Blue ribbon

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Blue ribbon
Blue ribbon (Catocala fraxini)

Blue ribbon ( Catocala fraxini )

Systematics
Superfamily : Noctuoidea
Family : Owl butterfly (Noctuidae)
Subfamily : Catocalinae
Tribe : Catocalini
Genre : Catocala
Type : Blue ribbon
Scientific name
Catocala fraxini
( Linnaeus , 1758)
Underside of the wing of Catocala fraxini
Blue Ribbon Caterpillar ( Catocala fraxini )

The Blue Ribbon ( Catocala fraxini ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the owl butterfly family (Noctuidae). It is one of the largest species in the genus of the ribbon ( Catocala ).

features

The moths reach a wingspan of 90 to 98 mm (100 to 110 mm). The forewings are light gray to gray or whitish brown in color. The inner and outer transverse lines are white, bordered in black and strongly jagged. A kidney flaw and a diamond-shaped, light spot in a dorsal position to the kidney flaw are constantly present. The wavy line is usually only hinted at, a little darker than the basic color. In the outer area of ​​the border area there are black, internural arrow spots. The fringes are also white.

The hind wings are dark brown with a broad blue band that runs serrated in a semicircle from the front to the inner edge. The fringes and the outer area of ​​the border are white with black internural arrow spots.

The undersides show a strongly contrasting black cross line approximately in the area of ​​the outer cross line and a gray border area, separated by a white band. The hind wings also show a black, crescent-shaped discal spot. The hemline is black, the fringes whitish-gray.

The basic color and drawing are somewhat variable. The

  • from. moerens shows darkened forewings; except for the outer transverse line and the diamond-shaped, bright spot in the dorsal position to the kidney blemish
  • from. gaudens is a very light shape in which the black drawing elements have almost disappeared.

The egg is hemispherical, flattened at the base. It is brown in color with a yellow band below the micropyl zone. The surface shows strong longitudinal ribs, about every 2nd rib reaches the micropyl zone.

The caterpillar is gray in color and has fine, black dots. They become 65 to 75 mm long. The back line is only weakly developed. A flat, transverse elevation on the 8th segment has a black border at the back. The head is relatively large, light brown in color with a dark brown network.

The dark red-brown pupa is relatively slim and has a strong blue frosting. The Kremaster is relatively short and wide and is filled with two longer, curved bristles and many shorter bristles.

Geographical distribution and habitat

The distribution area extends over almost all of Central and Northern Europe as well as parts of Southern Europe. The species is largely absent in Portugal, the Mediterranean islands (with the exception of Corsica), Greece, northern Scotland, northern Scandinavia, and northern and southern Russia. The distribution area extends outside Europe to the north of Turkey, to Siberia and to the Far East ( Russian Far East , Korea , Japan). In Austria the species has been found in all federal states; Occurring moderately often to rarely.

This species is found on the edges of mixed deciduous forests, on river banks and avenues. The moths can also be found less frequently in old, overgrown gardens and parks. In the mountains this species can only be found up to the deciduous forest border.

Way of life

The blue ribbon is univoltin , i. H. only one generation is trained per year. The nocturnal moths fly from mid-July to mid-October. The moths occasionally drink tree sap or fruit by means of their proboscis and - like all types of ribbon - can be easily baited . The moths rest on tree trunks during the day and are well camouflaged by the restless pattern on the upper side of the wing, because the rear wings remain hidden when they are at rest. At night artificial light sources are sometimes flown to and the moths then settle nearby. The caterpillars hatch from the hibernating eggs in May. The caterpillars especially eat the leaves of aspen ( Populus tremula ), more rarely also the leaves of ash ( Fraxinus ), oak ( Quercus ), birch ( Betula ), beech ( Fagus ), maple ( Acer ), elm ( Ulmus ), linden ( Tilia ) and alders ( Alnus ) as well as weeping willow ( Salix babylonica ). They move like a spanner and rest snuggled against the bark of their food trees during the day. They pupate as early as June in a light web between leaves. The species overwinters in the egg stage.

Danger

The Blue Ribbon is a kind of advance warning level in the Red Lists of the Federal Republic of Germany. H. the species could be endangered in the future by further habitat destruction. However, the situation in Germany is very different. In North Rhine-Westphalia the species is threatened with extinction (Category 1), in Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate it is critically endangered (Category 2) and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saarland and Saxony-Anhalt the species is endangered ( Category 3).

In Austria, where the Blue Ribbon is the largest native owl, it is moderately frequent to rare, consistently protected and - throughout Austria - as endangered, but in some federal states (Lower Austria, Burgenland) it is reported as not endangered.

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Individual evidence

  1. a b Goater et al: Catocalinae & Plusiinae. 2003, pp. 95-96.
  2. www.noctuidae.de Catalog of the Noctuidae species in Europe, Turkey and Northwest Africa
  3. a b c d Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .
  4. ^ Austria Lexicon: Ribbons
  5. a b Red Lists at Science4you
  6. Entry on Blue Ribbon in the Austria Forum  (Austrian Fauna)
  7. about: Christian H. Schulze: Occurrence and endangerment status of ribbons of the order Catocala spp. (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae: Catocalinae) in Vienna. P. 12 ff, especially endangerment status p. 14 ( pdf , wien.gv.at);
    Province of Upper Austria: Protected animals in Upper Austria , Linz, April 2006, Appendix 3 Protected animal species → Butterflies → Ribbons : all species, p. 18; and description p. 117 ( pdf land-oberoesterreich.gv.at);
  8. Insufficient research status (Cat. 3?). Schulze: Occurrence and endangered status of ribbons p. 14

literature

  • Günter Ebert: The butterflies of Baden Württemberg. Volume 5: Moths. III. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-8001-3481-0 .
  • Barry Goater, Lázló Ronkay, Michael Fibiger: Catocalinae & Plusiinae. - Noctuidae Europaeae. Volume 10. Sorø, 2003, ISBN 87-89430-08-5 .
  • Manfred Koch , Wolfgang Heinicke: We identify butterflies. 3. Edition. Neumann, Radebeul 1991, ISBN 3-7402-0092-8 .

Web links

Commons : Blue ribbon  - album with pictures, videos and audio files