Birch tooth spinner
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Birch toothed moth ( Pheosia gnoma ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pheosia gnoma | ||||||||||||
| ( Fabricius , 1776) |
The birch toothed spinner or birch porcelain spinner ( Pheosia gnoma ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of toothed moth (Notodontidae).
features
The moths reach a wingspan of 45 to 50 millimeters, with a fore wing length of 19 to 22 millimeters. Their front wings have a light basic color. They look very similar to the poplar toothed moth ( Pheosia tremula ). At the front edge near the wing tip there is a slanted black spot, but unlike the poplar toothed spinner, there is no light wing vein over it. The inner edge of the wing is black, tinged inwards from dark brown to light brown. In contrast to the similar species, in which there are two to three light gray wedge-shaped spots on the outer edge of the forewings, the birch toothed spinner has several fine white lines along the outer edge of the wing and a wide, but somewhat shorter, pure white wedge spot on the inner corner.
The caterpillars reach a body length of 50 to 60 millimeters. They have a greasy to waxy sheen, have a red-brown, purple or green base color and each have a wide, yellow longitudinal stripe on each side at the level of the stigma , which is wider than the caterpillars of the poplar toothed moth. The black stigmas are outlined in white. At the end of the abdomen, the caterpillars have a characteristic hump. The coloring of young animals is pale and only gradually becomes stronger.
Similar species
- Poplar toothed moth ( Pheosia tremula )
Occurrence
The animals are found in Europe and Asia , east to Kamchatka and the Amur region . To the west, the distribution area begins in the north of the Iberian Peninsula and extends across central and southern Europe to northern Scandinavia . The southern border forms the northern Mediterranean coast, the Alpine region and the northern coast of the Black Sea . They can be found from the lowlands to altitudes of around 1000 meters. They live in forests with birch stands and high humidity, preferably on sandy or silicate soils , such as in damp valleys and in young, mixed or birch forests. In some places, however, they also occur in drier areas, such as on heaths and dried-up raised bogs .
Way of life
Flight and caterpillar times
The moths fly annually in two generations from late April to mid-June and from mid-July to mid-August. The caterpillars from the eggs of the first generation are found from September to early October, those of the second from June to July of the following year.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed mainly on birch trees ( Betula ), but they are also found on poplars ( Populus ). Some authors also name oak ( Quercus ), willow ( Salix ) and alder ( Alnus ) as food plants.
development
Pupation takes place in a cocoon made of earth in the ground. The dark brown pupa hibernates.
Hazard and protection
The species is not endangered.
literature
- Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg. Volume 4: Moths. 2. Special Part: Bombycidae, Endromidae, Lasiocampidae, Lemoniidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Drepanidae, Notodontidae, Dilobidae, Lymantriidae, Ctenuchidae, Nolidae. Ulmer Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1994, ISBN 3-8001-3474-8 .
- Manfred Koch : We determine butterflies. Volume 2: Bears, Spinners, Swarmers and Drills in Germany. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Radebeul / Berlin 1964, DNB 452481929 .
- Hans-Josef Weidemann, Jochen Köhler: Moths. Weirdos and hawkers. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-89440-128-1 , p. 345 ff.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ Manfred Koch: We identify butterflies. Volume 2: Bears, Spinners, Swarmers and Drills in Germany. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Radebeul / Berlin 1964, DNB 452481929 , p. 114 f.
- ^ Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg. Volume 4: Moths. 2. Special Part: Bombycidae, Endromidae, Lasiocampidae, Lemoniidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Drepanidae, Notodontidae, Dilobidae, Lymantriidae, Ctenuchidae, Nolidae. Ulmer Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1994, p. 337 ff.
Web links
- Lepiforum e. V. Taxonomy and Photos
- www.schmetterling-raupe.de
- Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa (English)
- Ian Kimber: Guide to the moths of Great Britain and Ireland (English)
- Pheosia gnoma in Fauna Europaea