Xestia alpicola

The wingspan is 35–40 mm. Forewing grey shaded with fuscous, with only a slight reddish tint in the middle, the stigmata, which are large, and the lines, fairly distinct; hindwing fuscous with pale fringe; the female smaller than the male; — ab. hyperborea Zett. has the grey ground more varied with reddish and fuscous, the markings clearer; — in ab. aquilonaris Zett., grey clouded with brownish fuscous, the markings are blurred; all these greyer forms are from Lapland; — ab. alpina Humphr. & Westw., is buff grey varied with red, occurring in the North of Scotland and Ireland; — ab. coerulescens Tutt is the rich red-brown form with lilac-grey markings and blackish wedge-shaped streaks, found in the Shetland isles; — ab. carnica Hering is the rufous insect taken in the Carinthian Alps.[1]

Figs. 2, 2a, 2b, 2c larvae in various stages

Adults are on wing from June to August. It has a two-year life cycle, the larvae overwintering twice.

Larva brown-red; dorsum with dark striae forming a row of V-shaped marks; dorsal and subdorsal lines ochreous, partially black-edged; spiracular pale and obscure. The larvae mainly feed on Empetrum nigrum, but have also been recorded from other plants, including Calluna

Habitat, Switzerland

• Xestia alpicola alpicola (Zetterstedt, 1839) (northern Europe to central Siberia)
• Xestia alpicola alpina (northern British Isles)
• Xestia alpicola carnica (Hering, 1846) (Alps)
• Xestia alpicola ryffelensis (Oberthür, 1904) (Alps)

• Lepiforum
• Funet
• Fauna Europaea
• UKmoths