| Setaceous Hebrew character | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
| Family: | Noctuidae |
| Genus: | Xestia |
| Species: | X. c-nigrum |
| Binomial name | |
| Xestia c-nigrum | |
| Synonyms | |
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Thesetaceous Hebrew character (Xestia c-nigrum) is amoth of the familyNoctuidae. Thespecies wasfirst described byCarl Linnaeus in his 175810th edition ofSystema Naturae. It is found in thePalearctic realm. It is a common species throughoutEurope andNorth Asia andCentral Asia,South Asia,China,Japan andKorea. It is also found inNorth America, from coast to coast acrossCanada and the northernUnited States to westernAlaska. It occurs in theRocky Mountains fromMontana to southernArizona andNew Mexico. In the east, it ranges fromMaine toNorth Carolina. It has recently been recorded inTennessee.
The forewings of this species are reddish brown with distinctive patterning towards the base: a black mark resembling theHebrew letternun (נ), thus inspiring the common name, with a pale cream-coloured area adjacent to this mark. The hindwings are cream coloured. "Setaceous", meaning "having bristles", refers to the hairs on the top of thethorax and fringing the wings.
Thewingspan is 35–45 mm. Forewing purplish grey or purplish fuscous with a leaden gloss; costal area at middle ochreous, merged with the bluntly triangular orbicular stigma: cell, a submedian basal blotch, and costal spot before apex purplish black; claviform stigma minute; reniform large, the lower lobe purplish; hindwing ochreous whitish, in female with the termen broadly fuscous.[1][2][3]
Larva pink with a broad dark brown subdorsal band. A lateral yellow band with a brown spot on it. Head reddish brown in color.[4]
Two broods are produced each year and the adults are on the wing between May and October.[1] This moth flies at night and is attracted to light and sugar, as well asflowers such asBuddleia,ivy andragwort.
Thelarva is pale brown red-brown or green with obscure paler dorsal and subdorsal lines and a broad pale ochreous spiracular line. It feeds on a huge variety of plants (see list below). The speciesoverwinters as a larva.
Documented food plants include:[5]
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