Xestia ochreago

The Phalaena (Noctua) ochreago invalidly described by Esper in 1791 is Tiliacea citrago.

Xestia ochreago is a moth of the family Noctuidae.

Xestia ochreago
Xestia ochreago
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Noctuidae
Genus:	Xestia
Species:	X. ochreago
Binomial name
Xestia ochreago (Hübner, 1790)
Synonyms
Phalaena (Noctua) ochreago Hübner, 1790 Xestia ochrojois Hübner, [1821] Xestia rubecula Treitschke, 1837 Xestia habichi Rebel, 1909 Xestia pallida Schuring, 1918

Xestia ochreago. Mounted specimen

Description

Xestia ochreago has a wingspan of 37–39 mm. The forewings are basically yellowish or pale brown, with transversal wavy dark brown lines and with yellowish rings surrounded by darker fine lines. At the lower rim of the kidney shaped ring there is a characteristic brownish stain. The hind wings are greyish or pale brown.

Biology

Adults are mainly day-active and are on wing from the end of June to August in one generation per year. Adults are found on flowers of Scabiosa, Adenostyles and Cirsium spinosissimum. The larvae feed on various plants, including Verbascum and Tussilago farfara. This species overwinters as a caterpillar.

Distribution and habitat

This species is found in the Mediterranean and Asia. In Europe it is found in the mountains of Spain, the mountains in the eastern Balkan and the Alps. It is found up to heights of 2,500 meters.

Bibliography

• LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Beccaloni G.W., Scoble M.J., Robinson G.S. & Pitkin B.
• Michael Fibiger: Noctuinae II. In: W. G. Tremewan (Hrsg.): Noctuidae Europaeae. 1. Auflage. Band 2, Entomological Press, Sorø 1993, ISBN 87-89430-02-6.
• W. Forster, T. A. Wohlfahrt: Die Schmetterlinge Mitteleuropas, Band IV, Eulen. Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971
• Erstbeschreibung: HÜBNER, J. [1800-1838]: Sammlung europäischer Schmetterlinge 4: pl. 1-185

External links

• Lepiforum e.V.
• schmetterlinge-deutschlands.de Archived 2012-03-30 at the Wayback Machine