Brown day owl

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Brown day owl
Brown day owl (Euclidia glyphica)

Brown day owl ( Euclidia glyphica )

Systematics
Superfamily : Noctuoidea
Family : Owl butterfly (Noctuidae)
Subfamily : Catocalinae
Tribe : Euclidiini
Genre : Euclidia
Type : Brown day owl
Scientific name
Euclidia glyphica
( Linnaeus , 1758)
When mating

The brown day owl ( Euclidia glyphica ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the owl butterflies (Noctuidae).

features

The moths reach a wingspan of 25 to 30 millimeters. They have gray-brown forewings , on which two dark or red-brown transverse bands and another brown band on the outer edge of the wing can be seen. Furthermore, they have a dark or red-brown, triangular spot near the wing tip on the wing leading edge. The hind wings are dark brown and yellow on the outer third of the wing.

The caterpillars are about 40 millimeters long. They are very similar to those of the check day owl ( Callistege mi ), but have three pairs of belly legs, the first pair being significantly smaller. Their basic color is yellow-brown, they have several dark brown longitudinal lines and a broad, slightly lighter yellowish longitudinal line under the stigmas .

Geographical distribution and habitat

The animals are common and widespread in Central Europe and live in both dry and wet areas, such as. B. on moor meadows , meadows and dry grassland .

Way of life

The brown day owl forms two generations a year, whose moths fly from late April to mid-July and from late July to late August. Unusually for owls, the animals are diurnal and fly to flowers. The females lay their light green eggs in rows next to the forage plants, rarely also on dry grass. The caterpillars can be found from September to October (first generation) and from June to August (second generation). The caterpillars are found sitting on the forage plants during the day. Their locomotion is similar to that of caterpillars . The caterpillars feed on butterflies such as alfalfa ( Medicago sativa ), common horn clover ( Lotus corniculatus ), bird vetch ( Vicia cracca ), red clover ( Trifolium pratense ), meadow pea ( Lathyrus pratensis ) and horseshoe clover ( Hippocrepis comosa ). They overwinter on the ground as a doll .

swell

literature

  • Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 6, Nachtfalter IV. Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1997 (Eulen (Noctuidae) 2nd part), ISBN 3-800-13482-9

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Heiko Bellmann : The new Kosmos butterfly guide. Butterflies, caterpillars and forage plants. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-440-09330-1 , p. 260.
  2. ↑ Butterflies of Germany, online http://www.schmetterlinge-deutschlands.de/start.php (accessed on September 24, 2006)

Web links

Commons : Brown day owl ( Euclidia glyphica )  - album with pictures, videos and audio files