''Euxoa cursoria'', the coast dart, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other f ...

. It is found in northern and central Europe as well as the coastal regions of the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, central

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. The subspecies ''Euxoa cursoria wirima'' is found in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Technical description and variation

Forewing sandy ochreous, often much suffused and speckled with brownish grey; claviform stigma absent, or with dark outline only; orbicular and reniform with dark centres and pale rings, the lower lobe of reniform always deeper; sometimes the cell, the claviform, and a basal streak before it are dark olive brown; hindwing dull greyish ochreous with fuscous termen and pale cilia; a variable insect ab. ''obscura'' Stgr. has the forewings almost wholly red-brown, the stigmata with white rings, and occurs on the shores of the Baltic; -ab. ''currens'' Stgr. has both wings dark; — while ab.''vaga'' Stgr. is uniform brownish grey; - lastly, ab. sagittata Stgr. is a more variegated form, with red-brown suffusion and little dusting, and the costal streak, the upper stigmata, and the postmedian area whitish; the three last are Central Asian; specimens from Asia Minor have the hindwings wholly white. ''Euxoa cursoria'' is difficult to certainly distinguish from its congeners. See Townsend et al. *'' Euxoa obelisca'' ( enis & Schiffermüller 1775) *''

Euxoa tritici The white-line dart (''Euxoa nigrofusca'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found from Europe, to southern Siberia, central Asia to the Pacific Ocean. In North Africa it is known from Morocco and Algeria. Description The wingspan is 28– ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1761) *''

Euxoa nigricans The garden dart (''Euxoa nigricans'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed throughout much of the Palearctic. Temperate regions of Europe, Central Asia and North Asia, as well as the mountains of North Africa. Absent from polar ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1761)

Biology

This moth flies from July to September depending on the location. Larva pale ochreous tinged with greenish; the lines paler, edgedwith grey-green; the head pale ochreous. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e feed on various sandhill plants, including ''

Honckenya peploides ''Honckenya peploides'', the sea sandwort (UK) or seaside sandplant (Canada), is the only species in the genus ''Honckenya'' of the plant family Caryophyllaceae. Other common names include sea chickweed, sea pimpernal, sea-beach sandwort, and sea ...

'' and ''

Elytrigia juncea ''Thinopyrum junceum'', commonly named sand couch-grass, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is found in Europe and temperate Asia, and grows from rhizomes. They have a self-supporting growth form and simple, broad leaves. Individua ...

'', as well as ''

Elymus arenarius ''Leymus arenarius'' is a psammophilic (sand-loving) species of grass in the family Poaceae, native to the coasts of Atlantic and Northern Europe. ''Leymus arenarius'' is commonly known as sand ryegrass, sea lyme grass, or simply lyme grass.

'', ''

Rumex The docks and sorrels, genus ''Rumex'', are a genus of about 200 species of annual, biennial, and perennial herbs in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae. Members of this genus are very common perennial herbs with a native almost worldwide distribu ...

'', ''

Atriplex littoralis ''Atriplex littoralis'', the grassleaf orache or grass-leaved orache (; also spelled orach) is a species of shrub in the family Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to ...

'', '' Minuartia pebloides'', ''

Cakile maritima ''Cakile maritima'', sea rocket (Britain and Ireland)Clive Stace, ''New Flora of the British Isles'' 4th edition 2019, p 441 or European searocket (North America), is a common plant in the mustard family Brassicaceae. It is widespread in Europe ...

'', '' Lathyrus maritimus'' and ''

Asparagus Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name ''Asparagus officinalis'', is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus''. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. It was once classified in ...

''. .

Subspecies

*''Euxoa cursoria cursoria'' *''Euxoa cursoria wirima'' Hardwick, 1965 (Canada)

References

External links

Lepiforum
Taxonomy
Fauna EuropaeaUKmoths
Euxoa Moths of Europe Moths of North America Moths described in 1766 Taxa named by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel {{Euxoa-stub