Xestia perquiritata

Xestia perquiritata, the boomerang dart, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Herbert Knowles Morrison in 1874.^[1][2] It is found across North America from Newfoundland, Labrador and northern New England, west to central Yukon, British Columbia and Washington. There are several disjunct populations, including one in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and a coastal bog in central Oregon.

Xestia perquiritata
Male Xestia perquiritata orca
Male Xestia perquiritata orca
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Noctuidae
Genus:	Xestia
Species:	X. perquiritata
Binomial name
Xestia perquiritata (Morrison, 1874)
Synonyms
Polia perquiritata Morrison, 1875 Anomogyna perquiritata Agrotis baileyana Grote, 1880 Aplectoides beddeci Hampson, 1913 Anomogyna partita McDunnough, 1921 Anomogyna clarkei Benjamin, 1933

The wingspan is 38–45 mm. Adults are on wing from June to August. There is one generation per year.

The larvae feed on various spruce-fir species. They have been reared on Picea glauca, Picea engelmannii, Abies balsamea and Abies lasiocarpa.

Subspecies

• Xestia perquiritata perquiritata
• Xestia perquiritata beddeki (Hampson, 1913)
• Xestia perquiritata clarkei (Benjamin, 1933)
• Xestia perquiritata orca Crabo & Hammond, 2013 (Pacific Coast of Oregon and Washington)
• Xestia perquiritata partita (McDunnough, 1921)