European brahma spinner
| European brahma spinner | ||||||||||||
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European brahma spinner ( Brahmaea europaea ), ♂ |
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| Brahmaea europaea | ||||||||||||
| ( Hartig , 1963) |
The European Brahma Spinner ( Brahmaea europaea ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of Brahma Spinner (Brahmaeidae). The relic species occurs only in a very small area in southern Italy.
features
Imago: The European brahma spinner is a plump, medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of 65 to 80 millimeters. It bears the drawing that is characteristic of the Brahmaeidae and consists of numerous, fine, wavy transverse lines on both wings. The base of the hind wings is darkened blackish. The forewings have a central band bordered by black transverse lines, which is often tied up or interrupted in the middle of the wing and is mostly expanded and filled with brown at the rear edge of the wing and towards the front edge. Further wavy lines and a strong, black and white, jagged, basal cross line follow towards the root. The drawings are extremely variable, so it is hardly possible to find two butterflies that look exactly the same. The antennae of the males are double-comb teeth of medium length, those of the females are short double-comb teeth.
Egg: The eggs are hemispherical and only measure a little over a millimeter in diameter. When placed, they are bright yellow, but soon change their color to a camouflage purple-brown.
Caterpillar: The adult caterpillar corresponds to the usual colorful and bizarre Brahmaeidae caterpillar type. The body is naked with predominantly longitudinal drawing elements in white, black, yellow and orange. There are two long black dorsal processes on the second and third thoracic segments, and another on the penultimate abdominal segment. The head and legs are black.
Pupa: The squat pupa is black-brown, shiny, and has large, conspicuous, dorsal bulges with hook rings on three abdominal segments, which are probably used to work their way to the surface of the earth before the butterfly hatches.
Similar species
There are no similar species in Europe.
Phenology
Flying time: The European Brahma spinner flies very early in the year, from late March to late April. The beginning of the flight time fluctuates depending on the onset of mild spring temperatures.
Caterpillar season: The caterpillar season in the open air should be between April and July, which can still be checked by finding caterpillars in the open air.
Pup time: The pupa hibernates from midsummer until the following spring.
habitat
The habitat of the species is formed by light deciduous forests and bushes with stocks of the narrow-leaved ash ( Fraxinus angustifolia ) at altitudes between 250 and 850 meters.
Way of life
The moths are crepuscular and nocturnal. They also fly on very cold nights at temperatures close to 0 ° C and always stay low above the ground. The males are easy to attract with light sources between dusk and 10:30 p.m., the females come to light later in the night and in much smaller numbers.
The caterpillars live on narrow-leaved ash ( Fraxinus angustifolia , also referred to as Fraxinus oxycarpa in the botanical literature ). In captivity, they can be successfully reared with privet ( Ligustrum vulgare ). The caterpillars go through five larval stages; in the first stage they live in a gregarious manner , in the following stages individually.
Pupation takes place without a cocoon between parts of the plant in the ground.
distribution
The species is endemic to southern Italy. It occurs only in the wider area of Monte Vulture (1326 m) in Basilicata (ancient Lucania ), where it not only - as was originally assumed - the slopes and the interior of the crater of the extinct volcano, but also a number of sites in the settled in the vicinity. Meanwhile, seven other sites are known in the province of Potenza , three in the province of Matera and one in the province of Avellino ( Campania ). The area seems to be limited to the upper reaches of the Ofanto , Basento and Salandrella .
This distribution is of particular zoogeographical interest because until 1963 the Brahma spinners were considered a purely Asian-African family. Obviously Brahmaea europaea is a relict paleo-endemic.
protection
Several locations of the European Brahma Spinner have been designated as nature reserves, including in 1971 the over 200 hectare Grotticelle on the east side of Monte Vulture. However, the butterfly itself is not legally protected and has not been included in either CITES or the Annexes to the Habitats Directive .
Discovery story
On April 18, 1963, the well-known entomologist, erotomaniac and director of the Istituto Nazionale di Entomologia (INE), Federico Hartig (Fred Reichsgraf von Hartig) found the first male of the species while operating and describing light catching in the crater of the extinct volcano Monte Vulture it in the same year as a new species (with the generic name Bramaea [sic]). In the years that followed, further moths could be detected, including females, which were brought to lay eggs, which allowed us to learn about the stages of development. It was not until years later that caterpillars were found in the field. In 1967 the species was transferred from the genus Brahmaea to the genus Acanthobrahmaea rewritten by Sauter due to structural differences (veins, etc.) . This has since been discarded because, according to its DNA barcode, it is the sister species of the Turkish-Iranian Brahmaea ledereri .
Trivia
A male of Brahmaea europaea adorns an Italian 750 lire stamp issued in 1996.
supporting documents
literature
- E. Bertaccini, G. Fiumi, P. Provera: Bombici e Sfingi d'Italia (Lepidoptera Heterocera). Volume 1. Monterenzio (Natura-Giuliano Russo Editore). 248 pp., 1994
- A. Bilek: (1965): The caterpillar of Brahmaea europaea Hartig 1963, and its rearing from the egg (Lepidoptera). Boll. Assoc. Romana Ent., 20: 5-8., 1965
- F. Hartig: Per la prima volta una Bramaea [sic] in Europe! Boll. Assoc. Romana Ent., 18: 5-6, plate 1., 1963
- P. Parenzan: Contributi alla conoscenza della Lepidotterofauna dell'Italia Meridionale. IV. Heterocera (Bombyces et Sphinges) di Puglia e Lucania. Entomologica, 13: 183-245., 1977
Individual evidence
- ^ Natural History Museum, London - Brahmaea europaea
- ↑ Fabio Mosconi, Alberto Zilli, Renato Spicciarelli, Emanuela Maurizi, Augusto Vigna Taglianti, Paolo Audisio (2014): An overview on the most outstanding Italian endemic moth, Brahmaea (Acanthobrahmaea) europaea (Lepidoptera: Brahmaeidae). Fragmenta entomologica, 46 (1-2): 1-9.
- ↑ Lepiforum.de: Wolfgang A. Nässig on the genus of Brahmaea europaea
Additional information
- Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa (English)
- Fred Graf Hartig / Conte Federico Hartig ( Memento from September 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (Italian)
- Brahmaea (Acanthobrahmaea) europaea at Fauna Europaea