the APG III system of 2009, the order includes only two families, Adoxaceae and a broadly defined Caprifoliaceae. Some well-known members of ...

Gentianales Gentianales is an order of flowering plant, included within the asterid clade of eudicots. It comprises more than 20,000 species in about 1,200 genera in 5 families. More than 80% of the species in this order belong to the family Rubiaceae. Man ...

and

Solanales The Solanales are an order of flowering plants, included in the asterid group of the eudicots. Well-known members of Solanales include potatoes, eggplants, tomatoes, chili peppers, tobacco, petunias, nightshades, morning glory, and sweet potato. ...

, of the rosids e.g.

Fabales Fabales is an order of flowering plants included in the rosid group of the eudicots in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II classification system. In the APG II circumscription, this order includes the families Fabaceae or legumes (including the s ...

, Fagales, Malvales, Myrtales and Sapindales. More basal (Mesangiospermae, mes)angiosperms do not seem to be significant as ''Xestia'' food plants, at least not in temperate and cooler regions. As far as is known, ''Xestia'' adults are nocturnal or crepuscular (except of course the Midnight sun, high-latitude species), but are often attracted to lights at night. They general feed on flowers with relatively short or no corolla (flower), corolla, and will also drink other sugary liquids.

Systematics and taxonomy

Several species formerly placed here are now in ''Agnorisma'' and ''Pseudohermonassa''; whether other genera are accepted varies among authors; ''Estimata'', ''Hemigraphiphora'' and ''Perinaenia'' are provisionally considered distinct here. "''Xestia''" ''versuta'' does not seem to belong in the present genus; it may be an aberrant member of ''Goniographa'', but until this is resolved it is here treated under its original name ''Eugraphe versuta''. Furthermore, a case for separation has in particular been made for ''Amathes'' (possibly including ''Agrotiphila''), ''Lytaea'', ''Megasema'' (possibly including ''Megarhomba''), ''Segetia'' and ''Schoyenia'' (with ''Archanarta'' occasionally also separate), but these are here included in ''Xestia''. Some of them are, however, recognized as subgenera, and if the genus is split further would be first to become elevated in rank again. There is no real good justification for either treatment, except that the lengthy process of a thorough revision of noctuine systematics and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy has only progressed so far. H. Beck in 1996 published a comprehensive taxonomic catalogue, nomenclature, introducing generic names for most European groups of (presumably) related species. While few of these seem to stand any chance ever to be widely recognized as distinct genera, this step is likely to have made available a generic name for any taxa that are eventually split from ''Xestia sensu stricto''.Pitkin & Jenkins (2004), Beck (2006), and see references in Savela (2009)

Synonyms

Junior synonyms and other obsolete generic names for ''Xestia'' moths are: * ''Agrotimorpha'' Barnes & Benjamin, 1929 * ''Agrotiphila'' Grote, 1876 * ''Amathes'' Hübner, [1821] * ''Anomogyna'' Staudinger, 1871 * ''Archanarta'' Barnes & Benjamin, 1929 * ''Ashworthia'' Beck, 1996 * ''Asworthia'' (''lapsus'') * ''Barrovia'' Barnes & McDunnough, 1916 * ''Calamogyna'' (''lapsus'') * ''Calanomogyna'' Beck, 1996 * ''Calocestia'' (''lapsus'') * ''Caloxestia'' Beck, 1996 * ''Castanasta'' Beck, 1996 * ''Cenigria'' Beck, 1996 * ''Epipsiliamorpha'' Barnes & Benjamin, 1929 * ''Ericathia'' Beck, 1996 * ''Hiptelia'' Guenée, 1852 * ''Hypoxestia'' Hampson, 1903 * ''Hyptioxesta'' Rebel, 1901 * ''Knappia'' Nye, 1975 * ''Lankialaia'' Beck, 1996 * ''Lena'' Herz, 1903 (''non'' Casey, 1886 Sunius, preoccupied) * ''Litaea'' (''lapsus'') * ''Lorezea'' (''lapsus'') * ''Lorezia'' Beck, 1996 * ''Lytaea'' Stephens, 1829 * ''Megarhomba'' Beck, 1996 * ''Megasema'' Hübner, [1821] * ''Monticollia'' Beck, 1996 * ''Pachnobia'' Guenée, 1852 * ''Palaeamathes'' Boursin, 1964 * ''Paramathes'' Boursin, 1964 * ''Palkermes'' Beck, 1996 * ''Palkkermes'' (''lapsus'') * ''Peranomogyna'' Beck, 1996 * ''Platagrotis'' Smith, 1890 * ''Pteroscia'' Morrison, 1875 * ''Schoyenia'' Aurivillius, 1883 * ''Segetia'' Stephens, 1829 * ''Synanomogyna'' Beck, 1996 * ''Xenopachnobia'' Beck, 1996

Species

The 110 or so species here placed in ''Xestia'' are divided among five subgenera. Two of these are further divided into groups, which are based on phenetic similarity however and may or may not form clades and/or species complexes. Some of these would presumably warrant recognition as subgenera if the present-day subgenera are split off; the subgeneric names that would apply are given (if known) in the addition to the species-group names.Pitkin & Jenkins (2004), and see references in Savela (2009) About one-third of the species here included in ''Xestia'' are ''incertae sedis'' (of unclear assignment). Among this group are a few species which are extremely little known, having been described long ago but studied only once or twice since then.

Subgenus ''Anomogyna''

* ''Xestia albuncula'' (Eversmann, 1851) * ''Xestia alpicola'' – northern dart (type of ''Xenopachnobia'') * ''Xestia badicollis'' – northern variable dart, northern conifer dart, white pine cutworm (possibly belongs in ''X. elimata'') * ''Xestia borealis'' (Nordström, 1933) * ''Xestia brunneopicta'' (Matsumura, 1925) * ''Xestia caelebs'' * ''Xestia dilucida'' – dull reddish dart, reddish heath dart * ''Xestia distensa'' (Eversmann, 1851) (sometimes in ''X. laetabilis'') * ''Xestia elimata'' – southern variable dart, variable climbing caterpillar * ''Xestia fabulosa'' (Ferguson, 1965) * ''Xestia fennica'' (Brandt, 1936) * ''Xestia gelida'' (Sparre-Schneider, 1883) (type of ''Peranomogyna'') * ''Xestia imperita'' (Hübner, [1831]) * ''Xestia infimatis'' Grote, 1880 (tentatively placed here, may belong in subgenus ''Xestia'') * ''Xestia laetabilis'' (Zetterstedt, [1839]) (type of ''Anomogyna'') * ''Xestia mustelina'' Smith, 1900 * ''Xestia perquiritata'' – boomerang dart * ''Xestia praevia'' (possibly belongs in ''X. elimata'') * ''Xestia rhaetica'' (type of ''Synanomogyna'') * ''Xestia sincera'' (type of ''Calanomogyna'') * ''Xestia speciosa'' (type of ''Platagrotis'') * ''Xestia vernilis'' Grote, 1879 * ''Xestia viridiscens'' (Turati, 1919) (sometimes in ''X. speciosa'') * ''Xestia yatsugadakeana'' (Matsumura, 1926)

Subgenus ''Megasema''

''ashworthii''/"''Ashworthia''" group * ''Xestia ashworthii'' – Ashworth's rustic (type of ''Ashworthia'') * ''Xestia okakensis'' Packard, 1867 ** ''Xestia okakensis okakensis'' Packard, 1867 ** ''Xestia okakensis morandi'' (Benjamin, 1934) (sometimes considered distinct species) * ''Xestia scropulana'' Morrison, 1874 (formerly in ''X. wockei'') * ''Xestia wockei'' ''kollari'' group * ''Xestia kollari'' ''c-nigrum'' group * ''Xestia c-nigrum'' – setaceous Hebrew character, "spotted cutworm" (type of ''Cenigria'') * ''Xestia ditrapezium'' – triple-spotted clay * ''Xestia dolosa'' – greater black-letter dart, woodland spotted cutworm, "spotted cutworm" * ''Xestia praetermissa'' Warren (possibly belongs in ''X. c-nigrum'') * ''Xestia triangulum'' – double square-spot (type of ''Megasema'') Species group unknown * ''Xestia inuitica'' Lafontaine & Hensel, 1998

Subgenus ''Pachnobia''

* ''Xestia alaskae'' (type of ''Epipsiliamorpha''; tentatively placed here, may belong in subgenus ''Schoyenia'') * ''Xestia atrata'' (Morrison, 1875) (type of ''Pteroscia'') ** ''Xestia atrata atrata'' (Morrison, 1874) ** ''Xestia atrata filipjevi'' (Shljuzhko, 1926) ** ''Xestia atrata haraldi'' Fibiger, 1997 ** ''Xestia atrata ursae'' (McDunnough, 1940) ** ''Xestia atrata yukona'' (McDunnough, 1921) * ''Xestia kolymae'' (Herz, 1903) * ''Xestia kruegeri'' Kononenko & Schmitz, 2004 * ''Xestia laxa'' Lafontaine & Mikkola, 1998 * ''Xestia lorezi'' (type of ''Lorezia'') * ''Xestia lupa'' Lafontaine & Mikkola, 1998 * ''Xestia penthima'' (Erschoff, 1870) (type of ''Hyptioxesta'') * ''Xestia tecta'' (Hübner, [1808]) (type of ''Pachnobia'') ** ''Xestia tecta tecta'' (Hübner, [1808]) ** ''Xestia tecta tectoides'' (Corti, 1926)

Subgenus ''Schoyenia''

* ''Xestia aequaeva'' (Benjamin, 1934) ** ''Xestia aequaeva aequaeva'' (Benjamin, 1934) ** ''Xestia aequaeva glaucina'' Lafontaine & Mikkola, 1996 * ''Xestia brachiptera'' (Kononenko, 1981) * ''Xestia bryanti'' (Benjamin, 1933) (= ''X. acraea'') * ''Xestia fergusoni'' Lafontaine, 1983 * ''Xestia intermedia'' (Kononenko, 1981) * ''Xestia liquidaria'' (Eversmann, 1848) (= ''X. arctica'' Aurivillius, 1883 (''non'' Zetterstedt, 1839: Xestia speciosa, preoccupied), ''X. fasciata, X. unifasciata''; type of ''Schoyenia'') * ''Xestia lyngei'' (Rebel, 1923) (type of ''Lankialaia'') ** ''Xestia lyngei lyngei'' (Rebel, 1923) ** ''Xestia lyngei aborigenea'' Kononenko, 1983 ** ''Xestia lyngei lankialai'' (Grönblom, 1962)) * ''Xestia magadanensis'' Kononenko & Lafontaine, 1983 * ''Xestia quieta'' (type of ''Archanarta'') * ''Xestia similis'' Kononenko 1981 * ''Xestia thula'' Lafontaine & Kononenko, 1983 * ''Xestia woodi'' Lafontaine & Kononenko, 1983

Subgenus ''Xestia''

''baja''/"''Amathes''" group * ''Xestia baja'' – dotted clay (type of ''Amathes'') * ''Xestia smithii'' – Smith's dart (possibly belongs in ''X. baja'') ''castanea''/"''Castanasta''/''Ericathia''" group * ''Xestia agathina'' – heath rustic (type of ''Ericathia'') * ''Xestia castanea'' – grey rustic, The Neglected (type of ''Castanasta'') * ''Xestia jordani'' (Turati, 1912) ''collina''/"''Monticollia''" group * ''Xestia collina'' (type of ''Monticollia'') ''ochreago'' group * ''Xestia ochreago'' ''sexstrigata''/"''Lytaea''" group * ''Xestia sexstrigata'' – six-striped rustic (type of ''Lytaea'') ''stigmatica''/"''Megarhomba''" group (= "''rhomboidea'' group", misidentification) * ''Xestia sareptana'' * ''Xestia stigmatica'' – square-spotted clay (type of ''Megarhomba'') ''trifida''/"''Caloxestia''" group * ''Xestia trifida'' (type of ''Caloxestia'') ''xanthographa''/"''Segetia''" group * ''Xestia cohaesa'' * ''Xestia kermesina'' (Mabille, 1869) (type of ''Palkermes'') ** ''Xestia kermesina kermesina'' (Mabille, 1869) ** ''Xestia kermesina virescens'' Turati, 1912 * ''Xestia palaestinensis'' * ''Xestia xanthographa'' – square-spot rustic (type of ''Segetia'') Species group unknown * ''Xestia badinosis'' (Grote, 1874) * ''Xestia bolteri'' * ''Xestia cinerascens'' (Smith, 1891) * ''Xestia conchis'' * ''Xestia dyris'' (Zerny, 1934) (tentatively placed here) * ''Xestia finatimis'' Lafontaine, 1998 * ''Xestia fuscostigma'' (Bremer, 1861) * ''Xestia lithoplana'' Hreblay & Ronkay 1998 * ''Xestia mejiasi'' Pinker, 1961 * ''Xestia normaniana'' – Norman's dart * ''Xestia oblata'' (Morrison, 1875) * ''Xestia substrigata'' (Smith, 1895) * ''Xestia verniloides'' Lafontaine, 1998

''Incertae sedis''

If the affiliations of the subgenera are not very much mistaken, most remaining cases of erroneous assignment to ''Xestia'' are to be found among the species of uncertain group affiliation here; for the recently described ''Xestia kecskerago, X. kecskerago'' for example it was explicitly stated that placement in the present genus is tentative. Other species of unclear affiliation are so little known that even their validity remains questionable, though this group equally well seems to contain quite distinct lineages of true ''Xestia''. Also, there are some obvious species groups which do not easily fit into the subgeneric scheme above.

"''Agrotiphila''" group * ''Xestia colorado'' (Smith, 1891) (type of ''Agrotiphila'') * ''Xestia maculata'' (Smith, 1893) * ''Xestia staudingeri'' (type of ''Agrotimorpha'') "''Hypoxestia''" group * ''Xestia dilatata'' (Butler, 1879) (type of ''Hypoxestia'') ''ornata'' group * ''Xestia hypographa'' * ''Xestia ornata'' (formerly in ''Eugraphe'') "''Palaeamathes''" group * ''Xestia hoenei'' (Boursin, 1954) (type of ''Palaeamathes'') "''Paramathes''" group * ''Xestia perigrapha'' (Püngeler, 1899) (type of ''Paramathes'') ''retracta''/''tenuis'' group * ''Xestia basistriga'' Yoshimoto, 1995 * ''Xestia bifurcata'' Hreblay & Ronkay, 1998 * ''Xestia coronata'' Hacker & Peks, 1999 * ''Xestia destituta'' (Leech, 1900) * ''Xestia forsteri'' Boursin, 1964 * ''Xestia hemitragidia'' (Boursin 1964) * ''Xestia nyei'' Plante, 1979 (= ''X. longijuxta'') * ''Xestia retracta'' * ''Xestia schaeferi'' Hreblay & Ronkay, 1998 * ''Xestia semiretracta'' Yoshimoto, 1995 * ''Xestia subforsteri'' Hreblay, & Ronkay 1998 * ''Xestia tenuis'' (Butler 1889) * ''Xestia trifurcata'' Hacker & Peks, 1999 "Yellow hindwings" group * ''Xestia bryocharis'' Boursin, 1948 * ''Xestia draesekei'' Boursin, 1948 * ''Xestia efflorescens'' * ''Xestia flavilinea'' Wileman, 1912 * ''Xestia pseudoaccipiter'' Boursin, 1948 * ''Xestia semiherbida'' (Walker, 1857) * ''Xestia sternecki'' Boursin, 1948 * ''Xestia triphaenoides'' Boursin, 1948 Species group unknown * ''Xestia agalma'' (Püngeler, 1900) * ''Xestia albifurca'' (Erschoff, [1877]) * ''Xestia cervina'' (Moore, 1867) * ''Xestia consanguinea'' (Moore, 1881) * ''Xestia costaestriga'' (Staudinger, 1895) * ''Xestia crassipuncta'' (Wileman & West, 1928) * ''Xestia homochroma'' (Hampson 1903) * ''Xestia isochroma'' (Hampson 1903) * ''Xestia isolata'' * ''Xestia junctura'' (Moore, 1881) * ''Xestia kecskerago'' Gyulai & L.Ronkay, 2006 * ''Xestia latinigra'' (Prout, 1928) * ''Xestia mandarina'' (Leech, 1900) * ''Xestia olivascens'' (Hampson, 1894) * ''Xestia renalis'' * ''Xestia rosifunda'' (Dyar, 1916) * ''Xestia senescens'' (Staudinger, 1881) (formerly in ''Eugraphe'') * ''Xestia tamsi'' (Wileman & West, 1929) * ''Xestia vidua'' (Staudinger, 1892) * ''Xestia yamanei'' Chang, 1991

Footnotes

References

* (1996): Systematische Liste der Noctuidae Europas. (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) ["Systematic list of European Noctuidae"]. ''Neue Entomologische Nachrichten'' 36: 1-122. * (2004): Butterflies and Moths of the World, Generic Names and their Type-species &ndash
''Xestia''
Version of 5 November 2004. Retrieved 18 January 2011. * (2009): Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms &ndash

Version of 31 December 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2011. * (2003)
A revision of the Palaearctic species of the ''Eugraphe'' Hübner, [1821] 1816 generic complex. Part I. The genera ''Eugraphe'' and ''Goniographa'' (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae)
(PDF) ''Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae'' 48(4): 333–374. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1305617 Xestia, Noctuoidea genera Taxa named by Jacob Hübner