Actias luna
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| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
Actias luna is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the peacock moth (Saturniidae). The species is the first peacock moth from North America mentioned in the literature. James Petiver described the species as Phalena plumata caudata as early as 1700using a specimen caught in Maryland. In North America the species is called "Luna Moth".
features
butterfly
The moths have a fore wing length of 45 to 60 millimeters (males) or 45 to 62 millimeters (females). The two sexes hardly differ in size and appearance, but the basic color of the males is a slightly paler green. The species is unmistakable due to the basic color and the distinctive long tails on the hind wings.
The species is variable both in terms of distribution and in terms of time of occurrence in its color. Moths from the spring generation have a stronger green or blue-green color. Later generations are more yellowish in color. The spring generation in populations with several generations per year have conspicuous reddish-purple outer wing edges, which are usually yellow in the later specimens. The dark post medial line is stronger in specimens from the south of the distribution area. These southern moths are also rather smaller than those from the north. With the exception of the moths from the northernmost areas, all characteristics are more or less variable.
Caterpillars
The caterpillars are about 70 millimeters long. They are not very variable in their coloring within a population, but differ somewhat depending on the area of distribution. In the final stage, they are light green and have a conspicuously segmented body. Unlike many other peacock spiders, the long processes (scoli) are replaced by flat, hairy humps. The lateral rows of the dorsal , dorsolateral and sublateral scoli are more or less strongly developed, which in combination with the strong segmentation makes the caterpillars appear smooth and clumsy. The animals also have a side, below the stigmata extending yellow longitudinal line and a vertical yellow line on each incision between the abdominal segments. Shortly before pupation, the animals turn reddish-brown.
Occurrence
The species is common in the forested east of North America . In the north, the distribution in Canada extends from Nova Scotia north and west over Québec and Ontario . Evidence exists as far as Flin Flon in central Manitoba in the prairie provinces and to Cumberland House and Nipawin in central Saskatchewan in the west . In the United States, the species has been recorded in all states east of the Great Plains and from east Texas south to Brownsville . The species has strong populations in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario and in Waldo County , which are not as rich in individuals further south, for example south of the Great Lakes. In the southern United States, the species is one of the most common in its family.
Way of life
The moths usually hatch in the morning, but occasionally also in the afternoon. They are very good fliers and are attracted by light sources. The pairing takes place in the first hours after midnight, approximately between 0:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. The couple can stay together until the following evening, but separate with the slightest disturbance. The females begin to lay eggs the next evening, which lasts for several nights.
Flight and caterpillar times
Actias luna flies in Canada and the neighboring states of the USA in one generation from late May to early July, with a focus on June. In the region south of the Great Lakes runs the border, south of which a second generation is being trained. In the south of Michigan, a generation flies from June to the beginning of July, in favorable years with an early spring the animals fly from mid-May, making a second generation possible. In the Ohio River valley the species is always bivoltine. There are at least three generations further south. The species can be seen year round in Louisiana.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed on several food plants in total, but only one or two plant families are eaten within a region. In the north, paper birch ( Betula papyrifera ) is mainly eaten, in the south it is more hickory ( Carya ), walnuts ( Juglans ), Rhus species, Diospyros virginiana and American sweetgum ( Liquidambar styraciflua ).
development
The eggs are whitish, but are heavily coated with a brown adhesive substance. They are smaller than many other types of the family. The females lay their eggs individually or in small groups on both sides of the leaves of the host plants. The caterpillars hatch after an average of one week. they go through five stages. The caterpillars live solitary and are sedentary. They only go on a hike to find a suitable place for pupation. If the days are shorter during the late caterpillar stages, a diapause is triggered after pupation . Pupation takes place in a cocoon between plant parts near the base of the food plant. Leaves are usually also spun into the irregular cardboard-colored brown cocoons. It has no predetermined breaking point for hatching, but it is weakly built, which means that the moths can hatch more easily with the help of their chitinized thorns on the thorax .
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i P. M. Tuskes, JP Tuttle, MM Collins: The Wild Silkmoths of North America. A Natural History of the Saturniidae of the United States and Canada . Ed .: George C. Eickwort. 1st edition. Cornell University Press, Ithaca / London 1996, ISBN 0-8014-3130-1 , pp. 182 f . (English).
literature
- PM Tuskes, JP Tuttle, MM Collins: The Wild Silkmoths of North America. A Natural History of the Saturniidae of the United States and Canada . Ed .: George C. Eickwort. 1st edition. Cornell University Press, Ithaca / London 1996, ISBN 0-8014-3130-1 (English).
