Gynaephora groenlandica
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Gynaephora groenlandica , caterpillar |
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| Gynaephora groenlandica | ||||||||||||
| ( Wocke 1874) |
Gynaephora groenlandica is a butterfly ( moth ) from the subfamily of the bearded moth (Lymantriinae).
features
butterfly
The males reach a wingspan of 35 to 38 millimeters, the females 40 to 46 millimeters. In both sexes, the color of the upper surface of the forewings, which is poor in drawing, is light gray, sometimes slightly marbled with dark gray. The upper side of the hind wing is colored white-gray. All wings are parchment-like, ie very thinly scaled and each show a more or less pronounced, blackish, crescent-shaped discoidal spot . The antennae of the males are strongly ciliated.
Caterpillar
The caterpillars are yellow-brown to red-brown in color and very long and densely hairy. The thick coat is essential for survival in the arctic winter. In the middle segments they show more or less pronounced tufts of yellow hair.
Similar species
Gynaephora rossii inhabits somewhat more moderate climates. In the few regions in which this species occurs together with Gynaephora groenlandica , a differentiation is possible using DNA barcoding .
Occurrence
Gynaephora groenlandica occurs in the high Arctic belt of Canada and Greenland and on Wrangel Island . Some isolated finds have also been reported from areas further south in the Yukon Territory .
Way of life
The diurnal moths only fly for a short time during the arctic summer, mostly in July and August. The females are capable of flying, but very sluggish. The species takes seven years to develop. This is due to the fact that the caterpillars only eat for about three to four weeks per year on the food plants, which only produce the nutritious ingredients required by the caterpillars in this short time frame. Older information that mentions a development time of 14 years could not currently be confirmed. The caterpillars spend their resting time in a hibernarium . They are so well protected with their thick coat of hair that they can withstand temperatures as low as −70 ° C. As an anti-freeze agent , they also form glycerine . The main food plant of the caterpillars is the arctic willow (Salix arctica).
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Isabel C. Barrio, B. Christian Schmidt, Sydney Cannings & David S. Hik: First Records of the Arctic Moth Gynaephora groenlandica (Wocke) South of the Arctic Circle: A New Alpine Subspecies , Arctic, Vol. 66, No. . 4, 2013, pp. 429-434
- ↑ Olga L. Makarova, AV Sviridov & Maxim Klepikov: Lepidoptera (Insecta) of polar deserts , Entomological Review 93 (2), 2013, pp. 225-239
- ^ Dean Morewood & Richard A. Ring: Revision of the life history of the High Arctic moth Gynaephora groenlandica (Wocke) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) , Canadian Journal of Zoology 76 (3), 1998, pp. 1371-1381
- ↑ Olga Kukal, Bernd Heinrich & John G Duman: Behavioral Thermoregulation in the Freeze-Tolerant Arctic Caterpillar, Gynaephora groenlandica , Journal of experimental Biology 138, 1988, pp 181-193
Web links
- inaturalist.org - flight time and photos
- researchgate.net - adults
- itis.gov - taxonomy
- funet.fi - occurrence