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. 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 , adult male
kollari, adult male •
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 deraiota, adult male
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 lorezi, adult male •
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 , adult •
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(Benjamin, 1934) -->) •
Xestia fergusoni Lafontaine, 1983 •
Xestia intermedia (Kononenko, 1981) •
Xestia liquidaria (Eversmann, 1848) (=
X. arctica Aurivillius, 1883 (
non Zetterstedt, 1839:
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 , adult female
Subgenus Xestia , adult female , adult female
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 '', adult male '', adult male '', adult '', adult male 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
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==