Idaea infirmaria
| Idaea infirmaria | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Idaea infirmaria |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Idaea infirmaria | ||||||||||||
| ( Rambur , 1833) |
Idaea infirmaria is a butterfly ( moth ) fromthe Spanner family (Geometridae). It is a typical Mediterranean species.
features
The moths have a wingspan of 13 to 18 mm, exceptionally only 10 mm. The species varies greatly in basic color and pattern. The basic color is light brown, brown-gray, ocher to reddish brown. The inner transverse line and the central band are often not very distinct, sometimes the central band. In contrast, the outer transverse line is always very distinctive. The transverse lines are dark brown, reddish to slightly purple in color. Discal patches are mostly present, but can also be almost absent. The costal edge is increasingly dark in color towards the root. The fringes are often dark brown, almost always darker than the basic color. The forehead is dark brown, the vertex (parting) white, the collar reddish brown. The palps are close, short and dark brown. The proboscis is comparatively short and poorly developed.
Occurrence and habitat
The geographic distribution of the species is markedly Mediterranean and extends from the Iberian Peninsula in the west (except the north) to southern France , the large Mediterranean islands, Italy , the eastern Adriatic coast , Greece with most of the Greek islands to western Asia Minor . The species is absent from Cyprus . A small isolated occurrence is reported from Romania . In North Africa , the distribution extends from Morocco in the west to Tunisia . Here, however, the nominate subspecies is replaced by the subspecies Idaea infirmaria mitescens Scobble, 1999.
Idaea infirmaria is pronounced xerothermophil, i. i.e. it prefers to live in dry and warm habitats, e.g. B. Macchie , loose oak forests, on sun-exposed southern slopes. In the vertical, the species occurs from sea level up to about 1900 meters, in Morocco up to 2600 meters.
Phenology and way of life
The species is usually univoltin , i.e. that is, only one generation is formed per year, which flies from mid-June to the end of July. Under favorable conditions, the first moths can be found at the end of May. At higher altitudes, the flight time can extend to the end of August. Under favorable conditions, an incomplete second generation can form, the moths of which fly from early September to mid-October. The moths are nocturnal and are attracted by artificial light sources.
The extremely sluggish caterpillars grow very slowly and are quite light shy. In breeding under good conditions, the development cycle can, in exceptional cases, “only” last three months. The caterpillars are polyphagous on herbaceous plants and eat fresh, wilted and dry parts of the plant. They are probably specialized in petals and their fruit capsules . So far, caterpillars have been found in the fruit capsules of rock roses ( Cistus ) and in the flowers of the carnation ( Dianthus caryophyllus ). Breeding was also successful with withered leaves of the common dandelion and with the petals of roses ( Rosa ) and common yarrow ( Achillea millefolium ).
Systematics
The species was first scientifically described in 1833 by Jules Pierre Rambur as Dosithoea infirmaria . Thereafter, the species was described under Acidalia carnearia Mann, 1855, Acidalia lederata Guenée, 1858, Acidalia nigrobarbata Staudinger, 1859 and Acidalia aquitanaria Constant, 1865, which are more recent synonyms . Currently, a distinction is made between two subspecies, the nominotypic subspecies Idaea infirmaria infirmaria (Rambur, 1833) and Idaea infirmaria mitescens Scobble, 1999 (Morocco to Tunisia)
swell
literature
- Axel Hausmann: The Geometrid moths of Europe, 2nd Sterrhinae. In A. Hausmann (Ed.): The Geometrid Moths of Europe 2. Apollo Books, Stenstrup 2004, ISBN 87-88757-37-4
Web links
- Idaea infirmaria at Fauna Europaea
- www.lepiforum.de Taxonomy and photos
- Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa (English)