Garden Dart

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Garden Dart
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Noctuidae Genus: Euxoa Species: E. nigricans
Binomial name
Euxoa nigricans Linnaeus, 1761

The Garden Dart (Euxoa nigricans) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed throughout Europe.

This is a rather drab species, forewings ranging from pale to dark brown with indistinct markings. The hindwings are white with a grey fringe. The wingspan is 32-40 mm. This moth flies at night in July and August ^[1] and is attracted to light and many different flowers.

The larva is green or brown with two white stripes down each side. It feeds on a range of plants (see list below). The species overwinters as an egg.

1. ↑  The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.

[edit] Recorded food plants

• Allium
• Beta - Beet
• Brassica
• Daucus - Carrot
• Gossypium - Cotton plant
• Lactuca - Lettuce
• Pastinaca - Parsnip
• Phaseolus
• Poaceae - Grasses
• Polygonum - Knotgrass
• Solanum - Potato
• Trifolium - Clover
• Vitis - Grape

[edit] External link

• Garden Dart at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera pages

[edit] References

• Chinery, Michael Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
• Skinner, Bernard Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles 1984