Dark gray autumn owl

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Dark gray autumn owl
Dark gray autumn owl (Agrochola lota)

Dark gray autumn owl ( Agrochola lota )

Systematics
Family : Owl butterfly (Noctuidae)
Subfamily : Xyleninae
Tribe : Xylenini
Sub tribus : Xylenina
Genre : Agrochola
Type : Dark gray autumn owl
Scientific name
Agrochola lota
( Clerck , 1759)
Young caterpillar
Adult caterpillar

The dark gray autumn owl ( Agrochola lota ), sometimes also called the willow bushfield autumn owl , is a butterfly ( moth ) from the owl butterfly family (Noctuidae).

features

butterfly

The wingspan of the moth is 31 to 40 millimeters. The basic color of the forewing upper side is usually dark gray to bluish gray, rarely gray-brown to red-brown. The wavy line is laid out rust-red and yellowish. Ring and kidney flaws are bordered thinly red-brown. The black-colored filling in the lower area of ​​the kidney defects is particularly striking. The outer and inner transverse lines cannot be seen or can only be seen indistinctly. The upper side of the hind wing is colored gray-brown.

Egg, caterpillar, pupa

The spherical egg is initially yellowish white and turns dark red-brown before the caterpillars hatch . It is covered with strong, wavy longitudinal ribs.

Young caterpillars are bluish-gray in color, fully grown gray to gray-brown and finely blackened. The underside is whitish gray to ocher in color. The back and side back lines are white and partly slightly interrupted, the many white point warts are bordered in black.

The doll has four curved thorns on the wide, short cremaster .

Similar species

distribution and habitat

The occurrence of the species extends from northwest Africa through almost all of Europe, north to Scotland and central Fennoscandinavia , east to the Altai . It was introduced to Newfoundland . In the Alps it rises to altitudes of a good 1500 meters. The dark gray autumn owl is mainly found in damp habitats such as riverside areas, floodplains, clearings, moors and wet meadows.

Way of life

The nocturnal moths fly in one generation a year from late August to early November. They visit artificial light sources and like to use bait . The caterpillars live mostly in May and June. They feed on the leaves of various plants, for example willow ( Salix ), alder ( Alnus ), maple ( Acer ) and poplar species ( Populus ). In the early stages of development they like to hide between coiled leaves that they leave at night to eat. When fully grown, they hide behind bark or on the ground. Pupation takes place in a solid earth cavity in a cocoon . The species overwinters as an egg.

  • Caterpillar hiding in a rolled sheet

  • Caterpillar hiding place in a rolled sheet (open)

  • Dolls in the opened cocoon

  • Doll in the cocoon

Danger

The dark gray autumn owl is widespread in Germany and can be found in large numbers in certain areas, so that it is classified as not endangered on the Red List of Endangered Species .

swell

literature

  • László Ronkay, José Luis Yela, Márton Hreblay: Hadeninae II. - Noctuidae Europaeae, Volume 5. , Sorø, 2001, ISBN 87-89430-06-9 , pp. 433-440
  • Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 6, Nachtfalter IV. Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1997 (Eulen (Noctuidae) 2nd part), ISBN 3-8001-3482-9 , pp. 94/95
  • Manfred Koch : We determine butterflies. Volume 3: Owls. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Leipzig / Radebeul 1972, DNB 760072930 , pp. 150-151.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b László Ronkay, José Luis Yela, Márton Hreblay: Hadeninae II. - Noctuidae Europaeae, Volume 5. , Sorø, 2001, ISBN 87-89430-06-9 , pp. 433-440
  2. ↑ Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 , pp. 218-219.
  3. ↑ a b Günter Ebert (Ed.): The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 6, Nachtfalter IV. Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1997 (Eulen (Noctuidae) 2nd part), ISBN 3-8001-3482-9 , p. 94/95
  4. ↑ Arno Bergmann: The large butterflies of Central Germany. Volume 4/1: Owls. Distribution, forms and communities. Urania-Verlag, Jena 1954, DNB 450378373 , pp. 538-540.
  5. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany. Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 978-3-896-24110-8

Web links

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