Bumblebee hawks
| Bumblebee hawks | ||||||||||||
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Bumble bee ( Hemaris fuciformis ) |
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| Hemaris fuciformis | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
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The bumblebee hawkmoth ( Hemaris fuciformis ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of hawkmoths (Sphingidae). The species is one of the four exclusively diurnal swarm species that occur in Europe. It is found significantly more frequently than the closely related and highly endangered scabiosa swarm ( Hemaris tityus ).
features
butterfly
The moths reach a wingspan of 38 to 48 millimeters with an average fore wing length of about 22 millimeters. Like other species of the genus Hemaris , they are very similar to bumblebees . The two pairs of wings are mostly transparent. The outer edge of the forewings is colored reddish brown, especially towards the wing tip, and the hind wings also have such a border. The wing veins are also reddish-brown, as is a spot that is roughly between the first two thirds of the fore wing and the costal field , the wing field that ends at the front with the costal vein , the leading edge of the wing. At the base of the wings and along the costal field, the forewings are olive green scales. The thorax is dark olive green on the upper side and lightly hairy on the lower side. The abdomen is also very hairy. Towards the thorax, the hair on the top is olive green, on the underside and on the sides white, so that some of these white hairs can also be seen from above. In the middle of the abdomen, two segments on the upper and lower sides of the body are hairy dark red, in the rear third of the abdomen the hair is olive green in the middle and whitish on the sides. At the end of the abdomen, the animals wear a tuft of black hair divided in two by olive-green hair. When the hairs of the moths wear off, you can see the dark, shiny metallic color of the body.
The evenly club-shaped, thickened antennae are also shiny dark metallic. The species can be distinguished from the very similar scabiosa hawk by the costal field, which is divided lengthways by a fold and adjoined by a spot, by the significantly wider hem on the outer edge of the fore wing and by the different coloration of the hair, especially the wine-red rings of the abdomen. The olive-green bumblebee hawk ( Hemaris croatica ) is also similar to the bumblebee hawk, but can be differentiated due to its fully colored wings. The bumblebee hawkmoth can also be distinguished from Hemaris affinis , which is native to Eastern Asia, because of the wine-red abdominal rings.
Subspecies
- Hemaris fuciformis pseudodentata Dubatolov , 2003
Similar species
- Scabiosa swarmers ( Hemaris tityus ) (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Olive-green bumble bee ( Hemaris croatica ) (Esper, 1800)
- Hemaris affinis
Caterpillars
The caterpillars reach a body length of 35 to 40 millimeters. After hatching, they are about three millimeters long and light yellow in color. Older caterpillars are bright green in color and have a light longitudinal line on both sides of the back. The entire surface of the body is very rough and covered with numerous small, light-colored point warts. The ventral side of the animals is clearly set off in dark brown. Occasionally, completely brown or golden colored caterpillars appear. The spiracles located in adult animals per a reddish stain. The anal horn is initially dark, later reddish at the base and brownish in color towards the tip.
Occurrence
The bumblebee hawkmoth has a distribution area similar to that of the scabiosa hawkmoth and occurs from the south of Great Britain over Central Europe eastwards to Central and East Asia. Compared to the scabiosa swarm, it inhabits significantly larger parts of the Iberian Peninsula than this and Sardinia , but is absent in Ireland and in the north of Great Britain and does not penetrate as far into the far north. In Scandinavia only the southeastern part of Norway and about the southern half of Sweden are populated. It is also found in central Greece and, beyond Turkey , colonizes western Jordan , northern Israel , the Caucasus , Turkmenistan , northern Afghanistan and the Tianshan of Tajikistan . In Asia, it is also widespread from the Urals through northern Kazakhstan , western Siberia to the Altai . An isolated population is known from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and Algeria . East of the Altai, in the Pamir , Hindu Kush and the northwest of Pakistan , in the south of Siberia and in the Transbaikal to Sakhalin , the species is only found occasionally. The species is not known from South Korea , finds there are false determinations of the similar species Hemaris affinis .
In northern Europe, the animals live mainly in sunny clearings and forest edges and in sparse forests with honeysuckle vegetation . Further south they prefer sandy and calcareous hill country with vegetation of conifers and bushy honeysuckles, where they are often found in large numbers. In the past, the moths were often found in some area around these areas, but have now been greatly reduced due to forestry interventions. The species avoids open meadows and prefers to fly along the edges of forests or rivers, but in Turkey and on the Crimean peninsula , meadows and gardens are also often populated. In North Africa, humid mountain forests and bushland with oak and honeysuckle growth are mainly inhabited.
Way of life
The moths are, unusual for swarmers, like the other species of the genus diurnal. Their behavior is very similar to the scabiosa swarmers, are active from around 10:00 a.m. and quickly fly around looking for nectar. Preferred food plants are rhododendrons ( Rhododendron ), limeweeds ( Silene ), Günsel ( Ajuga ), Pechnelken ( Lychnis ) and lung herbs ( Pulmonaria ), they occasionally suckle on phlox ( Phlox ) and lilac ( Syringa ) in gardens . During the search for nectar, couples are also found to perform courtship and mating. After this, the female goes in search of suitable egg-laying places. The moths are very shy and fly away at high speed if disturbed.
Flight and caterpillar times
The development cycles of the species are very different, which is why the number of occurring generations per year is different even in smaller observation areas and fluctuates between one, one complete and one incomplete and two. Basically, one generation of moths flies in northern Europe from late May to mid-June, a second generation that is incomplete in its development flies in August. In the southern Urals , the species flies in one generation from mid-May to early July, in the central Urals, the Tianshan and also in the higher areas of Bulgaria it flies in June. Two generations fly each year in the warmer parts of the range. In North Africa they fly in April and May and in June and July. The caterpillars are found in Central and Northern Europe from mid-June to early August, in the warmer areas from May to September.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed mainly on honeysuckle ( Lonicera ). In northern Europe, forest honeysuckle ( Lonicera periclymenum ) is preferred, in the central and southern parts of the distribution area the caterpillars feed mainly on bushy species such as red honeysuckle ( Lonicera xylosteum ), black honeysuckle ( Lonicera nigra ) and tartar honeysuckle ( Lonicera tatarica ). Snowberries ( Symphoricarpos ), rennet herbs ( Galium ), Deutzia ( Deutzia ) and widow flowers ( Knautia ) are also occasionally eaten. In Turkey, caterpillars are found mainly on Alpine Scaly Head ( Cephalaria alpina ).
development
The females lay their 1.1 by 1.0 millimeter large, spherical, pale green shimmering eggs individually on the underside of the leaves of the caterpillar forage plants. Plants are avoided in full sun or in the shade all day. The mostly nocturnal caterpillars rest during the day. They sit on the underside of the leaves and eat small holes in the leaf on both sides of the leaf's midrib or a leaf vein. Older caterpillars sit on the branches of their plants. If you disturb the caterpillar, it will fall to the ground, but it is less jumpy than the caterpillars of the scabiosa swarm. Pupation takes place on the ground in a loosely spun cocoon into which parts of the plant are woven. The pupa looks similar to that of the scabiosa swarm, is black-brown in color and has shiny areas. The transitions between the segments are brown. It represents the hibernation stage. There are three known parasitoids that parasitize bumblebee hawks : the parasitic wasp Amblyjoppa fuscipennis , the brackish wasp Cotesia coryphe and the caterpillar fly Tachina praeceps .
Hazard and protection
In Germany, the species is classified as "threatened" (category 3) on the Red List of Threatened Species . It is therefore less endangered than the closely related scabiosa swarm, regionally the bumblebee hawk is on the rise in Baden-Württemberg , for example , where it is only on the warning list (category V). Nevertheless, there are some regions in which the population numbers are falling sharply, such as on the flood dams along the Rhine and its tributaries, as there are too few nectar plants due to mowing and land consolidation. The endangerment of the bumblebee hawk is not as serious as the scabiosa hawk because the habitats of the caterpillars and the adults differ. Honeysuckles are still available in sufficient numbers as host plants for bumblebees; It is all the more important to protect these plants in important locations, such as sunlit edges, and to take them into account when caring for dry slopes. This also benefits other endangered butterfly species, such as the blue-black kingfisher ( Limenitis reducta ).
See also
- Hummelschweber , a family of the two-winged birds .
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dubatolov, VV (2003): A new subspecies of Hemaris fuciformis (Linnaeus, 1758) from the Kopetdagh Mountains in Southern Turkmenistan (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae). Eurasian Entomological Journal 2 (1): pages 67-68
- ↑ Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic. AR Pittaway, accessed October 31, 2007 .
- ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany. Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 978-3-89624-110-8
literature
- AR Pittaway: The Hawkmoths of the western Palaearctic. Harley Books 1993, ISBN 0-946589-21-6
- Hans-Josef Weidemann, Jochen Köhler: Moths. Weirdos and hawkers. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-89440-128-1 .
- David J. Carter, Brian Hargreaves: Caterpillars and Butterflies of Europe and their Forage Plants. Blackwell Wissenschaftsverlag 1987, ISBN 3-8263-8139-4
- Günter Ebert (Ed.): The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 4, Moths II (Bombycidae, Endromidae, Lasiocampidae, Lemoniidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Drepanidae, Notodontidae, Dilobidae, Lymantriidae, Ctenuchidae, Nolidae). Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1994. ISBN 3-8001-3474-8
