Rhyacia lucipeta
| Rhyacia lucipeta | ||||||||||||
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Rhyacia lucipeta |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Rhyacia lucipeta | ||||||||||||
| ( Denis & Schiffermüller , 1775) |
Rhyacia lucipeta , seldom also known as the Great Ground Owl , Shiny Earth Owl or Dump Ground Owl , is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of owl butterflies (Noctuidae). The species is rare in Germany and is considered endangered.
features
The wingspan of the moth is 51 to 57 millimeters. The basic color of the upper side of the forewing varies from yellow-brown to sand-colored to green-gray and blue-gray. Ring and kidney defects are clearly marked and outlined in yellow. The strongly jagged, double-drawn, yellow outer transverse line is clearly highlighted. However, the yellow markings of the fresh moths usually fade during the months of flight. The upper sides of the hind wings are yellow-gray to gray-brown in color.
The nocturnal caterpillars are inconspicuously colored gray-brown. The back line is indistinct, a little lighter or a little darker than the basic color. The yellowish side stripes are washed out. Only the black stigmas are noticeable . There are four black, small warts on each segment. The yellow-brown head is somewhat flattened towards the front and has no drawing.
The very slim doll is red-brown. The cremaster is truncated conical and studded with two pointed thorns.
Similar species
Due to the large wingspan of the moths (from 51 to 57 millimeters), the species is very noticeable. It is about the same size as the housemother ( Noctua pronuba ), for example . Lucipeta also differs from the similarly drawn, but less yellow-tinted Rhyacia helvetina in its larger size.
Geographical distribution and habitat
The species occurs in southern and central Europe, however, with large gaps. On the Iberian Peninsula, it occurs only in northern Spain and is completely isolated in the Sierra Nevada . It is also absent in much of western France and the British Isles, as well as most of the Mediterranean islands. In the south, the distribution area reaches northwest Africa (Morocco and Algeria), in the north the Netherlands . Evidence in southern England can be traced back to a migrant butterfly. A report found in the Canary Islands was also corrected. From there, the northern limit of the distribution extends through the northern German low mountain range over southern Poland, southern Ukraine to the Crimea and the Caucasus region. In the southeast the distribution area extends from the Balkan Peninsula through Turkey to Iraq. In the Alps it rises to an altitude of 2000 meters, in other mountains further south it rises to 2800 meters. The main habitat are warm slopes, steppe heathlands, quarries and rubble heaps. In the south of the distribution area it is an exclusively montane species that occurs only in the higher parts of the mountains with sparse vegetation. However, due to their pronounced dispersion behavior , the moths can also be found in distant and atypical habitats.
Way of life
Rhyacia lucipeta forms one generation per year, the moths fly from June to early October. They are nocturnal and rarely come to artificial light sources and also rarely to the bait . During the hottest months, they remain in a summer dormancy . They are therefore mainly observed in August in September. The caterpillars feed on a variety of lower plants such as horn herbs ( Cerastium ), broad-leaved thyme ( Thymus pulegioides ), coltsfoot ( Tussilago farfara ), round-leaved bellflower ( Campanula rotundifolia ) and others. The caterpillars are nocturnal and hide in loose soil during the day. The caterpillars overwinter and pupate in May of the following year, buried up to 10 cm deep in the ground.
Danger
Rhyacia lucipeta occurs in Germany in different frequencies, but is mostly rare. It is classified in Category 2 (critically endangered) on the Red List of Endangered Species .
Taxonomy
Very dark specimens from Turkey probably represent a new subspecies.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Axel Steiner in Steiner and Ebert (1998: pp. 345–347)
- ↑ Red lists at Science4you
- ^ Bergmann (1954: p. 126–128)
- ↑ a b c d e f Fibiger (1993: p. 34/5)
- ↑ a b Forster & Wohlfahrt (1971: p. 22)
- ↑ Lepinet.fr
- ↑ Hantsmoths - The Moths of Hampshire and Isle of Wight
- ↑ Hans Retzlaff: Correction to the article "Rhaycia lucipeta ([DENIS & SCHIFFERMÜLLER], 1775) on the Canary Islands (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae)." Atalanta, 28 (3/4): 335, Würzburg, 1998, ISSN 0171-0079 PDF
- ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany. Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9
literature
- Arno Bergmann: The large butterflies of Central Germany. Volume 4/1: Owls. Distribution, forms and communities. Urania-Verlag, Jena 1954, DNB 450378373 .
- Michael Fibiger: Noctuidae Europaeae. Volume 2 Noctuinae II. 230 p., Entomological Press, Sorø 1993 ISBN 87-89430-02-6
- Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .
- Axel Steiner and Günter Ebert: The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg. Volume 7, Nachtfalter V (Eulen (Noctuidae) 3rd part), Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1998. ISBN 3-8001-3500-0
