Gray bilberry owl

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Gray bilberry owl
Blueberry Owl (Eurois occulta)

Blueberry Owl ( Eurois occulta )

Systematics
Family : Owl butterfly (Noctuidae)
Subfamily : Noctuinae
Tribe : Noctuini
Sub tribus : Noctuina
Genre : Eurois
Type : Gray bilberry owl
Scientific name
Eurois occulta
( Linnaeus , 1758)
Preparation of a blueberry owl

The gray bilberry owl ( Eurois occulta ), also called brown bilberry earth owl , is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the owl butterflies (Noctuidae).

features

With a wingspan of 52 to 64 millimeters, the species is one of the larger species of owl butterfly. The forewings shimmer in various blue-gray, brown-gray or black-gray shades. Cross and wavy lines are executed twice. The oval ring flaws stand out from the background in a strikingly whitish or light gray color, whereas the kidney flaws appear darkened and the cone flaws indistinct. The hind wings are unmarked gray-brown and show conspicuous white fringes.

The light brown egg is spherical with a flattened base. It is finely ribbed crossways and lengthways.

Younger caterpillars are brownish in color and have yellow, sometimes reddish side stripes. In the adult animals, a series of diamond-shaped, black-brown spots clearly stand out from the brown-gray basic color. The back and side back lines are whitish in color and are interrupted.

The pupa is elongated and dark brown in color. The cremaster has two thorns thickened at the end.

Similar species

The moths are particularly distinctive because of their considerable size.

Geographical distribution and habitat

The main distribution area of ​​the gray bilberry owl is northern and central Europe. In an easterly direction, the occurrence extends through Central Asia to the Pacific Ocean . It was also found in Greenland , Iceland and northern regions of North America . In the south, the species occurs in northern Spain and on the Balkan Peninsula.

The species occurs mainly in blueberry forests, bushy moors and on the edges of forests, in the Alps it rises to an altitude of 2000 meters.

Way of life

The species forms one generation per year in Central Europe, the moths of which fly from June to September. The moths are nocturnal and visit the bait . You come across artificial light sources at night . During the day they often rest on tree trunks with close-fitting wings. The caterpillars live polyphagous on various plants from late summer . These include blueberry ( Vaccinium myrtillus ), heather ( Calluna vulgaris ) and blackthorn ( Prunus spinosa ). They overwinter and pupate in a cave in May of the following year.

Danger

The gray bilberry owl occurs in different numbers in the German federal states and is classified in category V on the red list of endangered species (on the warning list).

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Red lists at Science4you
  2. ↑ a b c Fibiger (1993: p. 180/1)
  3. ↑ a b Forster & Wohlfahrt (1971: p. 59/60)
  4. ↑ VM Redondo: Eurois occulta Linnaeus 1758, novedad para la fauna iberica (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae). SHILAP Revista de Lepidopterologia, 12 (3): 258, 1984.
  5. ↑ Mladen Kucinic, Branko Jalzic and Dragan Pelic: Xylocampa areola (Esper, 1789), Eurois occulta (Linnaeus, 1758) and Euxoa decora (Denis & Schiffermuller, 1775), new elements in the noctuid fauna (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of Croatia. Natura Croatica, 7 (3): 213-226, 1998
  6. ↑ I. Dodok: Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) of the Užice region (Western Serbia). Acta entomologica serbica, 8 (1/2): 1-13, 2003 PDF
  7. ↑ Axel Steiner in Ebert (1998: pp. 423-425)
  8. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .

literature

  • Michael Fibiger: Noctuinae II . In: WG Tremewan (Ed.): Noctuidae Europaeae . 1st edition. tape 2 . Entomological Press, Sorø 1993, ISBN 87-89430-02-6 (English).
  • Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 7 . Moth V Noctuidae 3rd part. Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1998, ISBN 3-8001-3500-0 .
  • Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .

Web links

Commons : Blueberry Owl  - Collection of images, videos and audio files