Anthocharis cethura
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Anthocharis cethura |
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| Anthocharis cethura | ||||||||||||
| ( C. Felder & R. Felder , 1865) |
Anthocharis cethura is a butterfly ( butterfly ) from the family of Whites (Pieridae).
features
butterfly
The wingspan of the moth is 25 to 40 millimeters. They have a white, sometimes yellowish wing base color, especially in females. On top of the front wings spread out over the Submarginalregion and Postdiskalregion a pale orange red spot from which is often pronounced even weaker in females. This ends at the black discoid spot and is bordered in black on both sides. This border is particularly wide at the apex and sometimes has a white background. The underside of the hind wings shows a gray-green mottling that is fused like a ribbon.
Egg, caterpillar, pupa
Immediately after being laid, the eggs are blue-green in color, which, however, changes to orange-red tones after just a few hours. They are oval in shape and have transverse ribs on the entire surface. The eggs are laid individually on the leaves of a food plant.
Younger caterpillars are greenish in color and have very short, thin, whitish hairs. Adult animals are usually black-gray or blue-gray in color and show conspicuous orange horizontal stripes and large white spots on the sides.
The belt doll has a long, narrow, conical head and is brownish or blackish in color.
Similar species
The species is similar to Anthocharis sara , in which the orange-red spot on the upper side of the forewing is much more pronounced and the gray-green speckles on the underside of the hind wing are fused irregularly.
There is also a distant similarity to the more strongly colored males of the aurora butterfly ( Anthocharis cardamines ). However, since this occurs in Europe and Asia, there is no geographical overlap with Anthocharis cethura .
distribution and habitat
The distribution area of Anthocharis cethura extends from central California in an easterly direction to west Texas . The type inhabited preferred barren, dry regions, stony rocky landscapes and desert areas (English: desert ) thus also in English as Desert Orangetip is called.
Way of life
The species forms one generation per year. The main flight time of the moths is February to April, in the northern areas until May. The moths like to suckle on flowers to ingest food. The caterpillars feed on polyphag of the flowers and seed heads of a large number of food plants from the plant family of cruciferous (Brassicaceae), and include: Caulanthus cooperi , Caulanthus coulteri , Caulanthus inflatus , Descurainia pinnata , Thelypodium lassiophyllum and Streptanthella longirostris . The species overwinters as a pupa.
Subspecies
In addition to the nominate form Anthocharis cethura cethura , the following subspecies are distinguished:
- Anthocharis cethura catalina
- Anthocharis cethura hadromarmorata
- Anthocharis cethura mojavensis
- Anthocharis cethura morrisoni
- Anthocharis cethura prima
swell
Individual evidence
- ^ Butterflies and Moth of North America http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Anthocharis-cethura
- ↑ a b James A. Scott: The Butterflies of North America: A Natural History and Field Guide. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1986, ISBN 0-8047-2013-4 , pp. 212/213
- ^ Stages of development in "Butterflies of America" http://butterfliesofamerica.com/anthocharis_cethura_mojavensis_immatures2.htm
- ↑ Distribution http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/pieridae/pierinae/anthocharis/index.html#cethura
- ^ Encyclopedia of Life http://eol.org/pages/171313/overview
literature
- James A. Scott: The Butterflies of North America , Stanford University Press, Stanford CA., 1992, ISBN 0-8047-2013-4 , pp. 212/213
