Blue oak hairstreak

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Blue oak hairstreak
Blue oak hairstreak (Favonius quercus) ♂

Blue oak hairstreak ( Favonius quercus ) ♂

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Bluebirds (Lycaenidae)
Subfamily : Lycaeninae
Genre : Favonius
Type : Blue oak hairstreak
Scientific name
Favonius quercus
( Linnaeus , 1758)

The blue oak hairstreak ( Favonius quercus , syn .: Neozephyrus quercus , Quercusia quercus ) is a butterfly ( butterfly ) from the family of the blues (Lycaenidae).

description

The wingspan of the moth is 20 to 30 millimeters. On the upper side, the wings are gray-black with clear dark blue scales. In the male, this is also extended to the hind wings; in the female, only the upper side of the fore wing has a clearly graduated blue spot on the base of the wing, which on the one hand fills the wing cell and protrudes below it into the post- disk field. On the light gray underside of the wing an orange spot can be seen at least in the anal angle , the males have an orange spot above it with a black point in it. Favonius quercus can at most be confused with other hairstreak butterflies , but the differences, especially the upper side of the wing, are clear and only allow photographic evidence.

The caterpillar has a reddish brown body with dark brown markings.

Flight time

Favonius quercus is univoltine , which means that it produces only one generation that flies from late June to late August.

habitat

Sunny oaks , preferably sheltered from the wind, in oak forests, forest edges or less in open fields.

Way of life

The forage plant consists of oak species ( Quercus ). The eggs overwinter on flower buds. The caterpillar eats the flowers and, more rarely, leaves. Pupation takes place in early June. The moths mainly suckle honeydew , i. H. Aphid droppings. The males suckle on puddles when it is hotter, and the moths rarely visit thistles and umbelliferae . Most of them stay in the treetops and are therefore difficult to observe. According to observations, the moths should fly near the ground in the early morning (10 a.m. to 11 a.m.) and then rise again. They also seek ground near the ground when it is very hot.

distribution

Favonius quercus is widespread from North Africa to southern Russia. The species occurs in the north as far as southern Fennoscandinavia . The species is endangered in places.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Elizabeth Balmer: Butterflies: Recognize and determine. Parragon Books Ltd., 2007, ISBN 9781407512037 , pp. 70-71

literature

  • Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 .
  • Hans-Josef Weidemann: Butterflies: observe, determine . Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89440-115-X .
  • Butterflies. 2. Special part: Satyridae, Libytheidae, Lycaenidae, Hesperiidae . In: Günter Ebert, Erwin Rennwald (eds.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 2 . Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1991, ISBN 3-8001-3459-4 .

Web links

Commons : Blauer Eichen-Zipfelfalter  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files