Dock rootworm

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Dock rootworm
Male of the dock rootworm (Triodia sylvina)

Male of the dock rootworm ( Triodia sylvina )

Systematics
Subclass : Flying insects (Pterygota)
Superordinate : New winged wing (Neoptera)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Rootworm (Hepialidae)
Genre : Triodia
Type : Dock rootworm
Scientific name
Triodia sylvina
( Linnaeus , 1761)
Dock rootworm female
Pupa of a female dock rootworm

The dock rootworm ( Triodia sylvina ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the rootworm (Hepialidae).

features

The dock rootworm is a small and quite common butterfly that reaches a wingspan of 27 to 45 millimeters. The wings have an elongated and narrow shape. The females are gray and dark brown in color and have a white line-like pattern. In contrast to the females, the males are colored orange-brown and the forewings are bordered with a light border. The males are also often considerably smaller than the females. This appearance of the different sex forms of a species is called sex dimorphism .

Similar species

  • Small hop rootworm ( Korscheltellus lupulinus ) (Linnaeus, 1758): There is a certain similarity, but the species flies much earlier in the year.

Flight time

The flight time takes place from July to September, mainly in August.

habitat

The butterfly is particularly widespread in open land and is also found in intensively used areas in settlement areas. It can often be found in the forest , on the edge of the forest and on meadows , in gardens and parklands .

Way of life

The caterpillars live in the roots of various types of plants they feed on, particularly often on the roots of dock ( Rumex ), plantain ( Plantago ) and mallow ( Malva ). In horticulture, they are a well-known pest on lettuce ( Lactuca sativa ). The caterpillars pupate in the earth in a light web and overwinter twice. The moths of the dock rootworm hatch at the end of July.

distribution

The species is common in Central and Southern Europe.

swell

literature

  • Manfred Koch , Wolfgang Heinicke: We identify butterflies. 3. Edition. Neumann, Radebeul 1991, ISBN 3-7402-0092-8 .
  • Jozef Ponec: Butterflies of our homeland . Verlag Obzor, Bratislava (German translation of the original Slovak edition from 1982) ISBN 3-8112-0380-0 .

Web links

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