Cupid comyntas
| Cupid comyntas | ||||||||||
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Top of a male |
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| ( Godart , 1824) |
Cupido comyntas ( Syn. : Everes comyntas ) is a butterfly from the family of Gossamer (Lycaenidae).
features
butterfly
According to other sources, the wingspan of this type of blueing is 20 millimeters, 22 to 28 millimeters or 16 to 26 millimeters, sometimes even up to 29 millimeters. It has characteristic fine, hair-like appendages on the hind wings. Males and females differ in color in that the upper side of the wings of the males is dark to light blue with a brownish tinge and a thin black border. In the females, the upper side of the wing is dark gray and speckled bluish. Both sexes have a couple of orange-black eye-spots on the rear edge of the hind wings on the upper side, which also show through on the underside. The underside of the moth is gray-white in color, with dark gray spots arching along the edge of the wings. The wings of the females are larger than those of the males and in spring they are also blue in color than in summer when they are more brown. The butterfly has a very short proboscis with which it can only pick up nectar from short, flat flowers.
egg
The eggs are light green.
Caterpillar
The body of the caterpillars is green with brown and pale green stripes and is slightly hairy and has a small black head. The caterpillar overwinters in its last stage on its forage plant. To do this, it spins itself in a cocoon and hatches next spring. But they also often overwinter in seed pods.
Similar species
- Cupido amyntula ( Boisduval , 1852), is whitish on the underside and paler than Cupido comyntas and the drawings are more indistinct and reduced.
Behavior and way of life
The caterpillar eats the buds, flowers and seeds of clover ( Trifolium ), legumes ( Fabaceae ), yellow sweet clover ( Melilotus officinalis ), alfalfa ( Medicago sativa ), various types of sweet peas , grass pea ( Lathyrus ) and bush clover ( Lespedeza ). The caterpillars secrete honeydew from their abdomen , which ants (Formicidae) feed on. Thus, the species enters into a symbiosis with these ants which in turn protect them from predators.
On warm sunny days, the males look for females near the host plants from late morning to mid-afternoon. The females lay their eggs one by one on immature flower buds. Two, sometimes more, generations are trained each year from March to November. In its southern distribution area there are four generations from February to November. They are bad fliers and only fly briefly over the grass and only in the sun. The moth is an avid visitor of flowers, especially lupins ( Lupinus ) and sweet peas ( Vicia ) as well as asters ( aster ), winter cress ( Barbarea vulgaris ), finger herbs ( Potentilla ) and wild strawberries ( Fragaria vesca ). But it also absorbs amino acids and dissolved minerals in puddles of mud . In case of danger it rubs its hind wings together to distract the predator from its weaker front part. For bluebirds rather unusual, the butterfly likes to sunbathe by opening its wings at a 45 ° angle.
distribution and habitat
The species is distributed in the southeast of Canada from New Brunswick via Québec to Ontario , in southern Manitoba and in the southeast of Saskatchewan . The species has also been reported from Proctor Lake and from two locations near the Pend Oreille River in southeastern British Columbia . They are also found in the eastern US states to western North Dakota , central Colorado and central Texas, and in southeast Arizona western New Mexico and western Texas. In Central America the distribution area extends to Costa Rica . It is most common in eastern Canada and the United States . It is also found in isolated areas in Oregon and California . Open grasslands, fields, meadows and roadsides are inhabited. You can also find it in gardens with large lawns, as well as in steppes and areas with chaparral vegetation in Canadian low mountain ranges and the plains of eastern Canada as well as on streams and rivers. Due to the urbanization of the landscape, the butterfly also penetrates as a cultural follower in the vicinity of humans and thus increases its range.
Subspecies
In addition to the nominate form, the ITIS report distinguishes between two other subspecies:
- Cupido comyntas comyntas ( Godart , 1824) - Canada
- Cupido comyntas sissona (WG Wright, 1905) - Northern California, Mount Shasta , Siskiyou County , Oregon
- Cupido comyntas texanus (F. Chermock, 1945) - Texas
status
The species is often found in its range, only in individual parts it is rare. It is not considered endangered.
swell
literature
- Elizabeth Balmer: Butterflies: Recognizing and Identifying. Parragon Books, 2007, ISBN 9781407512037 , p. 83
Individual proof
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Animal Diversity Web , English, accessed on November 9, 2014
- ↑ a b c d e Butterflies of Canada , English, accessed on November 10, 2014
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Butterflies and Moths of North America , English, accessed November 10, 2014
- ^ ITIS report , English, accessed on November 10, 2014
- ^ Butterflies of America , accessed November 10, 2014
