Cereal straw owl
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Cereal straw owl ( Mesapamea secalis ) |
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| Mesapamea secalis | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The corn owl ( Mesapamea secalis ) is a butterfly from the family of the owl butterflies (Noctuidae).
features
The moths reach a wingspan of 28 to 35 millimeters. The two “twin species” Mesapamea secalis and Mesapamea secalella , which until 1983 were united in one species ( Mesapamea secalis ), can only be distinguished by a genital examination . Both types are very variable in color. The only form of M. secalis that clearly differs from M. secalella from the outside is the color variant with a white root and border area. In contrast to the M. secalella caterpillar, the M. secalis caterpillar does not have a broad, dark, cephalic stripe on the neck plate.
distribution
The corn owl is native to almost all of Europe. In the east the distribution area extends to the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory . In the south, the species occurs in northwest Africa, Turkey and northern Iran .
Way of life
The very common moth flies from June to September. The caterpillar, which mainly develops inside a blade of grass, on common ball grass ( Dactylis glomerata ) and reed fescue ( Festuca arundinacea ) but also on other types of sweet grass (Poaceae), overwinters. The species is attracted to artificial light sources.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Alberto Zilli, László Ronkay, Michael Fibiger: Apameini . In: WG Tremewan (Ed.): Noctuidae Europaeae . 1st edition. tape 8 . Entomological Press, Sorø 2005, ISBN 87-89430-09-3 , p. 162 (English).
- ↑ a b Lepiforum , Mesapamea secalis; Section: Diagnosis
- ↑ Guide to the moths of Great Britain and Ireland. Mesapamea secalis. (No longer available online.) Ian Kimber, formerly the original ; Retrieved September 6, 2013 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
- Mesapamea secalis in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved September 6, 2013