Green owl
| Green owl | ||||||||||||
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Green owl ( Calamia tridens ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Calamia tridens | ||||||||||||
| ( Hufnagel , 1775) |
The Calamia tridens , even dry grassland Calamia tridens ( Calamia tridens ), is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of cutworms (Noctuidae).
features
butterfly
The moths have a wingspan of 37 to 41 mm. The newly hatched moths have an intensely green colored fore wing and are therefore unmistakable in Central Europe. Some specimens also have a crescent-shaped, white spot in the middle of the forewing. Occasionally there is also a small discal spot. The wing edges are usually lightened. However, specimens that have been flown off may have almost lost their green color. The hind wings are light white to slightly brownish.
egg
The spherical egg has a strongly flattened base. The outside is covered with numerous, slightly wavy longitudinal ribs. The freshly laid eggs are yellowish and turn reddish-yellow until shortly before they hatch.
Caterpillar
The relatively short and thick caterpillar is dark brown. The light back line is usually very indistinct. The black point warts are hairy. The head of the caterpillar is red-brown, the pronotum brown-black with a red-brown central line.
Doll
The dark brown pupa is relatively slim and dark brown in color. The cremaster has four long bristles.
Similar species
Outwardly, the species cannot be distinguished from its sister species Calamia staudingeri , only the sexual organs of males and females differ. This species is only found in Asia. The exact distribution of this species is not exactly known due to the great similarity with C. tridens .
Geographical distribution and habitat
The species is found in almost all of Europe, from Portugal in the west to the Urals in the east. In the north it occurs as far as southern Scandinavia and southern Finland. But it is largely absent in western France, on the British Isles (an isolated population in Ireland ?) And in the southern parts of the Iberian Peninsula , Italy and Greece , as well as on the Mediterranean islands. In the east the distribution area extends over Asia Minor and southern Kazakhstan to the Altai . The species was first described by Jacob Hübner from the area around Berlin .
The species prefers warm, dry grasslands, steppes or only sparsely forested regions. It does not occur frequently anywhere and is usually only found sporadically. In the Alps , the species occurs up to an altitude of 1800 m.
Way of life
The species forms a generation whose moths fly from July to September. The moths visit z. Sometimes flowers also during the day and are attracted to light at night. The eggs are laid in rows on the host plants. The caterpillars live on annual bluegrass ( Poa annua ), fescue ( Festuca ) and Zwenken ( Brachypodium ). The caterpillars initially live in the stalk, later in a small tube in the ground or in a rope tube on the ground. The egg or the young caterpillar overwinter. The caterpillars mainly feed on and in the roots. They can be found in May and June. Pupation takes place in a light web in the earth.
Danger
The species is classified as potentially endangered or endangered in some German states, e.g. B. in Baden-Württemberg as "highly endangered". In Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein it is also classified as “highly endangered” or “endangered”.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ebert, Steiner, p. 90.
- ↑ Red list (status list).
literature
- Günter Ebert, Axel Steiner: The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg. Volume 7, Moth V, Owls (Noctuidae), Part 3. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-800-13500-0 .
- Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .
- Alberto Zilli, László Ronkay, Michael Fibiger: Noctuidae Europaeae, Volume 8, Apameini. Entomological Press, Sorø 2005, ISBN 87-89430-09-3 .
Web links
- www.lepiforum.de Taxonomy and photos
- Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa (English)
- Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms
- Calamia tridens at Fauna Europaea
- UK Moths by Ian Kimber