Eye owl moth

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Eye owl moth
Owl moth (Tethea ocularis)

Owl moth ( Tethea ocularis )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Owl Moth and Sicklewing (Drepanidae)
Subfamily : Owl Spinner (Thyatirinae)
Genre : Tethea
Type : Eye owl moth
Scientific name
Tethea ocularis
( Linnaeus , 1767)
Eye owl moth

The owl moth ( Tethea ocularis ) is a butterfly from the family of the owl moth and sickle winged moth (Drepanidae).

features

The moths reach a wingspan of 32 to 38 millimeters. They have gray-brown or gray-black forewings with a broad, light-colored transverse band in the middle. This is bordered on both sides by two black thin cross ties. On the edge of the light transverse band there is a round and a light spot similar to an “8” with a dark core.

The caterpillars are about 40 millimeters long. They are whitish-green with age and have a brown head that is flattened. They have very faint dark markings and a black dot on the first segment on the side. The young caterpillars have more distinct dark markings.

Similar species

Occurrence

They occur in southern and central Europe east to Japan in warm and humid deciduous forests with poplar stands , especially in alluvial forests , streams and river valleys but also in parks. They are absent in the north of Scandinavia and Great Britain . The species is very sensitive from an ecological point of view and places high demands on the biocenosis. Therefore their occurrence is quite local and reduced to species-rich biocenoses with less intensive forms of cultivation.

Way of life

The animals are nocturnal and can only be easily attracted by artificial light after midnight.

Flight and caterpillar times

The moths fly in two generations from early May to early July and from mid-July to mid-August. The caterpillars from the eggs of the first generation are found from August to September, those of the second from July to September of the following year.

Food of the caterpillars

The caterpillars feed on the leaves of the quaking aspen ( Populus tremula ) and other poplar species ( Populus ).

development

The females lay their eggs in small groups on leaves. They cover them and the surrounding surface of the leaf with scales. During the day, the nocturnal caterpillars hide between two leaves that are spun together. They pupate on the ground between dry leaves in a loose web and only hatch after winter.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gerfried Deschka, Josef Wimmer: Ecological valence analysis with large butterflies as indicators in the community of Waldhausen in Upper Austria. In: Yearbook of the Upper Austrian Museum Association. Society for Regional Studies, Volume 141, Linz 1996 ( PDF on ZOBODAT ).
  2. ↑ Manfred Koch : We identify butterflies. Volume 2: Bears, Spinners, Swarmers and Drills in Germany. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Radebeul / Berlin 1964, DNB 452481929 , p. 122f.

literature

  • Heiko Bellmann : The new Kosmos butterfly guide. Butterflies, caterpillars and forage plants. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-440-09330-1 .
  • Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg. Volume 4, Moths II (Bombycidae, Endromidae, Lemoniidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Drepanidae, Notodontidae, Dilobidae, Lymantriidae, Ctenuchidae, Nolidae). Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-800-13474-8 .
  • Hans-Josef Weidemann, Jochen Köhler: Moths. Weirdos and hawkers. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-89440-128-1 .

Web links

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