Chinese oak silk moth
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Chinese oak silk moth ( Antheraea pernyi ), ♂ |
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| Antheraea pernyi | ||||||||||||
| ( Guérin-Méneville , 1861) |
The Chinese oak silk moth ( Antheraea pernyi ) is a butterfly from the peacock moth family (Saturniidae).
features
butterfly
The moths reach a wingspan of 110 to 152 millimeters, with the females becoming larger. Males and females are colored similarly, the latter being a little more contrasting. The males have more sickle-shaped curved forewings. The antennae are ocher brown in the males, but black at the base. They are less long pinnate than the similar Japanese oak silk moth ( Antheraea yamamai ). The antennae of the females have fine comb teeth. The moths have a yellow-brown to red-brown basic color. The outer edge of the forewings is even. On both pairs of wings there are transparent, mostly circular eye spots that are very thinly bordered in black. On the hind wings the border is only slightly thicker at the front. The antemedian line is difficult to see, the outer post-median line is straight and barely wavy.
In Europe, the species can only be confused with the Japanese oak silk moth, but can be easily distinguished from this species by the elongated, black spot on the outer edge of the eye-spots of the hind wings, which surrounds a yellow spot. In addition, the Chinese oak silk moth, unlike the similar species, is hardly variable in its coloration. However, a melanistic forma hartii occurs.
egg
The round to slightly oval eggs measure 2.6 by 2.5 millimeters. They are off-white, but their color is largely covered by a brown adhesive when the eggs are laid.
Caterpillar
The compact caterpillars are 80 to 90 millimeters long and only appear in a green color variant. After hatching, they are about five millimeters long and have a matt black body and a shiny, orange head. Their tubercles are also black and have white bristles. From the second caterpillar stage onwards, they look very similar to the caterpillars of the Japanese oak silk moth, but differ in their beige-orange to beige head, which has five dark points on both sides of the face.
Doll
The mahogany brown doll becomes 35 to 45 millimeters long. It is cylindrical but tapered at both ends.
distribution and habitat
The natural range of the nominate subspecies includes the east of the Palearctic . It occurs in Russia's Far East, Eastern and Central China, and Korea. The subspecies Antheraea pernyi korintjiana and Antheraea pernyi roylei are common from northern India to Southeast Asia. The nominate subspecies was introduced into Europe and has been found here in northeastern Spain near Barcelona and on the Balearic Islands . It was also introduced into Japan on Honshu and Kyushu .
The animals colonize deciduous forests with dominant oak vegetation.
Way of life
The nocturnal moths are strongly attracted by light sources. The animals can often be found on or near street lamps and the like during the day. Most moths hatch in the late morning. To do this, they soften their cocoon at one end and loosen the threads. Only a few females begin to lure males with their pheromones the following night. The pairing usually takes place shortly before midnight on the second night and lasts up to 24 hours. After mating, the females look for host plants. They then climb around on them and lay their eggs in orderly rows on the branches that can be reached quickly, as they are very sluggish due to the weight of their many eggs. Only after about 30 eggs have been laid are the remaining eggs laid on the plants in flight, as usual, and then laid in a larger area.
Flight time
The moths fly in two generations in Europe, especially in May and August.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed mainly on oak ( Quercus ), but they are also found on common beech ( Fagus sylvatica ), sweet chestnut ( Castanea sativa ), birch ( Betula ), hawthorn ( Crataegus ), hornbeam ( Carpinus ), Prunus species, horse chestnut ( Aesculus ) and a number of other shrubs and trees.
development
The females lay their eggs in groups of up to five on the leaves of the host plants. The caterpillars hatch after 10 to 14 days. The newly hatched caterpillars initially rest under a leaf for a few days. From the third stage onwards, the caterpillars are very agile and only eat in one place for about four days before continuing to migrate. This could be related to the fact that they eat a lot of leaves in later stages and then draw attention to themselves if they stayed in one place. Due to their coloring, they are well camouflaged between the leaves. Pupation takes place in a dense, hard, egg-shaped, single-shell, closed, sand-colored cocoon , which is 50 by 25 millimeters in size and is covered with a loose gray outer layer of silk. The cocoon is spun in a tuft of oak leaves on the food plants and is attached to the nearest branch. The pupa is in the wintering stage.
Specialized enemies
The type are Chalcidoidea the genus Eupelmus as parasitoids detected.
Hazard and protection
The species occurs only locally in Europe. Although it was included in Spain's Red List of Threatened Species , this does not make sense for an introduced species.
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Josef J. de Freina, Thomas J. Witt: Noctuoidea, Sphingoidea, Geometroidea, Bombycoidea . In: The Bombyces and Sphinges of the Western Palaearctic . 1st edition. tape 1 . EFW Edition Research & Science, Munich 1987, ISBN 3-926285-00-1 , p. 399 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Saturniidae of Europe: Antheraea pernyi. AR Pittaway, accessed December 18, 2011 .
literature
- Josef J. de Freina, Thomas J. Witt: Noctuoidea, Sphingoidea, Geometroidea, Bombycoidea . In: The Bombyces and Sphinges of the Western Palaearctic . 1st edition. tape 1 . EFW Edition Research & Science, Munich 1987, ISBN 3-926285-00-1 .
Web links
- Antheraea pernyi at Fauna Europaea