Fat borer

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Fat borer
Fat borer (Aglossa pinguinalis)

Fat borer ( Aglossa pinguinalis )

Systematics
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Superfamily : Pyraloidea
Family : European borer (Pyralidae)
Subfamily : Pyralinae
Genre : Aglossa
Type : Fat borer
Scientific name
Aglossa pinguinalis
( Linnaeus , 1758)

The fat borer ( Aglossa pinguinalis ) is a (small) butterfly from the family of the borer (Pyralidae). The species is considered a stock pest .

features

The moths have a wingspan of 27 mm (males) or 37 mm (females) (or a fore wing length of 14 to 18 mm). The basic color of the fore wing is whitish-ocher to dark brown-gray with darker over-dusting and darker markings. This consists of two jagged transverse lines with a light and / or dark border. The light border can be widened like spots close to the inner border and close to the costal border. The outer transverse line is heavily bulged in the middle and finely indented. However, the drawing can almost disappear. The hemline is usually clearly drawn as a row of dots. A light / dark discal spot is often formed. The hind wings are gray or whitish-ocher colored. The head, thorax and abdomen are colored gray-brown. The antennas are simple and thread-like (filiform).

The egg is round-egg-shaped with a granular surface. It is dull white or yellowish white in color.

The caterpillar is colored white-gray to dark gray. The head is yellowish-brown to reddish-brown. The thoracic segments are usually slightly darker than the abdominal segments. The stigmata are outlined in black. The bristles, head and anal plates and the thoracic legs are yellowish brown.

The doll is reddish brown. A slight ridge is formed on the back of the thorax segments. The Kremaster is black-brown and has six curved, hook-shaped bristles.

Geographical distribution and habitat

The species is originally widespread in Europe and North Africa, but has since been introduced to tropical regions almost all over the world. They can be found almost exclusively in the human environment, in living spaces such as stables, barns, department stores and warehouses.

Way of life

The moths fly in Europe from May to August. They hide in dark corners during the day and fly at dusk. They rarely come to artificial light sources. If they are found out of their hiding place during the day, they run into a new hiding place. The caterpillars can be found from around July / August to May of the following year. They feed on dry seeds, mostly grass and dried plant material. The caterpillars are said to also eat dead insects, butter, cheese, lard and other fats, hence the name. In breeding experiments, however, the caterpillars refused to use these substances. They live in a twisted tube that is spun over the food particles. The adult caterpillars wander around for a while before pupating. Pupation takes place in an oval, silk cocoon, which is covered with foreign bodies. Occasionally, the development takes two years.

In the natural environment in Spain the larvae are coprophagous , i. H. they eat the dung of larger animals, mostly mammals, which has fallen into burrows or left behind in animal burrows (only 2% of the larvae also eat other food such as dried out mushrooms). First, the caterpillars eat their way into the excrement. Spine tubes are only created after three to six months. The development here takes two years.

Harmful effect

Although the species is traditionally classified as a stored pest on grain products, there are no known cases of major damage, especially since the diet with fats and animal proteins has apparently not been confirmed.

Systematics

The taxon was first scientifically described by Carl von Linné in 1758 as Phalaena Pyralis pinguinalis . It is the type species of the genus Aglossa Latreille , 1796. Previously, three subspecies were eliminated in the literature:

  • Aglossa pinguinalis pinguinalis , the nominate subspecies, in Europe and western North Africa (?)
  • Aglossa pinguinalis asiatica Published in 1872, in Asia Minor, the Middle East, Cyprus, eastern North Africa and Iran
  • Aglossa pinguinalis indistincta Corbet & Tams , 1943, Balochistan and Northwest India .

After GlobIZ and the Fauna Europaea, asiatica Verschoff , 1872, is now regarded as an independent species. indistincta Corbet & Tams , 1943 is placed as a subspecies of Aglossa asiatica .

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Carter (1984: p. 204/5)
  2. ↑ Hannemann (1964: pp. 238, 240)
  3. ↑ Slamka (1997: p. 13)
  4. ^ F. Sánchez Pinero and FJ Pérez López: Coprophagy in Lepidoptera: observational and experimental evidence in the pyralid moth Aglossa pinguinalis. Journal of Zoology, London, 244: 357-362, 1998 doi : 10.1111 / j.1469-7998.1998.tb00040.x
  5. ^ Carl von Linné: Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. 10th edition, Stockholm 1758 Online at SUB Göttingen (description of the species p. 533)
  6. ↑ H. Zerny: Microlepidoptera from the Elburs Mountains in northern Iran. Journal of the Vienna Entomologists Association, 24: 148-149, 1939 PDF
  7. ↑ Georg Mathew: An Inventory of Indian Pyralids (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Zoos Print Journal, 21 (5): 2245-2258, 2006 PDF
  8. ↑ a b GlobIZ - start page
  9. ↑ Fauna Europaea - Aglossa asiatica
  10. ↑ Patrice JA Leraut: Contribution à l'étude des Pyraloidea (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae, Crambidae). Revue française d'Entomologie, NS, 25 (3): 123-142, Paris 2003.

literature

  • David J. Carter: Pest Lepidoptera of Europe with special references to the British Isles. 431 S., Dr. W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht 1984, ISBN 90-6193-504-0 .
  • Karl Eckstein: The butterflies of Germany Volume 5: The small butterflies of Germany. 222 p., KG Lutz Verlag, Stuttgart 1933.
  • Hans-Joachim Hannemann: Small butterflies or Microlepidoptera II. The moths (sl) (Cochylidae and Carposinidae) The moths (Pyraloidea). In: Friedrich Dahl: The animal world of Germany and the adjacent parts of the sea according to their characteristics and their way of life. Part 50., VEB Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena 1964.
  • František Slamka, František Slamka (eds.): The common moth (Pyraloidea) Central Europe. 2nd Edition. Bratislava 1997, ISBN 80-967540-2-5 .

Web links

Commons : Fettzünsler ( Aglossa pinguinalis )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files