Cosmodes elegans
| Cosmodes elegans | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg)
Cosmodes elegans |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Cosmodes elegans | ||||||||||||
| ( Donovan , 1805) |
Cosmodes elegans is a butterfly ( moth )found in Australiafrom the family of the owl butterfly (Noctuidae).
features
butterfly
The wingspan of the moth is 26 to 32 millimeters for the males and 28 to 36 millimeters for the females. There is no difference in color between the sexes. The basic color of the upper side of the forewings varies from light brown to reddish brown to purple brown. Typical of the species is a striking pattern of light green spots with a silver-white border: a large, sickle-shaped spot that extends from the basal region to the middle of the wing and a spot split in the middle in the disk region between the front and inner edge . The upper side of the hind wing is monochrome, light gray-white without drawing, slightly darkened towards the edge. There is a dense red-brown tuft of hair on the thorax .
Caterpillar
Fully grown caterpillars are light green in color and show a pale whitish side line and black stigmas . The small head is yellow-green.
Similar species
The butterflies of Cosmodes elegans are unmistakable due to the very distinctive drawing .
distribution and habitat
The distribution of the species extends along the east and south-east coasts of Australia including Tasmania and the Norfolk Island . Another occurrence area is in the southwest of the continent south of Perth . In New Zealand the species occurs annually. Cosmodes elegans prefers to inhabit forest clearings.
Way of life
The moths are nocturnal. They can be found all year round, mainly between February and April. You visit artificial light sources . The caterpillars feed on the leaves of verbena - ( Verbena ), bog bells - ( Wahlenbergia ) or lobelia species ( Lobelia ).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c R. JB Hoare: Fauna of New Zealand, Number 73, Noctuinae (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), part 1: Austramathes, Cosmodes, Proteuxoa, Physetica , Landcare Research, Lincoln, Canterbury, NZ, 2017, ISBN 978 -0-947525-09-5 , pp. 30-31
- ^ Ian Francis Bell Common: Moths of Australia , Melbourne University Press, 1990, ISBN 0-522-84326-3 , p. 460
literature
- Ian Francis Bell Common: Moths of Australia , Melbourne University Press, 1990, ISBN 0-522-84326-3
- RJB Hoare: Fauna of New Zealand, Number 73, Noctuinae (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), part 1: Austramathes, Cosmodes, Proteuxoa, Physetica , Landcare Research, Lincoln, Canterbury, NZ, 2017, ISBN 978-0-947525-09 -5
Web links
- Lepiforum e. V. - Taxonomy and photos
- bie.ala.au - localities
- butterflyhouse - caterpillar
- hostplants - food plants for caterpillars