Mountain steppe earth owl
| Mountain steppe earth owl | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mountain steppe earth owl ( Euxoa (Euxoa) recussa ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Euxoa (Euxoa) recussa | ||||||||||||
| ( Huebner , 1817) |
The mountain steppe earth owl ( Euxoa recussa ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the owl butterflies (Noctuidae).
features
The wingspan of the moth is 31 to 40 millimeters, but the average size is slightly different for the two subspecies. The color of the forewings varies in different shades of brown from light brown to red or dark brown, but the drawing hardly changes. The outer transverse line is filled in double and light. Ring and kidney defects are light brown and clearly highlighted. The discoid cell in between is filled in deep black. Also very noticeable are the deep black cone flaws . The hem line is simple and gray. The hind wings are in the ssp. recussa without drawing gray-brown, in the case of the ssp. tetrastigmata , the fringing area is a little darker.
The egg is smooth, spherical and sulfur yellow. Since the caterpillars mostly live on or in the ground, they do not need a colorful or high-contrast drawing. They are gray-brown in color and are difficult to distinguish from other earth owl species. The doll is yellow-brown with two fine tips on the cremaster .
Similar species
Because of the distinctive and pronounced front wing markings, the likelihood of confusion with other species is relatively low. There is a similarity with certain forms of the wheat owl species complex (namely Euxoa nigrofusca and Euxoa eruta ) and with Euxoa aquilina , which however have narrower forewings , the latter also having wedge spots in the fringe area, which are missing in recussa . Euxoa aquilina is also drawn more sharply.
Geographical distribution and habitat
The nominate form Euxoa recussa recussa occurs mainly in mountainous areas of southern Europe and the Alpine and foothills of the Alps and some low mountain ranges (Swabian Alb, Franconian Alb, Thuringia), while Euxoa recussa tetrastigma Zetterstedt, 1840, has its main distribution in Northern Europe. Both subspecies were apparently isolated as a result of the last ice age , allowing two separate populations to form. To the east, the mountain-steppe earth owl is also represented in southern Russia, northern Turkey, western Siberia, Altai , Alatau , Issyk-Kul ( Kyrgyzstan ), Alexander Mountains ( Tian Shan ), Ili region and in the Amur region . It prefers warm stony slopes, forest edges, grass, steppe and juniper heaths. In Baden-Württemberg it only lives in the higher elevations of the Swabian Alb (approx. 600 to 1000 m).
Way of life
The mountain-steppe earth owl forms one generation per year, the moths of which fly between July and August. The moths are mainly nocturnal, but are occasionally observed sucking on flowers during the day. They come to artificial light sources and visit the bait . The caterpillars live predominantly in the earth and feed mainly on the roots of various herbaceous plants and grasses. They overwinter and pupate in May of the following year.
Danger
The species occurs in Germany only in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Thuringia, is mostly rare there and therefore classified in category 3 (endangered) on the Red List of Endangered Species .
Systematics
The species was divided into two subspecies by Fibiger (1990):
- Euxoa (Euxoa) recussa recussa , the nominate subspecies, Alps, Prealps, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland, southern France, Pyrenees, slightly larger (wingspan 32 to 40 millimeters), basic color usually a bit lighter
- Euxoa (Euxoa) recussa tetrastigma (Zetterstedt, 1840), Crimea (Ukraine), Russia, the Baltic States, Fennoscandia (with the exception of the north), on average somewhat smaller (wingspan 31 to 38 millimeters), basic color of the forewings a little darker, hind wings with one dark fringing area
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Fibiger (1990: p. 63/4)
- ↑ a b Axel Steiner in Ebert (1998: pp. 498–501)
- ^ Forster & Wohlfahrt (1971: p. 11/2)
- ↑ AV Sviridov, TA Trofimova, MV Uskov, AV Mukhanov, LE Lobkova, VI Shchurov, EV Shutova, IV Kuznetsov, Yu. A. Lovtsova, PN Korzhov, VS Okulov, MA Klepikov: Noctuid Moths (Lepidoptera) new for different areas of the Russia. 2. Eversmannia, 7/8: 46-68, 2006 PDF
- ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany. Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9
literature
- Michael Fibiger: Noctuidae Europaeae. Volume 1, Noctuinae I. Entomological Press, Søro 1990, ISBN 87-89430-01-8
- Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .
- Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg. Volume 7, Nachtfalter V. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-8001-3500-0
Web links
- www.lepiforum.de - Taxonomy and photos
- www.schmetterlinge-deutschlands.de - endangerment
- Fauna Europaea - Taxonomy