Dark knotweed owl

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Dark knotweed owl
Dypterygia scabriuscula.jpg

Dark knotweed owl ( Dypterygia scabriuscula )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Owl butterfly (Noctuidae)
Subfamily : Xyleninae
Genre : Dypterygia
Type : Dark knotweed owl
Scientific name
Dypterygia scabriuscula
( Linnaeus , 1758)

The dark knotweed owl ( Dypterygia scabriuscula ), also known as the mourning owl, is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the owl butterflies (Noctuidae).

features

Imago

The moths reach a wingspan of 32 to 38 millimeters. The front wings are black-brown. On the lower outer hem there is a yellow-brown colored spot, delimited by a curved line and slightly constricted in the middle. The flaws are indistinct and outlined in black. The hind wings are gray-brown without drawing. There is a noticeable brownish head of hair on the head, followed by other, smaller ones on the abdomen. The trunk is strongly developed.

egg

The eggs are spherical with strong, sharp longitudinal ribs and are initially light yellow, later reddish in color. The lower pole is severely flattened.

Caterpillar

2nd generation caterpillar; of sorrel

The caterpillars look plump and walnut, have a light brown color with dark marbling and a darkly bordered white back line as well as whitish side stripes over which dark slashes can be seen.

Doll

The doll is shiny red-brown with two long thorns on the cremaster .

Occurrence

The species is widespread in Europe, in the Alps up to an altitude of 1,500 meters. The occurrence covers a wide variety of areas and ranges from sunny slopes, clearings, meadow valleys and moors to gardens and parklands.

Way of life

The moths are nocturnal. They fly to artificial light sources , but are also very keen visitors to bait . The dark knotweed owl flies in two overlapping generations from late May to late September. The caterpillars of the first generation live from September, overwinter as adults and pupate mostly in April of the following year. The second generation caterpillars are found in June and July. They feed on the leaves of various lower plants, such as knotweed ( Persicaria ), sorrel ( Rumex ) and dandelion ( Taraxacum ).

Danger

The species is not endangered.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Walter Forster, Theodor A. Wohlfahrt: The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .
  2. ↑ a b Manfred Koch: We identify butterflies. Volume 3: Owls. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Leipzig / Radebeul 1972, DNB 760072930 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Dark Knotweed Owl ( Dypterygia scabriuscula )  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files