Brown-gray mountain forest stone spanner

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Brown-gray mountain forest stone spanner
Elophos vittaria.jpg

Brown-gray mountain forest stone spanner ( Elophos vittaria )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Spanner (Geometridae)
Subfamily : Ennominae
Genre : Elophus
Type : Brown-gray mountain forest stone spanner
Scientific name
Elophos vittaria
( Thunberg , 1788)

The brown-gray Bergwald-Steinspanner ( Elophos vittaria ) or Moorbergwald-Steinspanner is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the Spanner (Geometridae).

features

butterfly

The moths in Central Europe reach a wingspan of about 32 to 38 millimeters, those in Fennoscandinavia about 25 to 36 millimeters. Pale gray or light brownish tones predominate on the wings. While the inner transverse line is only weakly developed on the forewings, the outer one clearly stands out from the ground and continues just as prominently on the hind wings. All four wings are provided with circular, dark, but light-centered spots, with those on the rear wings being mostly weaker. There are some dark spots on the hem. The antennae of the males are combed on both sides.

Caterpillar

Adult caterpillars are brown in color. The yellow-brown diamond markings on the back and two small thorns on the rearmost segment are characteristic.

Similar species

The moths of the light gray mountain forest rock spanner ( Elophos dilucidaria ) are drawn a little more contrasting and have a silvery-gray basic color.

Synonyms

  • Gnophos sordaria
  • Catascia sordaria
  • Yezognophos vittaria

Occurrence

The distribution area of ​​the brown-gray Bergwald-Steinspanner is divided into two separate areas in Europe. In the Alps and the low mountain ranges the ssp. mendicaria . The nominate form ssp. vittaria lives in Fennos Scandinavia. From there, the distribution area extends eastwards across Russia to Asia including Japan. In the southern Alps, the species rises up to 2000 meters. It prefers to inhabit mountain forests, moors and rocky slopes.

Way of life

The moths are mainly nocturnal and fly to artificial light sources . During the day, they like to rest on rocks and stones or on tree trunks overgrown with lichen, from which they hardly stand out in color. The main flight times are June and July. The caterpillars live on low plants from late summer, for example on blueberries ( Vaccinium ) and birches ( Betula ). The caterpillars overwinter and pupate in May.

Danger

The species occurs only in a few German federal states, is not rare in Bavaria, but endangered in Baden-Württemberg. The species was considered to be extinct in the Harz Mountains in 1988 , but was repeatedly detected after 1992, so that it is currently listed as “critically endangered” for this area.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Walter Forster, Theodor A. Wohlfahrt: The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 5: Spanner. (Geometridae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-440-04951-5 .
  2. ^ Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg. Volume 9. Moths VII. Geometridae 2nd part . 1st edition. Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2003, ISBN 3-8001-3279-6 .
  3. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .
  4. ↑ M. Hullen, A. Kirzinger: Species report 2005 , Harz National Park

literature

  • Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg. Volume 9. Moths VII. Geometridae 2nd part . 1st edition. Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2003, ISBN 3-8001-3279-6 .
  • Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 5: Spanner. (Geometridae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-440-04951-5 .

Web links

Commons : Braungrauer Bergwald-Steinspanner  - Collection of images, videos and audio files