Deilephila suellus
| Deilephila suellus | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Deilephila suellus | ||||||||||||
| ( Staudinger , 1878) |
Deilephila (Choerocampa) suellus is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of hawkmoths (Sphingidae). The taxonomic status is not undisputed. While Pittaway (1993: 160) synonymizes the species with Deilephila porcellus , grant it (Danner, Eitschberger & Surholt, 1998: 328), species rank, and justify this with the phenotypical, morphological and biological differences, as well as the completely different distribution pattern of the species and their subspecies. This assessment is based on approximately 700 examined specimens and is adequately documented in the book "The Swarmers of the Western Palearctic, Herbipoliana Volume 4/1 & 4/2".
features
The moths differ significantly from the little wine hawk ( Deilephila porcellus ) and other Deilephila species due to their darker phenotype , in which the otherwise typical pink-red scales on the wings and body are usually only weakly pronounced or completely absent . Since the little owl can produce similar looking moths in rare cases and under certain environmental conditions (warmth and daylight lengths) - see Pittaway (1993: 160) - there have been and continue to be discussions regarding species rank. The differences shown by Danner, Eitschberger & Surholt, especially in the genital fittings, suggest that D. suellus is actually a separate taxon. Numerous genital specimens and other electron microscope images show, for example, that the micropyl zone of the suellus eggs is made up of only three complete spirals; this already dissolves with the fourth spiral, which is not the case with porcellus . The micropyl rosette has 11 or 12 arched fields, ( porcellus 12 or 13), and the chorionic structure consists of significantly more and more closely spaced humps than those of D. porcellus . There are also clear differences in the shape of the harp and the female reproductive organs. [see: Herbipoliana, Volume 4/2, Plates 393, 394, 395 and 396].
Even the first person to describe it ( Staudinger , 1878) describes in the original description the clear differences between the greenish-yellow aberrations of the little wine owl from Central Europe [such an animal is shown by Pittaway (1993: Plate 13, Fig. 4)] and the various subspecies of Deilephila suellus as follows:
"My greenish-yellow aberrations from porcellus from Germany differ immediately from suellus because of the less clear markings, the lack of the white shoulder pad seam, as well as the gold lacquer-colored body stains and other things ."
The caterpillars reach a length of approx. 70 millimeters and are very similar to those of the medium wine owl and small wine owl . Compared to Deilephila porcellus, the pupae are darker and more contrasting.
Similar species
- Little Wine Hawk ( Deilephila porcellus )
- Middle wine hawk ( Deilephila elpenor )
Subspecies
- Deilephila suellus suellus (Staudinger, 1878), nominate subspecies - Turkey, Northern Iraq, Northern Iran
- Deilephila suellus sus (O. Bang-Haas, 1927), Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
- Deilephila suellus porca (Eitschberger & Zolotuhin, 1997)
- Deilephila suellus rosea (Zerny, 1933), restricted to Lebanon
- Deilephila suellus kashgoulii (Ebert, 1976), southern part of the Zagros Mountains
- Deilephila suellus sinkiangensis (Chu & Wang, 1980), China, Sinkiang
- Deilephila suellus songoricus (Eitschberger & Lukhtanov, 1996), Kazakhstan, Ketmen Mountains
distribution
The animals occur mainly from Turkey eastwards to China and Japan. An overlap of the individual habitats of the subspecies occurs only very rarely and here in the area of the Middle East. Otherwise, mostly natural barriers such as mountains form a natural demarcation.
Way of life
The moths are crepuscular and nocturnal and are easily attracted by light. But they also suckle on leaking tree sap or alcoholic butterfly bait that is applied to tree trunks.
Flight and caterpillar times
The univoltin moths fly from May to June, depending on the altitude and habitat. The subspecies depend on the distribution area in one to two generations from April to the end of September.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed on bed weeds ( Galium sp. ).
literature
- Eitschberger, Danner & Surholt: The swarmers of the western Palearctic, Herbipoliana Volume 4. Verlag Eitschberger 1998, ISBN 3-923807-03-1