Xestia praevia Lafontaine, 1998

Pogue, Michael G., 2006, The Noctuinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U. S. A., Zootaxa 1215 (1), pp. 1-95 : 62-63

29. Xestia praevia Lafontaine

( Figs. 72–75, Map 46)

Identification: Forewing length 17.0–21.0 mm. Forewing ground color is gray to reddish brown. Orbicular spot is large and ovate with white scales tinged with pale reddish brown. Reniform spot is large and concolorous with orbicular. There are two distinct forms of X. praevia present. The lightly marked form ( Fig. 72) has a black line running along the M vein ventral to the orbicular and reniform spots. In the more heavily marked form ( Figs. 73–75) this line becomes a band, and can expand dorsally in some specimens into a rectangular patch between the orbicular and reniform spots. The lightly marked form virtually lacks the postmedial, subterminal, and terminal lines. When present, the postmedial band is a black scalloped line with white shading distally. The subterminal area is reddish brown contrasting with the grayish brown scales that are tipped white in the terminal area.

Xestia praevia belongs to the elimata species group, which contains five species: X. elimata , X. badicollis (Grote) , X. praevia , X. dilucida , and X. youngii (Smith) . Three of these, X. dilucida , X. elimata , and X. praevia , are known from the Park. There are no significant male or female genitalic differences between X. elimata , X. badicollis , and X. praevia . According to Lafontaine (1998), X. praevia flies from late June to mid­August, however, in the Park X. praevia flies from mid­July to early November. This extended flight period could possibly indicate a second fall brood. A series of X. praevia from different localities and flight periods were analyzed using mitochondrial DNA barcoding, by looking at short sequences of COI. The extremely limited genetic divergence suggests that these specimens are all one species (Hebert, personnel communication).

Flight period: Collected from mid­July to early November.

Collected localities: North Carolina: Haywood Co., Purchase Knob in trees on road; Swain Co., Clingman’s Dome, Big Cove Road site b, Mt. Buckley . Tennessee: Blount Co., vicinity Cades Cove, Cades Cove near Ranger Station , Cades Cove ATBI house 2000 m SW, Cades Cove campground; Cocke Co. , Cosby Ranger Station , Cosby ATBI house, Cosby campground area, Foothills Parkway East, Foothills Parkway south overlook, Foothills Parkway 2 nd overlook East; Sevier Co. , Greenbrier Ranger Station , Elkmont, Grotto Falls Trailhead, 5 mi S Sugarlands Visitor Center Chimney’s picnic area, 6 mi S Sugarlands Visitor Center, 6.2 mi S Sugarlands Visitor Center Cove Hardwood Forest, Park Headquarters. (72 specimens)

Elevation range: 1480–6640 ft. (451–2024 m)

General distribution: This is a boreal species occurring across central and southern Canada from Nova Scotia to central, British Columbia. In the eastern United States it occurs from Maine to Massachusetts west to Michigan and Wisconsin. There is a disjunct population in the Appalachians from West Virginia to North Carolina ( Lafontaine 1998). The collections from GSMNP are new records for the state of Tennessee .

MAP 46. Collecting localities of Xestia praevia .

. Larval hosts: Larvae feed on a variety of Pinaceae including jack pine ( Pinus banksiana Lamb. , Pinaceae ), lodgepole pine ( P. contorta Dougl. , Pinaceae ), red pine ( P. resinosa Ait. , Pinaceae ), white and black spruce ( Picea glauca (Moench) Voss and P. mariana (Mill.) BSP. , Pinaceae ), balsam fir ( Abies balsamea (L.) Mill., Pinaceae ), and more rarely on tamarack ( Larix laricina (DuRoi) K. Koch , Pinaceae ), and hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr., Pinaceae ) ( Lafontaine 1998). In GSMNP this species is associated with red spruce ( Picea rubens Sarg. , Pinaceae ) at the higher elevations and eastern white pine ( P. strobus L., Pinaceae ), pitch pine ( P. rigida Mill. , Pinaceae ), and Virginia or scrub pine ( P. virginiana Mill. , Pinaceae ) at elevations below 4,500 ft. (1372 m).