Alpine green ram

Alpine green ram
	male specimen, wingspan: 28 mm
Systematics
Class :	Insects (Insecta)
Order :	Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family :	Ram (Zygaenidae)
Subfamily :	Green ram (Procridinae)
Genre :	Adscita
Type :	Alpine green ram
Scientific name
	Adscita alpina
	( Alberti , 1937)

The Alpine Grünwidderchen ( Adscita alpina ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of burnet (Zygaenidae).

Development cycle

The eggs, which are oval in shape and yellow in color, are attached to the underside of the leaves of the host plant. Before they hatch, the eggs will change color to blue-green.

The young caterpillars overwinter and are fully grown between May and the end of June, depending on the altitude. The main flight season begins at the beginning of July and lasts until the beginning of September. The animals can usually be observed on the purple flowers of thistles, knautia or knapweed.

The young caterpillar is light yellow and without markings. When fully grown, the dorsal side has two brown lines running next to each other, next to it the color is beige-yellow and has fine, black dots. There is also hairiness. The head color is black.

The caterpillars feed on two plants from the Rumex genus : on the one hand the meadow sorrel and on the other hand the shield dock .

The wintering takes place as a caterpillar. To pupate, the caterpillar spins itself into a web of fine threads.

The generation interval is one generation per year.

Features moth

One of the sex-specific differences in the adult stage (imago) is the shape of the antennae: in the males they are combed, in the females they are piston-like. The females are also built wider in the thorax and abdomen area. The wingspan of the moth is between 20 and 30 mm.

Habitat requirements

Female specimen, wingspan: 27 mm

Adscita alpina inhabits pastures, embankments, avalanche trains and particularly stony or scree places of the Schildampfers from the valleys up to over 2000 m above sea level. M.

distribution

According to GUENIN (1997), the distribution area can be determined very precisely: " A. alpina has a comparatively small area and, with the exception of the Ligurian coast and eastern Friuli, occurs in northern Italy, western North Tyrol and Switzerland. South of this area includes the Subspecies A. alpina italica (ALBERTI, 1937), whose distribution area extends to the southern tip of Calabria.In Switzerland, A. alpina occurs on the southern Simplon side of VS, in Ticino, in the southern Graubünden valleys (Bergell, Puschlav and Münstertal) and in the Engadine GR and in the Survela GR. " To the area edges there is contact zones with the Adscita Statices . As a result, hybrids of both species also occur.

literature

• First description: ALBERTI, B. (1937): A new alpine Procris species Procris alpina nov. spec. - Entomologische Zeitschrift 50: 435–439, 515. Frankfurt am Main.

• GUENIN, R. (1997): Adscita alpina. - In: Pro Natura - Swiss Confederation for Nature Conservation (Ed.) (1997): Butterflies and their habitats. Species, endangerment, protection. Switzerland and neighboring areas. Volume 2: 421-423. Egg (Fotorotar AG).