Genus Xestia Rank Species | ||
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Similar Xestia ditrapezium, Xestia castanea, Ashworth's rustic, Six‑striped rustic, Xestia baja | ||
The Square-spotted Clay (Xestia stigmatica) is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found in most of Europe, Transcaucasia, Caucasus, Kazachstan, northern Turkey and northern Iran.
The wingspan is 37–44 mm. Distinguished from other Xestia by the broad forewing coloured greyish dark brown (sometimes purple-tinted) and the irregular broad dark band between the wavy line and the outer cross line.
Adults are on wing from in August.
The larvae feed on a variety of plants such as Rubus fruticosus, Urtica dioica, Prunus spinosa, Primula and Betula.
Taxonomy
The species was known as X. rhomboidea up to 1997. Since the taxonomic revision by Hacker in 1998, the name Xestia stigmatica is in use and was used by Fibiger & Skuhle in 2004 as well as on Fauna Europaea. The reason for the change is that Phalaena Noctua rhomboidea as described by Esper in 1790 is actually the Double Square-spot (X. triangulum), but Esper's name had been misapplied to the Square-spotted Clay.