Cowslip Cubes

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Cowslip Cubes
Cowslip cube butterfly (Hamearis lucina)

Cowslip cube butterfly ( Hamearis lucina )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Cube butterfly (Riodinidae)
Subfamily : Euselasiinae
Genre : Hamearis
Type : Cowslip Cubes
Scientific name
Hamearis lucina
( Linnaeus , 1758)
Wing underside

The Hamearis Lucina ( Hamearis lucina ) is a butterfly ( butterfly ) from the family of riodinidae (Riodinidae). It is still unclear whether the dice butterflies should be managed as a subfamily of the bluebells or as an independent family.

features

The moths reach a wingspan of 28 to 34 millimeters. They have a dark brown or black-brown basic color with small red-brown spots arranged in transverse lines. These are always well developed on the front wings, whereas they are sometimes almost displaced by the brown basic color on the hind wings. The undersides of the wings are cinnamon brown. The anterior underside has spots like the upper side, the rear underside has white basal and post-disc spots .

The caterpillars are about 15 millimeters long. They are very hairy and have a short, cylindrical body. They are yellowish light brown with a purple or gray-brown, black-brown spotted back line, which is lined on both sides by a series of small dark spots. The head is yellowish brown and partially retracted into the body of the caterpillar.

distribution

The distribution area extends from central Spain to central Russia . In the north of southern England over all of France , Benelux , south of Friesland over Poland , Belarus to the Baltic states . In the south the distribution area extends over Italy without the islands and with the exception of the south, but with Sicily and the Balkans to the Black Sea . They are common in places in southern and central Europe, but are in decline in many areas. In Greece the species occurs only locally and is absent in the Rhodope Mountains . It is also missing in northern Germany . The moths live in light deciduous forests and bushy terrain, on the edge of moors from the sea coast up to heights of 1,600 meters.

Way of life

Flight time

The moth flies north of the Alps from April to mid-June in one generation, south of the Alps it flies in two generations from March to May and from August to September.

Food of the caterpillars

The caterpillars feed on the leaves of primroses , especially from those of the genuine cowslip ( Primula veris ). Other feeding plants are:

development

The females lay their eggs individually or in small groups on the underside of the forage plant leaves. They are small and grayish and almost spherical. The caterpillars hatch after about 14 days; are nocturnal and hide at the base of their forage plants. At the end of their development, they pupate in a whitish to light brown belt pupa on the ground or the underside of the leaves of the host plants. The animals overwinter as a pupa. Only occasionally do they hatch in autumn. In southern Europe, on the other hand, there is regularly a second generation in the same year; an exception are very hot areas, where the forage plants wither in summer.

Hazard and protection

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d David J. Carter, Brian Hargreaves: Caterpillars and butterflies of Europe and their forage plants . 1st edition. Paul Parey, Hamburg and Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-490-13918-6 , pp. 46 (Original title: A field guide to caterpillars of butterflies and moths in Britain and Europe . Translated by Alexander Pelzer).
  2. ↑ a b c d Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 , p. 134 .
  3. ↑ Manfred Koch , Wolfgang Heinicke: We determine butterflies. 3. Edition. Neumann, Radebeul 1991, ISBN 3-7402-0092-8 .
  4. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .

literature

  • Heiko Bellmann : The new Kosmos butterfly guide, butterflies, caterpillars and forage plants . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-440-09330-1 .
  • Butterflies. 2. Special part: Satyridae, Libytheidae, Lycaenidae, Hesperiidae . In: Günter Ebert, Erwin Rennwald (eds.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 2 . Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1991, ISBN 3-8001-3459-4 .
  • Lionel G. Higgins, Norman D. Rilley: Die Tagfalter Europas und Nordwestafrikas , 1971, (A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Britain and Europe), Verlag Paul Parey, 1970, ISBN 3-490-02418-4
  • Hans-Josef Weidemann: Butterflies: observe, determine . Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89440-115-X .

Web links

Commons : Cowslip Cubes  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files