Wood bark owl

Wood bark owl
	Wood bark owl ( Egira conspicillaris )
Systematics
Order :	Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family :	Owl butterfly (Noctuidae)
Subfamily :	Hadeninae
Tribe :	Orthosiini
Genre :	Egira
Type :	Wood bark owl
Scientific name
	Egira conspicillaris
	( Linnaeus , 1758)

The wood bark owl ( Egira conspicillaris ), also known as the gorse wood bark owl , is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the owl butterflies (Noctuidae).

features

butterfly

With a wingspan of 36 to 44 millimeters, the species is one of the medium-sized owl butterfly species. The fore wings are narrow and elongated. A slight constriction can be seen on the outer edge. There is a wide range of variation in terms of coloration. There are pale light brown specimens without distinctive drawing elements as well as black-brown tinted animals with clear white fields close to the apex and between the inner corner and middle field in the inner edge area. The last-mentioned color variant occurs particularly in the female butterflies. The hind wings shimmer silky white and let the dark veins stand out clearly.

Egg, caterpillar, pupa

The hemispherical egg is colored chalk white, but reddish yellow at the upper pole. The surface is provided with weak ribs.

Young caterpillars are greenish in color. Adult animals change their color to brownish, are lightly speckled and have a wide, light side stripe.

The squat doll has a reddish brown tint and a blunt cremaster with two short tips and two curved thorns.

Similar species

Egira tibori is distinguished by its slightly wider fore wings.
Egira anatolica shows drawing elements that are richer in contrast.

The differences to Egira conspicillaris are small in the two aforementioned species, but a reliable determination can be made by genital morphological analysis.

Geographical distribution and habitat

The wood bark owl is common in Europe from the Iberian Peninsula eastwards to Russia. In the north it occurs to the Baltic States, in the south to North Africa. The area extends from there through the Mediterranean to the Middle East and the Caspian Sea . In the Alps it can still be found at altitudes of around 1600 meters. The main habitat are heather areas, clearings, forest edges as well as gardens and parklands.

Way of life

The nocturnal moths fly in one generation in April and May and visit artificial light sources as well as bait and blooming pussy willows . Occasionally they have also been observed sucking butterfly lilacs ( Buddleja davidii ). The caterpillars live from May to July and prefer to feed on dyer's gorse ( Genista tinctoria ), broom broom ( Cytisus scoparius ) or clematis ( Clematis vitalba ). They overwinter as a doll.

Danger

In Germany the wood bark owl is widespread and not uncommon in some areas. It is therefore listed as not endangered on the Red List of Endangered Species .

swell

Individual evidence

↑ Lázló Ronkay, José Luis Yela & Márton Hreblay: Hadeninae II . In: Michael Fibiger, Martin Honey (Ed.): Noctuidae Europaeae . tape 5 . Entomological Press, Sorø 2001, ISBN 87-89430-06-9 (English).
^ ^A ^b Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .
↑ ^a ^b 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 .
↑ Manfred Koch : We identify butterflies. Volume 3: Owls. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Leipzig / Radebeul 1972, DNB 760072930 .
↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .

literature

Lázló Ronkay, José Luis Yela & Márton Hreblay: Hadeninae II . In: Michael Fibiger, Martin Honey (Ed.): Noctuidae Europaeae . tape 5 . Entomological Press, Sorø 2001, ISBN 87-89430-06-9 (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 .

Web links

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

Lepiforum eV photos
www.schmetterlinge-deutschlands.de Endangerment
Egira conspicillaris at Fauna Europaea

[Ronkay-1] Lázló Ronkay, José Luis Yela & Márton Hreblay: Hadeninae II . In: Michael Fibiger, Martin Honey (Ed.): Noctuidae Europaeae . tape 5 . Entomological Press, Sorø 2001, ISBN 87-89430-06-9 (English).

[Forster-2] A ^b Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .

[Ebert-3] 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 .

[Koch-4] Manfred Koch : We identify butterflies. Volume 3: Owls. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Leipzig / Radebeul 1972, DNB 760072930 .

[BuNa-5] Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .