Esparsette ram
| Esparsette ram | ||||||||||||
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Copula of the Esparsette Ram ( Zygaena carniolica ) |
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| Zygaena carniolica | ||||||||||||
| ( Scopoli , 1763) |
The Esparsette Ram or Carniolan Ram ( Zygaena carniolica ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the ram family (Zygaenidae). Both the caterpillars and the adult animals are poisonous and document this for predators with the help of their conspicuous warning colors. The species was voted “ Insect of the Year 2008” in Germany and Austria .
features
The Esparsette Ram reaches a body length of about 35 millimeters, a wing length of 12 to 16 millimeters and a wingspan of 35 to 40 millimeters. Because of its characteristic drawing on the forewings - the 5 or 6 red spots on a black background have a whitish-yellow border - it can usually be clearly distinguished in Central Europe from other ram species popularly known as “blood droplets”. However, the light border can sometimes be weak or completely absent and the color intensity of the red spots can vary. The smaller hind wings are red with a black border.
Similar species
- Zygaena algira Boisduval, 1834 ( North Africa )
- Zygaena maroccana Rothschild, 1917 ( Morocco , otherwise North Africa)
- Zygaena occitanica (de Villers, 1789) - ( Southern France , Italy )
- Zygaena orana Duponchel, 1835 (North Africa)
- Zygaena youngi Rothschild, 1926 (North Africa)
Way of life
The species forms a generation whose flight time ranges from June to the end of August, depending on the altitude, whereby the individual imago of the Esparsette ram has a life expectancy of at most two weeks. The moths are rather sluggish fliers; they are often found in several groups on one flower. It is worth mentioning the formation of so-called “parking stations” in the evening, in which the moths spend the night huddled together in groups. Either male or female animals gather on certain flowers or on dry stalks, although similar flowers or stalks remain unoccupied in the immediate vicinity. The trigger for this effect has not yet been further researched. Gender finding works without any problems with Zygaena carniolica ; often the copula occurs immediately after the female hatches - before the wings are completely unfolded or hardened . In this case, it takes place in the immediate vicinity of the hatch. Multiple mating are common.
The caterpillars are up to 20 mm long and yellowish to light green in color. They hatch from the egg in August and are fully grown in May of the following year. The food plants of the caterpillars include Esparsette ( Onobrychis viciifolia ) and Horn clover ( Lotus corniculatus ). The adult caterpillars pupate on a plant stem and hatch from the cocoon at the end of May.
There are poisonous substances such as hydrogen cyanide, acetylcholine and histamine in the tissue of the Esparsette ram. It is therefore inedible for potential predators.
Spread and endangerment
The distribution area of the Esparsette Ram stretches from southern France , Sicily , the Balkans , Asia Minor to the Iranian Elbrus Mountains . The species is also common on the Adriatic , Ionian and some Aegean islands . In the north, the Esparsetten-Widderchen is native to Belarus , Northern Germany and Pomerania.
The Esparsetten Widderchen is nationwide on the warning list for the red list, in several federal states such as Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia it is on the red lists as "endangered" or "highly endangered".
Systematics
The subspecies found in Europe are:
- Zygaena carniolica albarracina Staudinger, 1887
- Zygaena carniolica amanda Reiss, 1921
- Zygaena carniolica amistosa Aistleitner & Lencina
- Zygaena carniolica apennina Turati, 1884
- Zygaena carniolica berolinensis Lederer, 1853
- Zygaena carniolica carniolica (Scopoli, 1763)
- Zygaena carniolica cruenta (Pallas, 1773)
- Zygaena carniolica descimonti Lucas, 1959
- Zygaena carniolica diniensis Herrich-Schäffer, 1852
- Zygaena carniolica flaveola (Esper 1786)
- Zygaena carniolica graeca Staudinger, 1870
- Zygaena carniolica hedysari (Huebner, 1796)
- Zygaena carniolica leonhardi Reiss, 1921
- Zygaena carniolica magdalenae Abeille, 1909
- Zygaena carniolica modesta Burgeff, 1914
- Zygaena carniolica moraulti Holik, 1938
- Zygaena carniolica rhaeticola Burgeff, 1926
- Zygaena carniolica roccii Verity, 1920
- Zygaena carniolica siciliana Reiss, 1921
- Zygaena carniolica virginea (Müller, 1766)
- Zygaena carniolica wiedemannii Ménétriés, 1839
Individual evidence
- ↑ Das Tierlexikon.de: Esparsetten-Widderchen: Poisonous colorful butterfly, accessed on July 11, 2020
- ↑ Das Tierlexikon.de: Esparsetten-Widderchen: Poisonous colorful butterfly, accessed on July 11, 2020
- ^ Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg. Volume 3: Moths I. [Root borer (Hepialidae), wood borer (Cossidae), ram (Zygaenidae), snail moth (Limacodidae), sack bearer (Psychidae), window spot (Thyrididae)]. Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-8001-3472-1 .
- ↑ Rhineland-Palatinate, State Office for the Environment: Butterflies, Zygaena carniolica, Esparsetten-Widderchen accessed on January 30, 2018.
- ↑ Zygaena (Agrumenia) carniolica (Scopoli 1763) in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved November 28, 2007 (Version 1.3, April 19, 2007).
literature
- Manfred Koch : We determine butterflies. Volume 2: Bears, Spinners, Swarmers and Drills in Germany. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Radebeul / Berlin 1964, DNB 452481929 .
- Hans-Josef Weidemann, Jochen Köhler: Moths. Weirdos and hawkers. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-89440-128-1 .
- Heiko Bellmann : Butterflies. Recognize and determine. Mosaik Verlag, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-576-11457-2 .
- Heiko Bellmann: The new Kosmos butterfly guide. Butterflies, caterpillars and forage plants. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-440-09330-1 .
- CM Naumann, GM Tarmann, WG Tremewan: The Western Palaearctic Zygaenidae. Apollo Books, Stenstrup, 1999, ISBN 87-88757-15-3 .
