Montana Field Guide

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Home - Other Field Guides
- Kingdom - Animals - Animalia
  - Phylum - Spiders, Insects, and Crustaceans - Arthropoda
    - Class - Insects - Insecta
      - Order - Butterflies / Moths - Lepidoptera
        
        Family - Owlet Moths / Miller Moths - Noctuidae
        
        Species - A Noctuid Moth - Xestia mustelina

A Noctuid Moth - Xestia mustelina

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Native Species

Global Rank: GNR
State Rank: SNR

Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:

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General Description

The forewing of Xestia mustelina is pink-gray with very large gray discal spots outlined in black. The wingspan is about 36 mm (USGS 2006). The hindwings are pale smoky brown (Davis 2007).

Phenology

Adults fly mainly from mid-July to September (Davis 2007).

Range Comments

The X. mustelina occurs in the Pacific Northwest from British Columbia south to California (Davis 2007).

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database

Number of Observations: 2

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Relative Density

Recency

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)

Habitat

X. mustelina is common and widely distributed in wet conifer forests in the Pacific West and in the northern Rocky Mountains (USGS 2006).

Food Habits

The larvae feed on the foliage of species of Pinaceae, in particular Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and flowering trees and shrubs such as madrone (Arbutus menziesii), myrica (Myrica), and huckleberry (Vaccinium) (USGS 2006).

References

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Dragonflies / Damselflies

Ferns and allies

Conifers

Flowering Plants (Dicots)

Flowering Plants (Monocots)

Citation for data on this website:
A Noctuid Moth — Xestia mustelina. Montana Field Guide. Montana Natural Heritage Program. Retrieved on April 26, 2024, from https://FieldGuide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=IILEYLN470