Description of immature stages of Xestia brunneopicta (Matsumura, 1925), with a key to the mature larvae of the European species of Xestia (Pachnobia) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae)

Immature stages of Xestia brunneopicta (Matsumura, 1925) are described and illustrated from an ex ovo rearing. The female was collected during a Finnish-Russian expedition to the province of Chita in East Siberia in 2013. Eggs were laid in a plastic jar at Chara Sands on the 7^th of July. Larvae hatched between the 20^th and 21^st of July. Rearing of larvae was undertaken in Finland by four lepidopterologists. A key is given that includes the known European larvae of the subgenus Pachnobia Guenée, 1852 sensu Lafontaine et al. (1998), mostly based on the morphology and larval chaetotaxy. The closest relatives on the basis of larval morphology are discussed.