Baja ground owl

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Baja ground owl
Xestia baja

Xestia baja

Systematics
Subfamily : Noctuinae
Tribe : Noctuini
Sub tribus : Noctuina
Genre : Xestia
Subgenus : Xestia
Type : Baja ground owl
Scientific name
Xestia baja
( Denis & Schiffermüller , 1775)

The Baja ground owl ( Xestia baja ), also called black -dotted ground owl , is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of owl butterflies (Noctuidae).

features

butterfly

The moths reach a wingspan of 38 to 44 millimeters (35 to 40 mm). The basic color of the forewings usually varies from red-brown, light gray-brown to ocher. Extreme color variations can also be light yellow-gray to light yellow-brown in color (forma grisea Tutt) or even have a slightly bluish or purple sheen (form coerulescens Tutt). Cross and wavy lines are often indistinct or only weakly indicated. When they are developed, they are finely jagged. In contrast, the flaws are usually clearly developed. Both flaws often have a thin white border, rarely a darker border. The lower part of the kidney defect is sometimes filled with blackish color. There is a darker middle shadow between the ring and kidney flaws. A blemish also rarely occurs, which can be clearly marked, especially in the distal area. Where the wavy line meets the front edge, there is a characteristic deep black, elongated spot, which can sometimes also be designed as a colon. The undersides are dusted reddish. The hind wings, on the other hand, are dark gray without drawing, the fringes shimmer reddish.

Egg, caterpillar, pupa

The egg has a spherical shape with a flattened base and numerous fine ribs. It is initially pure white in color and takes on a dark purple tint shortly before the young caterpillar hatches.

Adult caterpillars vary greatly in color and can produce yellow-gray, brown or reddish specimens. They have a plump shape, fine, yellow-white back and side back lines and numerous dark brown angular spots that stand out more clearly in the rear area.

The red-brown doll has two thorns on the cremaster .

differences

The typical feature of the species is a deep black spot at the point where the often completely extinguished wavy line meets the front edge of the forewing; it can sometimes be designed as a colon.

Geographical distribution and habitat

The species occurs in all of Europe up to the Arctic Circle and is only missing on the Mediterranean islands, in southern Spain, in southern Italy and southern Greece. Further east it is distributed through the temperate zone to East Asia (Russian Far East, Japan, Korea and northern China), including the areas of Tibet and Mongolia . In the Asian region, the nominate subspecies is derived from the ssp. bajula replaced. In the Alps , the nominate form rises to an altitude of around 1800 meters.

The Baja ground owl prefers to inhabit deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests, shrub and shrubbery zones, embankments, wetlands and parklands.

Way of life

The Baja ground owl is univoltin, i.e. that is, it forms only one generation per year. The main flight time for the nocturnal moths is from July to September. In warm years, the moths can hatch at the end of June. You visit artificial light sources as well as the bait , and occasionally the flowers of pipe grass ( Molinia ), ragweeds ( Senecio ), dwarf elder ( Sambucus ebulus ) or butterfly lilac ( Budleja davidii ). During the day, the moths rest on the ground or in the herbaceous layer, and occasionally they sit on tree trunks, wooden fences or hut walls. The nocturnal caterpillars can be found from August; during the day they rest on the ground or in the vegetation close to the ground. They feed on various plants, including:

Ian Kimber also mentions:

Bergmann reports that the "small" caterpillars overwinter; however, L4 caterpillars were also documented in October. They complete their development in the spring of the following year and pupate in a cave or cocoon in May.

Danger

The Baja ground owl is widespread in Germany, can be found in large numbers regionally and is listed on the Red List of Endangered Species as not endangered.

Taxonomy and systematics

The species was first described under the name Noctua baja in 1775 by Michael Denis and Johann Ignaz Schiffermüller . Due to a certain color variability, numerous infrasubspecific taxa ( formae ) have been established. The formae established after 1930 are not available according to the rules of international zoological nomenclature and can only be used informally. The species is currently divided into two subspecies:

  • Xestia baja baja Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775, Europe, West Asia
  • Xestia baja bajula Staudinger, 1881, Central Asia and the Far East

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Red Lists at Science4you
  2. ↑ a b Fibiger (1993: p. 165/6)
  3. ↑ a b UK moths - website of Ian Kimber
  4. ↑ a b Manfred Koch : We identify butterflies. Volume 3: Owls. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Leipzig / Radebeul 1972, DNB 760072930 .
  5. ↑ a b Forster & Wohlfahrt (1971: p. 56)
  6. ↑ a b c Axel Steiner in Steiner & Ebert (1998: p.)
  7. ↑ Bergmann (1954: pp. 149–151)
  8. ↑ Lepiforum - Xestia baja series of images Younger caterpillar stages
  9. ^ Michael Denis and Johann Ignaz Schiffermüller: Systematic directory of butterflies in the Vienna region. 322 S., Bernardi, Vienna 1776 Online at GDZ - Göttinger Digitization Center (The work Announcement of a systematic work on the butterflies of the Vienna region by Michael Denis and Johann Ignaz Schiffermüller from 1775 is an identical preprint of the digitized work from 1776).

literature

  • Arno Bergmann: The large butterflies of Central Germany. Volume 4/1: Owls. Distribution, forms and communities. Urania-Verlag, Jena 1954, DNB 450378373 .
  • Axel Steiner, Günter Ebert: The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 7, Nachtfalter V (Owls (Noctuidae) 3rd part), Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1998. ISBN 3-8001-3500-0
  • Michael Fibiger: Noctuidae Europaeae, Volume 2 Noctuinae II. Entomological Press, Sorø, 1993, ISBN 87-89430-02-6
  • Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .

Web links

Commons : Baja Ground Owl  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files