Ducat butterfly
| Ducat butterfly | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ducat butterfly (male) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lycaena virgaureae | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The scarce copper ( Lycaena virgaureae ) is a butterfly ( butterfly ) from the family of Bläulinge .
description
The undersides of the hind wings are yellowish and have only a few black spots, but in the immediate vicinity there are characteristic white spots. The species shows a sexual dichroism : Male butterflies are colored bright gold-red on the upper side of the wings, the females have wider orange-colored wings with dark markings.
Subspecies
- Lycaena virgaureae montanus Meyer-Dür, 1851. Occurs in the Alps in France, Switzerland , Italy , Germany and Austria at altitudes of 1,700 to 2,500 meters.
- Lycaena virgaureae miegii Vogel, 1857. Northern and central Spain at altitudes of 600 to 1,600 meters.
Similar species
- Lycaena ottomanus (Lefèbvre, 1830)
- Large fire butterfly Lycaena dispar (Hayworth, 1802)
Flight time
A generation occurs from mid-July to mid-September, and in some areas as early as June.
habitat
Lycaena virgaureae prefers to live on flowering grasslands . The field thyme is the most important nectar plant for him.
Way of life
Eggs are laid on dried-out parts of the plant, for example on the dry stems of common sorrel ( Rumex acetosa ). The eggs are white in color and slightly larger than those of the other species of fire butterfly. The caterpillars are green in color, active at night and eat dock . Lycaena virgaureae is the only egg-hibernating fire butterfly . The moths suck on flowers of Schirmblütlern as goutweed ( Aegopodium ), Eupatorium ( Eupatorium ), valerians ( Valeriana ) and lesser saxifrage ( Pimpinella saxifraga ).
distribution
The ducat butterfly Lycaena virgaureae is widespread in Central Europe . In Spain it occurs in the Pyrenees and in the Cantabrian Mountains . In the south of France it is represented in the Massif Central . Its distribution area reaches the Arctic Circle of Fennoscandinavia in the north ; in the south of north and north-west Greece . However, it is absent in the British Isles , Belgium and the Netherlands . Its distribution area extends in the east to Mongolia . The Ducat Butterfly occurs from the lowlands to the mountains at an altitude of 2,000 meters.
Hazard and protection
- Red list Germany: 3 (endangered).
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ T. Schulte, O. Eller, M. Niehuis, E. Rennwald (2007): Die Tagfalter der Pfalz, Volume 1. Fauna and Flora in Rhineland-Palatinate, Supplement 36. 592 S. Landau 2007, ISBN 978-3 -9807669-2-0
- ↑ Butterfly. 2. Special part: Satyridae, Libytheidae, Lycaenidae, Hesperiidae . In: Günter Ebert, Erwin Rennwald (eds.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 2 . Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1991, ISBN 3-8001-3459-4 .
- ↑ Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 .
- ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .
literature
- Hans-Josef Weidemann: Butterflies: observe, determine . Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89440-115-X .
- Manfred Koch : We determine butterflies. Volume 1: Butterfly. 4th enlarged edition. Neumann, Radebeul / Berlin 1966, DNB 457244224 .
Web links
- Lepiforum e. V. Photos and taxonomy
- www.schmetterling-raupe.de
- Natural history information system
- Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa (English)
- Lycaena virgaureae at Fauna Europaea