''Xestia castanea'', the grey rustic or neglected, is a moth 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 from central Europe to Morocco, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

Technical description and variation

The wingspan is 36–42 mm. Forewing pale grey, with a more or less general rufous tinge; Lines and stigmata all obscure; lower lobe of reniform dark; hindwing fuscous; anal tufts of abdomen of male reddish. — In the ab. ''cerasina'' Frr. the red tints predominate to such an extent that the whole forewing is dull deep red, while in ab. ''neglecta'' Hbn the red is wholly lost and the insect is dull grey: this is the common form in Britain, where the typical ''castanea'' is rarer and ''cerasina'' unknown; — the form ''xanthe'' Woodf. should have the ground colour yellow; — ab. ''pallida'' Tutt from Scotland is whitish ochreous; the stigmata outlined in red; submarginal line formed of red spots.

Biology

Adults are on wing between July and November depending on the location. There is one generation per year. Larva varying from green to dull pink, with darker irroration; spiracular line broadly white, the others merely pale. The larvae feed on various shrubs, including '' Calluna'', ''

Sarothamnus ''Cytisus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to open sites (typically scrub and heathland) in Europe, western Asia and North Africa. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and is one of several genera in the tribe G ...

'', '' Vaccinium'' and ''

Poaceae Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

''.

References

External links

Lepiforum

Funet
Taxonomy
Fauna Europaea

UKmoths
Xestia Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Moths of Africa Moths described in 1798 {{Xestia-stub