Cardinal Sun Owl
| Cardinal Sun Owl | ||||||||||||
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Cardinal Sun Owl ( Heliothis viriplaca ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Heliothis viriplaca | ||||||||||||
| ( Hufnagel , 1766) |
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The cardinal sun owl ( Heliothis viriplaca ) or cardinal owl is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the owl butterflies (Noctuidae).
features
butterfly
The wingspan of the moth is about 28 to 32 millimeters. The basic color of the forewings varies in different yellowish and brownish tones. The middle shadow is always strongly darkened, occasionally colored red-brown and runs relatively straight towards the rear edge. A dark wedge spot can be seen near the apex . Ring, kidney and cone blemishes are blurred or missing. On the yellow hind wings there is a large black central spot and a broad, dark band with a yellow spot directly on the edge. The fringes are colored light yellow.
Caterpillar
Adult caterpillars vary in color from gray-green to yellow-gray to reddish gray and show several wavy, light longitudinal lines. The back, side back and side lines are colored whitish. They also have fine, short, bristle-like hair.
Similar species
Warnecke's heather moor sun owl ( Heliothis maritima ) is distinguished by the central band that tapers very diagonally towards the rear edge, the slightly constricted central shadow and the somewhat narrower front wings.
distribution and habitat
The Cardinal Sun Owl is distributed from northwest Africa and the Canary Islands through almost all of Europe and large parts of Asia to Japan , Korea and Sakhalin . In the south it penetrates to Kashmir and Myanmar . As a migrant butterfly , it also reaches areas in the north of Fennos Scandinavia in some years . North of the Alps , both indigenous and immigrant individuals can be found in some areas. The warmth-loving species occurs mainly on dry grass areas, fallow land, heathland areas as well as on sunny slopes and embankments and the edges of sand and gravel pits.
Way of life
The moths are diurnal and nocturnal, like to visit various flowers in the sunshine and occasionally come to artificial light sources in the evening . They fly in two generations in May and June and in July and August. The caterpillars prefer to feed on the flowers and seeds of many different plants. These include nodding cucumber ( Silene nutans ), white light carnation ( Silene latifolia ), small meadow button ( Sanguisorba minor ) as well as various restorer - ( Ononis ), sweet clover - ( Melilotus ), Artemisia - ( Artemisia ), knapweed - ( Centaurea ), and chicory species ( Cichorium ). The species overwinters as a pupa .
Danger
The frequency of the Cardinal Sun Owl in Germany fluctuates considerably, as other individuals fly in as migrant butterflies in different numbers in addition to the indigenous animals . However, the species is classified as not endangered on the Red List of Endangered Species . Only in Baden-Württemberg is it on the warning list and in the far north as a pure migratory butterfly.
swell
Individual evidence
- ^ Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 6 . Moth IV. Noctuidae 2nd part. Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1997, ISBN 3-8001-3482-9 .
- ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .
literature
- Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 6 . Moth IV. Noctuidae 2nd part. Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1997, ISBN 3-8001-3482-9 .
- Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .
Web links
- Lepiforum eV photos
- www.schmetterlinge-deutschlands.de Endangerment
- Heliothis viriplaca at Fauna Europaea