Beech sickle-winged

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Beech sickle-winged
Beech sickle winged (Watsonalla cultraria)

Beech sickle winged ( Watsonalla cultraria )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Owl Moth and Sicklewing (Drepanidae)
Subfamily : Drepanidae (Drepaninae)
Genre : Watsonalla
Type : Beech sickle-winged
Scientific name
Watsonalla cultraria
( Fabricius , 1775)
Beech sickle-winged wing with unusually strong markings

The beech sickle-winged wing ( Watsonalla cultraria ) is a butterfly from the family of the owl moth and sickle-winged winged (Drepanidae).

features

The moths reach a wingspan of 20 to 28 millimeters. The fore wings and also the hind wings are yellow-brown. In the middle of the forewing, a broad, darker transverse band is visible that continues on the hind wings. Occasionally a dark point is visible in it. The sickles are only weakly pronounced. With their short proboscis they can suck up dew drops and tree and fruit juices while sitting.

The caterpillars are brown and have a light spot on their back. The end of the abdomen is drawn out to a thin point.

Similar species

Occurrence

They occur in Central and Southeastern Europe , in the north to Central England , Denmark , southern Sweden and in the Baltic States . They live in red beech forests in limy, hilly areas but also in mixed deciduous forests with red beech parts . They fly from early May to early June and from July to August.

Way of life

The animals are nocturnal, but the males can also be found during the day when they are sitting on high branches. They live two generations a year. They are easily lured by light at night. The caterpillars feed on low branches and leave typical feeding marks where they do not eat the stronger leaf veins.

Flight and caterpillar times

The moths fly in two generations from late April to early June and from early July to August. The caterpillars from the eggs of the first generation are found in September, the second from June to July of the following year. In climatically unfavorable locations, only one generation of significantly smaller butterflies develops each year, and they fly from late May to late June.

Food of the caterpillars

The monophageous caterpillars only eat leaves of the common beech ( Fagus sylvatica ).

development

The caterpillars pupate between spun leaves in a yellowish cocoon and hibernate on the ground in the litter layer as a pupa .

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Manfred Koch : We identify butterflies. Volume 2: Bears, Spinners, Swarmers and Drills in Germany. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Radebeul / Berlin 1964, DNB 452481929 , p. 102f.
  2. ↑ G. Deschka, J. Wimmer, The Butterfly Fauna of the Cross Wall, Contribution. Naturk. Upper Austria, 2000

literature

  • Günter Ebert (Ed.): The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 4, Moths II (Bombycidae, Endromidae, Lemoniidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Drepanidae, Notodontidae, Dilobidae, Lymantriidae, Ctenuchidae, Nolidae). Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-800-13474-8
  • Hans-Josef Weidemann, Jochen Köhler: Moths. Weirdos and hawkers. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-89440-128-1 .

Web links

Commons : Beech Sicklewing  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files