Bumblebee nest moth

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bumblebee nest moth
Bumblebee nest moth (Aphomia sociella), female

Bumblebee nest moth ( Aphomia sociella ), female

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : European borer (Pyralidae)
Subfamily : Wax moths (Galleriinae)
Genre : Aphomia
Type : Bumblebee nest moth
Scientific name
Aphomia sociella
( Linnaeus , 1758)

The Bumblebee Nest Motte , also Bumblebee wax moth or bumblebee moth ( Aphomia sociella ) is a ( small ) butterfly from the family of the corn borer (Pyralidae), subfamily wax moths (Galleriinae).

features

Females, with pronounced labial palps

With a wingspan of 18 to 44 millimeters, the adult animal is relatively large for a small butterfly. The adults are gray-brownish in color. Males and females are of different shapes. The male is drawn a little more colorful (in addition to gray tones also green and purple tones on the wing tips). The female is gray-brown with a characteristic dark spot on the middle of each forewing. In addition, it has the typical “whistle nose” that the male lacks. The caterpillars are light gray-yellowish with a red head capsule and a brown neck shield.

Synonyms

  • Aphomia colonella Linnaeus 1758
  • Aphomia eritrella Della Beffa 1941
  • Aphomia pedemontella Della Beffa 1941

Flight and caterpillar times

The moths fly from April to September. They are nocturnal and are occasionally observed in the light. The caterpillars live from August to April. They overwinter in the cocoon and pupate in spring.

Way of life

The adults are nocturnal and can detect bumblebee and wasp nests through their sense of smell. The eggs are laid in the immediate nest area. The young caterpillars hatch after a few days.

  • Cocoons of the bumblebee nest moth

  • Larva in the cocoon

Bumblebee nest with wax moth infestation

The caterpillars of the bumblebee nest moth feed on pantophagus and live mainly in bumblebee or wasp nests. The species belongs to the subfamily Galleriinae ( wax moths ), but in contrast to the two related species, large wax moth ( Galleria mellonella ) and small wax moth ( Achroia grisella ) , it does not need any wax for development. The caterpillars of the bumblebee nest moth feed on refuse in the nests but also largely predatory on the brood. The caterpillars live socially and cover their feeding areas with a dense web that provides protection from the bumblebees and wasps . This web is continuously expanded so that ever larger areas of the nest are separated and taken over by the caterpillars of the bumblebee nest moth. The isolated brood is eaten. The adult caterpillars pupate gregariously within or near the host nest. The individual cocoons lie close to one another and are spun together.

Ecological importance

Wasp and bumblebee nests can be destroyed by the caterpillars within a few weeks. The butterfly itself belongs to the food spectrum of its own hosts (wasps, hornets), as well as to that of many birds, bats and other insect hunters.

In the ecosystem, the bumblebee nest moths clean the bumblebee nesting place so that it can be repopulated by so-called returnees in spring. The moths target bumblebees' nests high above the ground, which are often populated by tree bumblebees. As a rule, tree bumblebees produce their young queens before all other bumblebee species. The destructive work of the moth larvae hardly harms nest development, because bumblebee nest moths only appear and lay eggs at night temperatures of around 11 ° C. Tree bumblebee queens are very good returnees, so that next year they will find a honeycomb-free nesting facility in the same place as their birth nest. The bumblebee nest moths rarely find bumblebees' nests on or in meadows. The bumblebee species that nest there usually take longer to produce young queens. The nest development and reproductive ability of these bumblebee species would be severely disturbed by wax moths. The recycling of these combs is done by other animals.

Influence on bumblebee promotion

The offer to the bumblebee populations to settle in special aboveground bumblebee nest boxes, which act as a substitute for tree holes, mouse nests or matted tufts of grass, enables the moths to find the bumblebee nests more easily than naturally created bumblebee nests because the boxes are usually located within cities in the vicinity of houses and other structures. The nesting aids are mainly populated by bumblebee species that nest underground or near the surface, in which the eggs of one or two female moths would destroy the nest too early, which runs counter to the idea of ​​bumblebee support. The care of bumblebee nesting aids requires regular monitoring of the infestation by the bumblebee nest moths up to the removal of the moth larvae from endangered nests or the use of structural measures (e.g. wax moth flap) to reduce the number of invading moth larvae.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Photos of females and males, taken in Germany
  2. ↑ more photos of the sexes, taken in Denmark and Belgium
  3. ↑ a b Fauna Europaea Web Service, Fauna Europaea version 2017.06, online: https://fauna-eu.org/cdm_dataportal/taxon/68f5e158-90dd-48cf-af14-6aad5efd42bc (accessed on January 16, 2018)
  4. ^ Armin Krenz: Reports. In: arminkrenz.de. Armin Krenz, June 12, 2006, archived from the original on June 13, 2013 ; accessed on April 17, 2020 (pictures of the oviposition).

literature

  • František Slamka: The common moth (Pyraloidea) of Central Europe: determination - distribution - flight area - way of life of the caterpillars . 2nd partially revised edition Bratislava, 1997 ISBN 80-967540-2-5 .
  • Friedrich Schremmer: Wasps and Hornets . Westarp Sciences, 2004, ISBN 3-894-32486-4 .
  • Thomas Kaltenbach, Peter Victor Küppers: Small butterflies. Verlag J. Neudamm-Neudamm, Melsungen 1987, ISBN 3-7888-0510-2 .

Web links

Commons : Hummelnestmotte  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files