Euxoa birivia
| Euxoa birivia | ||||||||||||
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Euxoa birivia |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Euxoa birivia | ||||||||||||
| ( Denis & Schiffermüller , 1775) |
Euxoa birivia , sometimes and uncommonly also called lead-gray earth owl , is a butterfly ( moth ) fromthe owl butterfly family (Noctuidae).
features
The moths have a wingspan of 34 to 41 millimeters. The forewings are lead gray on the upper side. Cross lines and blemishes are drawn light gray or slightly yellow, often indistinct. The basic color and pattern vary only slightly. In contrast, the shape of the wing is surprisingly variable.
The spherical egg measures 0.8 millimeters in diameter. It is dirty yellowish white in color. Its surface is weakly longitudinally ribbed.
The egg caterpillar (L1) has a slender habit. It is yellowish white and has several orange-colored wavy longitudinal bands and lines on the back. These become stronger towards the rear end. The head and neck shield are glossy black. The anal shield and the attachment points of the bristles are gray-brown. In the L3 stage, the caterpillar is dirty gray-green. The orange longitudinal lines and bands on the back are washed out and rather indistinct. The head and neck shield are shiny yellow ocher.
The adult caterpillar (L5) becomes about 40 millimeters long. It is a dirty gray and has indistinct white longitudinal lines on the back. The head is light beige with a slightly darker mesh. The neck shield is translucent, light beige-brown in color, as is the anal shield.
The pupa reaches a length of 18 to 20 millimeters. It is light yellowish brown in color, appears thin-skinned and is translucent. The rings of the abdominal segments are laid out in a darker brown. The cremaster is studded with two short, straight thorns.
Similar species
With fresh butterflies, confusion is hardly possible due to the lead-gray basic color with light gray markings with Euxoa decora , which has a gray basic color with sometimes darker markings.
Geographical distribution and habitat
Euxoa birivia populates the Alps and pre-Alpine areas of France (including the high regions of Corsica), Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Austria. The species is represented in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, southern Poland, northern Croatia and Hungary as well as the Carpathian Mountains in Romania and in the Balkan Mountains of Serbia and northern Albania. In the east, the distribution area stretches across the Crimea to southern Russia (Karachay-Cherkessia), the Caucasus region , Armenia to Central Asia ( Ili region, Kazakhstan , Issyk-Kul , Kyrgyzstan ). In the south, it extends from Turkey to Iran . Bernd Schacht also mentions China and Syria, but without literature references.
The habitat of Euxoa birivia is very special and includes open biotopes such as dry grasslands, rock steppes, dry streams and rivers with grass cover, each with sandy-loamy soil in more mountainous regions. The few sites in Baden-Württemberg are between 500 and 800 meters above sea level. The site in Karachay-Cherkessia in southern Russia is at an altitude of 1200 meters. The lake level of Issyk-Kul in Kazakhstan is over 1600 meters above sea level.
Way of life
Euxoa birivia is univoltin ; d. H. only one generation is formed each year. The moths fly from mid-July to late August. The moths often fly far around in search of a suitable area and are occasionally observed in deciduous forests, localities and cultivated land, i.e. far away from their actual habitat. They fly to artificial light sources and also get the bait . The eggs are laid in small groups in sandy-loamy soil. To do this, the female digs small depressions in the ground; after the eggs are laid, the eggs are covered with earth. Although these observations come from breeding, they should also apply in nature. Very little is known about the diet of the caterpillars. It is believed that they live on grass roots. In breeding, the caterpillars also ate endive . After the breeding observations they are nocturnal and very light shy. In the last larval stage, the animals lived almost exclusively in the ground and only came to the surface at night to eat or to pull plant parts into their tunnels in the ground. Adult caterpillars also adopted dandelions . The species probably overwinters as a caterpillar in the egg. The observations come from breeding and must be supplemented by field observations. In view of the large distribution area, regional differences are also conceivable.
development
In breeding trials on specimens from East Tyrol, the egg caterpillars (L1) were fully developed in the egg after 14 days. Despite changes in temperature and humidity, which can trigger the hatching of the egg caterpillars in other Euxoa species, the egg caterpillars no longer hatched in autumn. After a shortened hibernation of 150 days, the egg caterpillars hatched in spring. The development time from the L1 stage to the L5 stage was only 30 days. The pre-pupal phase to pupation lasted only 10 days. The pupae resting until the moths hatched lasted 26 days. The total duration of development was 230 days; However, the shortened winter dormancy due to breeding must be taken into account. The data apply to "room temperature".
Danger
In Germany, Euxoa birivia is on the early warning list. In Baden-Württemberg the species is either extinct or missing.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Red Lists at Science4you
- ↑ Fibiger (1990: p. 58/9)
- ↑ a b A. V. Sviridov, TA Trofimova, MV Uskov, AV Mukhanov, LE Lobkova, VI Shchurov, EV Shutova, IV Kuznetsov, Yu. A. Lovtsova, PN Korzhov, VS Okulov, MA Klepikov: Noctuid Moths (Lepidoptera) new for different areas of the Russia. 2. Eversmannia, 7/8: 46-68, 2006 PDF
- ↑ Euxoa birivia on noctuidae.de - website by Bernd Schacht ( Memento of the original from January 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c Helmut Deutsch: Euxoa birivia (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775): Comments on the biology and description of the pre-imaginal stages (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Nota lepidopterologica, 14 (1): 7-14, 1991 ISSN 0342-7536
- ↑ a b Axel Steiner in Steiner & Ebert (1998: pp. 501–503)
- ^ Forster & Wohlfahrt (1971: p. 11)
- ↑ G. Ebert, A. Hofmann, O. Karbiener, J.-U. Meineke, A. Steiner, R. Trusch, (2008): Red List and Species Directory of Large Butterflies in Baden-Württemberg (2004). LUBW online publication as an Excel spreadsheet ( memento of the original from June 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
literature
- Michael Fibiger: noctuinae I . In: WG Tremewan (Ed.): Noctuidae Europaeae . 1st edition. tape 1 . Entomological Press, Sorø 1990, ISBN 87-89430-01-8 (English).
- Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .
- Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 7 . Moth V Noctuidae 3rd part. Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1998, ISBN 3-8001-3500-0 .
Web links
- www.lepiforum.de - Taxonomy and photos
- Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
- www.biolib.cz
- Euxoa birivia at Fauna Europaea. Retrieved December 11, 2010