Agrotis laysanensis
| Agrotis laysanensis | ||||||||||||
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Agrotis laysanensis |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Agrotis laysanensis | ||||||||||||
| ( Rothschild , 1894) |
Agrotis laysanensis (English common names: Miller Moth , Miller , Laysan Noctuid Moth ) is an extinct butterfly ( moth ) fromthe owl butterfly family (Noctuidae). It was endemic to the Hawaiian island of Laysan . The English common name Millerbird of the also extinct Laysan reed warbler ( Acrocephalus familiaris familiaris ) is derived from this butterfly species.
features
The wingspan of the moths was 42 millimeters for the females and 36 millimeters for the males. The females were usually darker in color than the males. The head and patagia (a paired structure on the pronotum that covers the base of the forewings) were wood-brown, the thorax more gray and the abdomen whitish buff. The upper side of the forewing was cream-buff and had a black-brown or gray markings. The root field was whitish. An irregular row of three more or less curved drawing elements could be seen on the Costa loader , on the inner edge and between the two edges. The middle of the wing showed an irregular, black, oblong discal spot, which was bordered by a black hairline bent deeply inward near the cell tips towards the wing veins. In some specimens the stain ran to the base of the wing. The outer transverse line was black. It ran diagonally, was jagged and edged gray and white. The barely curved, whitish, eder-colored, distally slightly darker-edged wavy line was curved slightly inwards at the points of intersection with the wing veins. The area of the hem field between the outer transverse line and the hem line was slightly darker than the outer edge. The hind wings were light wood brown and had a whitish leather-colored outer edge. The underside of the forewings was whitish cream-buff. A faint band ran below the center across both wings.
Geographical distribution, habitat and way of life
The species was only found on the island of Laysan ( Northwestern Hawaii Islands , USA). The island has a subtropical climate. Butterflies and caterpillars were probably the main food for the also extinct Laysan warbler ( Acrocephalus familiaris familiaris ).
die out
In 1903 guano collectors released wild rabbits on Laysan. These destroyed a large part of the vegetation within a few years. With the loss of host and food plants, the extinction of this butterfly species was sealed. The last record of the species dates back to 1911. In 1986 Agrotis laysanensis was added to the IUCN Red List and in 1989 to the list of extinct insects of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service .
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ James C. Greenway: Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World . Dover Publications Inc., New York 1967, ISBN 0-486-21869-4 .
- ↑ a b c d Walter Rothschild: Some New Species of Lepidoptera In: Novitates Zoologicae Volume 1, 1894.
- ↑ Charles. H. Lamoureux (1963): The flora and vegetation of Laysan Island. Atoll Research Bulletin 97 .
- ↑ a b Entry at Natureserve .
- ↑ Agrotis laysanensis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: World Conservation Monitoring Center, 1996. Accessed February 20, 2008 ..
literature
- Walter Rothschild: Some New Species of Lepidoptera. Novitates Zoologicae, 1: 535-540, 1894 (Species description p. 539) Online at archive.org
- Walter Rothschild: Some New Species of Lepidoptera. Novitates Zoologicae, 2: plate 10, fig. 8, London 1894 (illustration) online at archive.org