Technical description and variation
The wingspan is 35–40 mm. Forewing grey shaded with fuscous, with only a slight reddish tint in the middle, the stigmata, which are large, and the lines, fairly distinct; hindwing fuscous with pale fringe; the female smaller than the male; — ab. hyperborea Zett. has the grey ground more varied with reddish and fuscous, the markings clearer; — in ab. ''aquilonaris'' Zett., grey clouded with brownish fuscous, the markings are blurred; all these greyer forms are from Lapland; — ab. ''alpina'' Humphr. & Westw., is buff grey varied with red, occurring in the North of Scotland and Ireland; — ab. ''coerulescens'' Tutt is the rich red-brown form with lilac-grey markings and blackish wedge-shaped streaks, found in the Shetland isles; — ab. ''carnica'' Hering is the rufous insect taken in the Carinthian Alps.Seitz, A. Ed., 1914 ''Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde'', Verlag Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart Band 3: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen eulenartigen Nachtfalter, 1914Biology
Adults are on wing from June to August. It has a two-year life cycle, the larvae overwintering twice. Larva brown-red; dorsum with dark striae forming a row of V-shaped marks; dorsal and subdorsal lines ochreous, partially black-edged; spiracular pale and obscure. The larvae mainly feed on '' Empetrum nigrum'', but have also been recorded from other plants, including '' Calluna''Subspecies
*''Xestia alpicola alpicola'' (Zetterstedt, 1839) (northern Europe to central Siberia) *''Xestia alpicola alpina'' (northern British Isles) *''Xestia alpicola carnica'' (Hering, 1846) (Alps) *''Xestia alpicola ryffelensis'' (Oberthür, 1904) (Alps)References
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