Junonia hierta

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Junonia hierta
Junonia hierta, female

Junonia hierta , female

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Noble butterfly (Nymphalidae)
Subfamily : Spotted butterfly (Nymphalinae)
Genre : Junonia
Type : Junonia hierta
Scientific name
Junonia hierta
( Fabricius , 1798)
male
Wing underside

Junonia Hierta is occurring in Africa and Asia Butterfly ( butterfly ) from the family of Nymphalidae (Nymphalidae).

description

butterfly

The wingspan of the moth is on average 43 to 45 millimeters. There is little sexual dimorphism . The basic color of the upper sides of the wings in both sexes is yellow to yellow-orange. Apex , basal region and the region on the inner edge of the upper fore wing are dark brown. Only the females show a black, blue-seeded eye spot on the inner corner of the forewings and another very small one on the hind wings. Noticeable is a large blue to purple shimmering spot on a dark brown background on the front edge of the upper side of the hind wing. The underside of the forewings is yellow-brown in both sexes, the underside of the hind wings is marbled light gray-brown.

Pre-imaginal stages

The eggs are laid individually on the leaves or shoots of the host plants. They are greenish in color, spherical, flattened at the tip and have a diameter of about 0.6 millimeters. The surface is covered with 12 to 16 longitudinal ribs. After about three days, the caterpillar hatches from the egg. The young caterpillar first eats the egg shell. It is initially light brown, in the second stage dark brown in color. When fully grown, it takes on a purple-black color and shows many black branched thorns on the body surface. The first body segment behind the black head is yellowish in color. The pupa is designed as a falling pupa and hangs on branches or petioles. It is dark gray-brown in color and has a series of dorsolateral pairs of short and pointed processes on each segment.

Similar species

The moths of Junonia hierta are unmistakable due to their very distinctive drawing.

distribution and habitat

Junonia hierta occurs on the entire African continent including the Arabian Peninsula as well as on Madagascar and the Seychelles . The species also colonizes South and Southeast Asia as far as China . Four subspecies are named. The species can be found on grasslands, savannas and mountain slopes as well as in gardens and parks.

Way of life

The moths fly in several generations throughout the year, mainly in May. They like to visit flowers to take in nectar. However, they have also been seen sucking on fresh elephant droppings , where they ingested fluids and minerals. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of various acanthus plants .

Danger

Junonia hierta is not uncommon in its range and is therefore classified by the IUCN on the Red List of Endangered Species as “ Least Concern ”.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Mark C. Williams: Afrotropical Butterflies, Genus Junonia , 17th edition, 2018, pp. 6-10 ( http://www.metamorphosis.org.za/articlesPDF/1140/176%20Genus%20Junonia%20Huebner. pdf )
  2. ↑ Markku Savela: Junonia Hübner, [1819] - distribution. In: Lepidoptera and some other life forms. Retrieved May 16, 2019 .
  3. ↑ flight times
  4. ↑ Food plants
  5. ↑ Yellow Pansy on the Red List

Web links

Commons : Junonia hierta  - collection of images, videos and audio files