Agrotis gladiaria
species of insect
Agrotis gladiaria, the swordsman dart or claybacked cutworm, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in south-eastern Canada from Nova Scotia to Ontario and in the United States from Maine to the panhandle of Florida, west to eastern Texas, eastern Kansas, eastern Nebraska, southern Wisconsin and Michigan.
The length of the forewings is 13–16 mm. Adults are on wing from September to October depending on the location.
The larvae feed on a wide range of plants, including Medicago sativa, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Rubus, Poa, Andropogon, Brassica oleracea, Trifolium, Zea mays, Solidago, Hordeum pusillum, Avena, Allium, Ipomoea batatas, Nicotiana and Solanum lycopersicum.
The public source identifies “Agrotis gladiaria” as species of insect. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Agrotis, gladiaria and species.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Agrotis gladiaria”, the useful work is to connect “species of insect” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4694339.
A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Agrotis gladiaria” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.