Yellow-winged Lawn Owl

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Yellow-winged Lawn Owl
Straw underwing. Thalpophila matura - Flickr - gailhampshire (1) .jpg

Yellow-winged Lawn Owl ( Thalpophila matura )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Owl butterfly (Noctuidae)
Subfamily : Xyleninae
Genre : Thalpophila
Type : Yellow-winged Lawn Owl
Scientific name
Thalpophila matura
( Hufnagel , 1766)

The straw underwing ( Thalpophila maturation ) or Yellow Wing Wieseneule is a moth from the family of cutworms (Noctuidae).

features

butterfly

The wingspan of the moth is 38 to 44 millimeters. On the forewings , the color varies from yellow-brown or gray-brown to reddish brown to dark brown. The transverse lines are bordered in white. Ring and kidney defects usually stand out indistinctly. Characteristic is the color of the hind wings, which shimmer white-yellow to straw-yellow, which is why the species also bears the English name " Straw underwing ". They also show a black band, but no center point.

Caterpillar

Adult caterpillars are brownish to yellow-gray in color. The black, interrupted back stripe shows a light center line. Bluish-white tires can often be seen on the underside.

Similar species

  • Thalpophila vitalba has a more distinctive drawing with clearly highlighted white veins on the forewings and paler colored hindwings. Since it occurs mainly on the Iberian Peninsula and Sicily , there is hardly any geographical overlap with matura .
  • Olive bula xanthochloris is larger, has brightly filled kidney defects and indistinct transverse lines.
  • The variegated privet owl ( Polyphaenis sericata ) differs in its greenish dustiness on the front wings and the more orange-yellow hind wings, which also have a central spot.

distribution and habitat

The species is distributed from northwest Africa through southern and central Europe. In the north, it is found in parts of Scotland , Sweden , Norway , Finland and Estonia . Further to the east the distribution area extends from southern Russia and Asia Minor to the Caucasus . The yellow-winged lawn owl prefers dry grassland biotopes, forest edges and park landscapes. The very active moths can also be found far outside of their actual habitat.

Way of life

The moths are crepuscular and nocturnal and appear in artificial light sources and very much like on bait , but have also been observed when visiting tansy flowers ( Tanacetum vulgare ). They fly in one generation from June to September. The caterpillars feed on different types of grass, for example meadow fescue ( Festuca pratensis ) as well as pipe grass ( Molinia ) and sweet grass species (Poaceae). They overwinter on the ground and pupate deep in the earth.

Danger

The yellow-winged lawn owl occurs in different frequencies in Germany and is not considered endangered.

  • Detail of the front body

  • Caterpillar

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Fibiger, Hermann Hacker: Amphipyrinae, Condicinae, Eriopinae, Xyleninae (part) . In: Michael Fibiger, László Ronkay, Barry Goater, Martin Honey (eds.): Noctuidae Europaeae . tape 9 . Entomological Press, Sorø 2007, ISBN 978-87-89430-11-9 (English).
  2. ↑ a b c Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 6 . Moth IV. Noctuidae 2nd part. Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1997, ISBN 3-8001-3482-9 .
  3. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .

literature

  • Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 6 . Moth IV. Noctuidae 2nd part. Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1997, ISBN 3-8001-3482-9 .
  • Michael Fibiger, Hermann Hacker: Amphipyrinae, Condicinae, Eriopinae, Xyleninae (part) . In: Michael Fibiger, László Ronkay, Barry Goater, Martin Honey (eds.): Noctuidae Europaeae . tape 9 . Entomological Press, Sorø 2007, ISBN 978-87-89430-11-9 (English).

Web links

Commons : Yellow-winged Lawn Owl  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files