Brown softwood owl

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Brown softwood owl
Xylena vetusta.jpg

Brown softwood owl ( Xylena vetusta )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Owl butterfly (Noctuidae)
Subfamily : Xyleninae
Genre : Xylena
Type : Brown softwood owl
Scientific name
Xylena vetusta
( Huebner , 1813)

The brown softwood owl ( Xylena vetusta ), also called brown softwood or pale yellow softwood owl, is a butterfly ( moth ) from the owl butterfly family (Noctuidae).

features

butterfly

With a wingspan of 52 to 65 millimeters, the brown softwood owl is a relatively large owl butterfly. The fore wings are narrow and long. The coloring of the forewings is quite variable and varies from dark brown and gray-brown to ocher-yellow. Ring flaws are not recognizable, kidney flaws are highlighted by dark spots. A black line stretches from the wavy line to the kidney defects. The midfield is sometimes very dark. The hind wings are unmarked gray-brown and have a pale brown point near the inner margin. The proboscis of the moths is well developed. The antennae of the males are weakly serrated.

Egg, caterpillar and pupa

Illustration of a caterpillar (magnified twice) on a swamp iris

The egg is hemispherical, irregularly ribbed and colored light reddish yellow. The caterpillars show great color variability. Some of them have an almost pure green color, but also form yellowish shapes that are also provided with wide black stripes and white point warts. The thin-shelled doll has two bristles and strong thorns on the slightly hollowed cremaster .

Similar species

  • Xylena nuprea was recognized as an independent species, is the North American sister species of vetusta and can be clearly distinguished due to the geographical separation.
  • In the slightly larger gray softwood owl ( Xylena exsoleta ), the black line emanating from the wavy line does not reach the kidney flaws. The basic color emphasizes the gray tones more strongly. It also shows ring flaws framed in dark.

distribution and habitat

The species is distributed from northwest Africa through Europe and Asia to central Siberia. The northernmost occurrence extends to the Arctic Circle and Iceland . In the mountains it rises up to 2000 meters. The brown softwood owl can be found in damp meadows, clearings, on the banks of water, on the edges of forests and in gardens.

Way of life

The moths fly from August, overwinter, reappear in spring and then live until the beginning of June. In the rest position, they press the wings tightly against the body so that they resemble a piece of modern wood, which is also where the German name of the species can be traced back. They are nocturnal and fly to artificial light sources , especially when bait is placed . Occasionally they suckle on butterfly lilacs ( Buddleja davidii ) and regularly in spring on willow blossoms ( Salix ). The caterpillars live from May to July. They are polyphagous and feed on a wide variety of plants, of which only a selection is mentioned here:

and other. Pupation takes place in the earth.

Danger

In Germany the species is widespread, but in some areas it is rare and is classified in category V on the Red List of Threatened Species (on the warning list).

swell

literature

  • Günter Ebert (Hrsg.): The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 6, Nachtfalter IV. Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1997 (Eulen (Noctuidae) 2nd part), ISBN 3-8001-3482-9
  • Lázló Ronkay, José Luis Yela, Márton Hreblay: Hadeninae II. - Noctuidae Europaeae, Volume 5. , Sorø, 2001, ISBN 87-89430-06-9
  • Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Lázló Ronkay, José Luis Yela, Márton Hreblay: Hadeninae II. - Noctuidae Europaeae, Volume 5. , Sorø, 2001, ISBN 87-89430-06-9
  2. ^ A b Walter Forster, Theodor A. Wohlfahrt: The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .
  3. ↑ a b Günter Ebert (Ed.): The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 6, Nachtfalter IV. Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1997 (Eulen (Noctuidae) 2nd part), ISBN 3-8001-3482-9
  4. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany. Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9

Web links

Commons : Brown Rotten Wood Owl  - Collection of images, videos and audio files