Nigetia

Nigetia is a monotypic moth genus in the family Erebidae. Its only species, Nigetia formosalis, the thin-winged algibelle or thin-winged owlet moth, has a scattered distribution in eastern North America from Ontario to Connecticut, south to Florida and Texas. Both the genus and the species were first described by Francis Walker in 1866.[1][2][3]

Nigetia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Erebidae
Genus:	Nigetia Walker, [1866]
Species:	N. formosalis
Binomial name
Nigetia formosalis Walker, [1866]
Synonyms
Nola melanopa Zeller, 1872

The wingspan is about 19 mm. There is one generation in the northern parts and two or more in the southern parts of its range.

Larvae have been reared on Protococcus species but probably also feed on lichens.

Taxonomy

The genus was previously classified in the subfamily Acontiinae of the family Noctuidae.

References

1. Savela, Markku (March 7, 2019). "Nigetia Walker, [1866]". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
2. Beccaloni, G.; Scoble, M.; Kitching, I.; Simonsen, T.; Robinson, G.; Pitkin, B.; Hine, A.; Lyal, C., eds. (2003). "Nigetia". The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Natural History Museum. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
3. Pitkin, Brian & Jenkins, Paul (November 5, 2004). "Nigetia Walker, 1866". Butterflies and Moths of the World. Natural History Museum, London. Retrieved May 19, 2020.

• Wagner, David L.; Schweitzer, Dale F.; Sullivan, J. Bolling & Reardon, Richard C. (2011). Owlet Caterpillars of Eastern North America. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691150420.
• Balaban, John and Jane (November 3, 2017). "Species Nigetia formosalis - Thin-winged Owlet Moth - Hodges#8440". BugGuide. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
• "930655.00 – 8440 – Nigetia formosalis – Thin-winged Owlet Moth – Walker, 1866". North American Moth Photographers Group. Mississippi State University. Retrieved March 23, 2020.