Golden Hair Bark Owl

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Golden Hair Bark Owl
Acronicta auricoma.jpg

Golden-haired bark owl ( Acronicta auricoma )

Systematics
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Superfamily : Noctuoidea
Family : Owl butterfly (Noctuidae)
Subfamily : Acronictinae
Genre : Acronicta
Type : Golden Hair Bark Owl
Scientific name
Acronicta auricoma
( Denis & Schiffermüller , 1775)
Golden hair bark owl caterpillar

The golden-haired bark owl ( Acronicta auricoma ), also called bush heather bark owl , is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the owl butterflies (Noctuidae).

features

The moths reach a wingspan of 34 to 39 millimeters. The forewings vary in basic color from light gray to dark gray. The root line and tornal line are very clearly developed, while the middle line along vein A1 is relatively short. Usually there is a white point ventral to the tornal line. The inner and outer transverse line is jagged and simply drawn in black or only indicated by dots. The outer transverse line is sharply angled between the tornal line and the dorsum and strongly recedes inward. The middle shadow is usually well developed. The hemline is only indicated by very small black dots. The ring blemish is relatively large in most specimens, elliptical and black-edged and with a central black point. The kidney flaw is also bordered in black with a larger black point in the middle. The fringes are light gray with narrow internural lines. The underside of the forewings is gray, while the underside of the hind wings is a bit lighter. The undersides of the fore and hind wings show a not very clearly developed outer transverse line, the hind wing also has a discal spot. The head and thorax are light gray to dark gray in color.

The egg is strongly flattened and cone-shaped. The surface has strong longitudinal ribs. It is light carmine in color, with yellowish spots and a dark carmine ring-shaped stripe.

The caterpillars have a black basic color and numerous orange-colored point warts arranged in transverse rows on each segment, from which short, orange-colored hairs emerge on the top and long, light hairs on the sides. The head is glossy black.

The black-brown colored doll has a blunt cremaster , which is covered with short, straight, thorn-like bristles.

Geographical distribution and habitat

The golden-haired bark owl is widespread in Europe. The only thing missing from the Iberian Peninsula is the extreme south. On the Apennine Peninsula, their occurrence is essentially limited to the Alps and the Apennines up to the level of Calabria. On the Balkan Peninsula, the distribution extends to the far north of Greece with smaller isolated occurrences also in central Greece. It is also absent from most of the Mediterranean islands with the exception of the Balearic Islands. In the north of Scandinavia, the golden-haired bark owl can even be found north of the Arctic Circle. The former occurrence in southern England has been extinct since 1912. However, since then, moths that have probably immigrated have been found there again and again. It is unclear whether a previous occurrence in southern Ireland still exists. In the east the distribution area extends over Russia, Siberia to the Russian Far East , in the south over Asia Minor, Cyprus , the Caucasus region , northern Iran, northern Iraq and Afghanistan to Central Asia.

The animals live on the edge of the forest , in sparse forests and in bushes, in moor and heather areas, forest steppes and also in parks; natural gardens and abandoned cultivated land. In the mountains it rises up to 2000 m above sea level.

Way of life

The golden-haired bark owl forms one generation in the north of its range and two generations per year in the south. In Baden-Württemberg, two generations are formed in almost all regions, only in the high areas of the Black Forest is the second generation significantly less developed and could thus indicate an incomplete second generation. The moths of the first generation fly slightly differently from mid-April to early June, those of the second generation from mid-July to September. The start of flight of the moths can be delayed at higher altitudes until mid-May. The moths are nocturnal and visit flowers (observed on Chrysanthemum vulgare ), but also the bait . You also come across artificial light sources.

Caterpillars are found from June onwards; Depending on the region, the caterpillars have pupated by October or November at the latest and go into hibernation.

The caterpillars feed polyphagously on the leaves of numerous deciduous trees and shrubs, mainly willows ( Salix ) and birches ( Betula ), but also poplars ( Populus ), hornbeams ( Carpinus ), alders ( Alnus ), beeches ( Fagus ), hawthorns ( Crataegus ), Roses ( Rosa ) and Prunus . Ebert et al. (1997) also list around 20 types of herbaceous plant species; Of these, only the genera include: Polygonum ( Polygonum ), Sorrel ( Rumex ), Rubus , meadowsweet ( Filipendula ) Esparsetten ( Onobrychis ), vetch ( Vicia ), spurge ( Euphorbia ), bilberry ( Vaccinium ), heather ( Calluna ) Gilbweiderich ( Lysimachia ), privet ( Ligustrum ), sage ( Salvia ), oregano ( Origanum ), thyme ( Thymus ), mint ( Mentha ), knapweed ( Centaurea ), widow flower ( Knautia ), ragweed ( Senecio ), scraper thistle ( Cirsium ) and? Butterbur ( Petasites ).

Pupation takes place in a light brown web, the pupa hibernates.

Danger

The golden-haired bark owl is currently classified as not endangered in Germany. However, the species seems to be becoming rarer in many areas.

Systematics

Acronicta auricoma is described by Fibiger et al. (2009) assigned to the subgenus Viminia Chapman, 1890, together with Acronicta menyanthidis (Esper, 1789), Acronicta orientalis Mann, 1862, Acronicta rumicis (Linné, 1758), Acronicta euphorbiae (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) and Acronicta cinerea , 1766). There is no distinction between subspecies. There are numerous synonyms .

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Individual evidence

  1. a b Red List
  2. a b c d e Fibiger et al. (2009: p. 49/50)
  3. ^ A b Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .
  4. PDF at www.loughcarra.org ( Memento of the original from September 11, 2011 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.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.loughcarra.org
  5. [1]
  6. Ebert et al. (1997: pp. 42–47)
  7. Markku Savela - Lepidoptera and some other life forms

literature

  • Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg. Volume 6. Moth IV (Noctuidae 2nd part). Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-8001-3482-9 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, László Ronkay, Axel Steiner & Alberto Zilli: Noctuidae Europaeae Volume 11 Pantheinae, Dilobinae, Acronictinae, Eustrotiinae, Nolinae, Bagisarinae, Acontiinae, Metoponiinae, Heliothinae and Bryophilinae. 504 pp., Entomological Press, Sorø 2009 ISBN 978-87-89430-14-0

Web links

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