Thick-headed butterfly

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Thick-headed butterfly
Brown-eared brown thick-headed butterfly (Thymelicus sylvestris)

Brown-eared brown thick-headed butterfly
( Thymelicus sylvestris )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Subordination : Glossata
Superfamily : Papilionoidea
Family : Thick-headed butterfly
Scientific name
Hesperiidae
Latreille , 1809
Red cube-head butterfly ( Spialia sertorius )
Pelopidas mathias
Kronwicken-Dickkopfffalter ( Erynnis day )
Yellow-headed thick-headed butterfly ( Carterocephalus palaemon )

The thick-headed butterflies (Hesperiidae) are a family of butterflies . They occur worldwide, except in New Zealand , with about 4000 species and currently over 560 genera. Their main distribution area are the tropics , especially the neotropics . The broad head of the animals gives the family its name. The Hesperiidae are often regarded as the only family of the superfamily Hesperioidea, but are now more often incorporated into the superfamily Papilionoidea.

features

The European moths reach a wingspan of 24 to 34 millimeters, but larger specimens are found in the tropics. The animals have a moderately to strongly built body, a head that is almost always wider than the thorax and are immediately recognizable by their resting position: Most species have their wings so open that the front and rear wings are at an acute angle to each other. The forewings are about 1.5 to twice longer than wide and usually orange-brown, brown, gray or black in color; But there are numerous (also iridescent) brightly colored species, especially in the tropics. Many species have bright cube spots on both pairs of wings. Some males have scented scales on their wings . The hind wings are broadly rounded and about the same width as the front wings. The antennae are short, about half as long as the forewings and thickened club-like at the end. This antenna lobe is usually elongated and clearly curved at the end. The animals do not have maxillary palps ; their labial palps have three segments. Their scaly proboscis , like all three pairs of legs, is fully developed.

The forewings have 12 wing veins with one anal vein (1b). The hind wings have 8 veins with two anal veins (1a and 1b).

The mostly green, yellow or light colored caterpillars have a head that is wider than the thorax (except for types of megathymus ) and fully developed pairs of abdominal bones . Most species have short hairs. Some species have very vivid body colors.

Way of life

The majority of the moths are diurnal. But there are some types, such as B. Celaenorrhinus fritzgaertneri , which are crepuscular and also nocturnal. All representatives of the thick-headed butterflies are characterized by a characteristic flight. Some fly very fast and close to the ground, while others show a slightly bouncy flight. Some species are migratory butterflies .

The eggs are laid individually by the females on the forage plants. The caterpillars that hatch from it feed under the protection of a leaf housing made of leaves attached with silk. In this they also pupate , the dwelling being rebuilt after each moult and attached to strong stems of the forage plant for wintering or pupation. Very few species, e.g. B. those of the genus Megathymus drill into plants ( agave plants (Agavaceae)). The food spectrum of the family includes around 70 plant families. Among the thick-headed butterflies there are some species that can appear as pests , such as B. Erionota thrax , whose caterpillars feed on banana plants, Hidari irava on palm trees and species of the genus Nyctelius on sugar cane .

Systematics

The family of the thick-headed butterflies (Hesperiidae) is currently divided into seven subfamilies

The subfamily Pyrrhopyginae Mabille , which is still listed in many publications , was published in 1877 by Warren et al. (2008) downgraded to the rank of tribe. The same authors classify the former subfamily Megathyminae Comstock , 1895 as an infra-tribe group of the Hesperiinae.

There are three subfamilies with 47 species in Europe and 4127 species around the world.

Subfamily Pyrginae

Subfamily Heteropterinae

Subfamily Hesperiinae

Non-European species (selection)

Trivia

The caterpillars of the genus Megathymus are those that are inlaid in the mezcal . In the Peruvian Andes , the caterpillars of Metardaris cosinga (in Quechua wayt'ampu ) that live on the leaves of the Chachakuma tree ( Escallonia resinosa ) are also consumed by humans.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Warren et al. (2008: p. 642ff.)
  2. ↑ a b c d Ackery et al. (2002: p. 264ff.)
  3. ↑ Tolman & Lewington (1998: p. 251ff.)
  4. ↑ Warren et al. (2009: p. 481) (Outline of the Hesperiidae as an overview)
  5. ↑ Hesperiidae. Lepiforum eV, accessed on September 20, 2006 .
  6. ↑ http://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com

literature

  • Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 .
  • Hans-Josef Weidemann: Butterflies: observe, determine . Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89440-115-X .
  • Philipp R. Ackery, Rienk de Jong and Richard I. Vane-Wright: Butterflies: Hedylioidea, Hesperioidea and Papilionoidea. In: Kükenthal's Handbuch der Zoologie , 4 (35): pp. 262-300, Walter de Gruyter. Berlin, New York 2003, ISBN 3-11-015704-7 Google.books (not completely visible)
  • Butterflies. 2. Special part: Satyridae, Libytheidae, Lycaenidae, Hesperiidae . In: Günter Ebert, Erwin Rennwald (eds.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 2 . Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1991, ISBN 3-8001-3459-4 .
  • Andrew D. Warren, Joshua R. Ogawac and Andrew VZ Brower: Phylogenetic relationships of subfamilies and circumscription of tribes in the family Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea). Cladistics, 24: 642-676, Westort 2008 doi : 10.1111 / j.1096-0031.2008.00218.x
  • Andrew D. Warren, Joshua R. Ogawac and Andrew VZ Brower: Revised classification of the family Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea) based on combined molecular and morphological data. Systematic Entomology, 34: 467-523, 2009 doi : 10.1111 / j.1365-3113.2008.00463.x

Web links

Commons : Dickkopffalter  - Collection of images, videos and audio files