Heath brush spinner

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Heath brush spinner
Heath brush spinner (Orgyia antiquoides), male

Heath brush spinner ( Orgyia antiquoides ), male

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Owl butterfly (Noctuidae)
Subfamily : Bearded Moth (Lymantriinae)
Genre : Orgyia
Type : Heath brush spinner
Scientific name
Orgyia antiquoides
( Huebner , 1822)
Doll in the cocoon

The heather brush spinner ( Orgyia antiquoides ), sometimes also found in the literature as Orygia ericae or Teia ericae , is a butterfly ( moth ) from the subfamily of the bearer moth (Lymantriinae) within the owl butterfly family (Noctuidae). Other names are: Heide-Bürstenbinder , Moorheide-Bürstenbinder and Erika-Bürstenbinder .

features

butterfly

There is a strong sexual dimorphism between the two sexes . The males have normally developed wings and reach a wingspan of 20 to 24 millimeters. Their forewing upper side is rust-brown in color, usually lighter in the submarginal region and sometimes slightly gray scales in the middle of the front margin . There is a small, moon-shaped white spot at the inner corner. The upper side of the hind wing is unmarked dark brown. The thorax is furry. The antennae are long and pinnate to the tip. The females have completely receded wings and a plump, cylindrical body that is hairy shaggy white-gray to yellow-gray and reaches a length of 9 to 11 millimeters. Their antennae are very short and finely toothed.

Caterpillar

The basic color of the caterpillars is yellow and has a black topline, as well as colored side stripes and white-gray hairs. The four light yellow to orange yellow back brushes are striking. There are long black hair brushes on the first and last segments.

Similar species

The blackthorn brush spinner ( Orgyia antiqua ) is larger with a wingspan of 25 to 30 millimeters, has a lighter rust brown color in overall appearance and shows a larger white spot on the inner corner of the upper side of the forewing. The corner spot brush spinner ( Orgyia recens ) differs by a light spot near the apex .

Overall distribution and habitat

The heather brush moth occurs in mostly isolated areas from southeast and northern Europe to the Urals . It was also found in Central Asia as far as China . The species prefers to colonize open, boggy heathland.

Way of life

The males, which appear between July and August, are diurnal and usually fly quickly in the afternoon between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. at a height of one to two meters above the vegetation in search of the females. Mating usually takes place within the cocoon , which the females almost never leave. After mating, they lay the eggs in the mirror in the cocoon, which also hibernates there. Skin food plant of the crawler is the heather ( Calluna vulgaris ). Other food plants include: Narrow-leaved cottongrass ( Eriophorum angustifolium ) and bell heather ( Erica tetralix ). Pupation takes place in a web at a low height in the vegetation.

Danger

In Germany, the moths occur mostly locally and rarely in some northern regions. The caterpillars, however, are sometimes found in large numbers. On the Red List the species is "critically endangered" or "threatened with extinction" out.

swell

literature

  • Hans-Josef Weidemann, Jochen Köhler: Moths, Spinners and Swarmers . Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-89440-128-1 , pp. 356-359
  • Josef J. de Freina: The Bombyces and Sphinges of the West Palaearctic. Volume 1. Noctuoidea, Sphingoidea, Geometoidea, Bombycoidea. EFW Edition Research & Science Verlag GmbH, Munich, 1987, ISBN 3-926285-00-1 , pp. 208/209
  • Thomas J. Witt, László Ronkay (Ed.): Noctuidae Europaeae, Volume 13 . Entomological Press, Sorø, Denmark 2011, ISBN 978-87-89430-18-8 , p. 74.
  • Manfred Koch , Wolfgang Heinicke: We identify butterflies. 3. Edition. Neumann, Radebeul 1991, ISBN 3-7402-0092-8 , pp. 86-87.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Josef J. de Freina: The Bombyces and Sphinges of the Western Palaearctic. Volume 1. Noctuoidea, Sphingoidea, Geometoidea, Bombycoidea. EFW Edition Research & Science Verlag GmbH, Munich, 1987, ISBN 3-926285-00-1 , pp. 208/209
  2. ↑ Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 3: Weirdos and Swarmers. (Bombyces and Sphinges). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1960, DNB 456642196 , p. 10.
  3. ↑ caterpillar
  4. ^ A b Hans-Josef Weidemann, Jochen Köhler: Nachtfalter, Spinner und Schwärmer , Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-89440-128-1 , pp. 356-359
  5. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .

Web links

Commons : Heath Brush Spinner  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files