Xestia gelida

Xestia gelida is a species of moth belonging to the family Noctuidae,[2] found in Fennoscandia and northern Russia. It was first collected by Jacob Sparre Schneider on an expedition in Sør-Varanger, Norway in 1882, and was described the following year.[3] This was the only specimen known in Norway until 2010, when it was rediscovered in Nord-Trøndelag.[4]

Xestia gelida
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Noctuidae
Genus: Xestia
Species:
X. gelida
Binomial name
Xestia gelida
Synonyms[1]
  • Agrotis gelida Sparre Schneider, 1883

The larvae are known to feed on Vaccinium myrtillus (European blueberry) and Taraxacum (dandelion). The adults are active from June to July.[5]

The species is considered endangered in the 2015 Norwegian Red List and vulnerable in the 2020 Swedish Red List, primarily due to habitat loss.[6][5]

In 1989, it was found to exhibit industrial melanism, possibly the first known case among subarctic fauna.[7]

References

  1. "Xestia (Pachnobia) gelida (Sparre-Schneider, 1883) | Fauna Europaea". fauna-eu.org. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  2. "LepIndex - gelida". The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  3. Sparre Schneider, Jacob (1883). "Fortsatte bidrag til kundskaben om Syd-Varangers Lepidopterfauna". Entomologisk Tidskrift. 4: 63–88.
  4. Aarvik, Leif; Christiansen, Claus (21 June 2011). "Xestia gelida (Sparre Schneider, 1883) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) rediscovered in Norway" (PDF). Norwegian Journal of Entomology. 58 (1).
  5. "Fjällskogsfly – Artfakta från SLU Artdatabanken". Swedish Species Information Centre. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  6. "Xestia gelida – Norsk rødliste for arter". Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  7. Mikkola, K. (1989). "The first case of industrial melanism in the subarctic lepidopteran fauna: Xestia gelida f. inferna f.n. (Noctuidae)". Notulae Entomologicae. 69 (1): 1–3.


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