Aedia leucomelas
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Aedia leucomelas is a butterfly ( moth ) fromthe owl butterfly family (Noctuidae). The species is distributed from Western and Southern Europe, across Central and Eastern Asia to Australia.
features
butterfly
The moths have a wingspan of 38 to 40 millimeters. The head and thorax are light brown or mixed dark brown with a high metathorax crest. The forewings are earth brown and irregularly interspersed with lighter and darker areas. The fine and indistinctly drawn transverse lines are jagged black. The kidney and ring blemishes are also indistinct, framed in white and lie in a slightly lighter disc field. The fringing area is curved with V-shaped internural protrusions starting from the wavy line. The fringes do not stand out in color. The hind wings are white with a broad dark brown border, apex and tornus and the inner border can be colored white. The fringes are the same color as the edge with white spots at the apex and near the tornus. The undersides of the wings are strongly patterned with a white basal field and a wide blackish edge. The forewings show a distinct crescent-shaped discal patch.
Caterpillar
The adult caterpillars are up to 55 millimeters long. Their basic color is greenish to greenish gray with black dots. They have a broad yellow or orange-red topline. The black dots can be concentrated along the line and can almost give the impression of a black border around the back line. At the front end of the body there are two large black dots on each segment, close to the back line. The secondary spine lines also show this color. The side stripes are whitish and bordered at the top by a green-yellow zone. The head is relatively small and dotted with black.
Doll
The squat doll has four hook bristles on the cremaster .
Geographical distribution and habitat
Aedia leucomelas occurs mainly in warm, dry, also sandy habitats . The range of the species stretches from Western Europe, Central Europe and North Africa over the subtropical and tropical Asia as well as over the East Indian Islands to Australia . In Europe, the distribution extends into the southern Alps . The species is absent in Central and Northern Europe.
Way of life
The species flies in Europe in two, overlapping generations between May and October. The moths are nocturnal and come to light. The caterpillars feed on different types of the windlass ( Calystegia ) and the genus of the bindweed ( Convolvulus ). The caterpillar overwinters in a cocoon , in which it pupates in spring.
Systematics
The species was first scientifically described in 1758 by Carl von Linné as Phalaena Noctua leucomelas . The species was later described under the following names: Catephia ramburii Boisduval , 1829, Noctua adepta Geyer, 1832, Anophia olivescens Guenée, 1852 and Anophia limitaris Walker, 1863, which are more recent synonyms . The species is divided into at least two subspecies , depending on the author :
- Aedia leucomelas leucomelas (Linnaeus, 1758) and
- Aedia leucomelas acronyctoides (Guenée, 1852) ( Australia )
- Aedia leucomelas thomae (Prout, 1927) ( São Tomé )
- Aedia leucomelas limitaris (Walker, 1864) ( Sarawak , Borneo )
Harmful effect
It is reported from Australia that the caterpillars occasionally appear as pests on the sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas ).
swell
literature
- Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .
- Barry Goater, Lázló Ronkay, Michael Fibiger: Catocalinae & Plusiinae. - Noctuidae Europaeae, Volume 10. 452 S., Sorø 2003, ISBN 87-89430-08-5
Individual evidence
- ^ Eastern Alchymist or Sweet Potato Leaf Worm. ( Memento of the original from July 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
- Lepiforum e. V. Taxonomy and Photos
- Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa (English)
- Ian Kimber: Guide to the moths of Great Britain and Ireland (English)
- Aedia leucomelas at Fauna Europaea
- Aedia leucomelas (Linnaeus, 1758) by Don Herbison-Evans and Stella Crossley
- Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms
- Aedia lecomelas on noctuidae.de by Bernd Schacht