Eichenglucke (butterfly)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mother Oak
Eichenglucke, (Phyllodesma tremulifolia), above male, below female

Eichenglucke, ( Phyllodesma tremulifolia ), above male, below female

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Huckling (Lasiocampidae)
Subfamily : Lasiocampinae
Genre : Phyllodesma
Type : Mother Oak
Scientific name
Phyllodesma tremulifolia
( Huebner , 1810)

The Oak hen ( Phyllodesma tremulifolia ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of clucking (Lasiocampidae). According to the ICZN Gender Agreement, the correct spelling of the scientific name is Phyllodesma tremulifolium .

features

The moths reach a wingspan of 27 to 42 millimeters. They have light reddish brown fore and hind wings that are wavy and serrated on the edges. Because of this, and because of the resting position of the moths, in which the hind wings are pushed forward under the forewings and both pairs of wings are roof-like over the body, the animals look like a dry leaf. Individual gray spots can be seen on the wings, with a gray band near the also slightly grayish rear edge.

The caterpillars are about 80 millimeters long. They are significantly wider than they are tall and have a white-gray or light yellowish-brown basic color. On each segment they have two indistinct light spots, on the second and third segment two bright orange-colored, black horizontal stripes from skin folds can be turned out on the sides. They have white-gray, densely arranged, long hair deep on the sides, which means that the caterpillar is almost invisible when sitting on a branch. Their underside is drawn in black and yellow.

  • Mother Oak

  • egg

  • Egg caterpillar

  • Caterpillar (L2)

  • Caterpillar (L3)

  • female

Similar species

Occurrence

The animals occur in Europe , except in Scandinavia , Great Britain and on the western Atlantic coast . They are rare in Central Europe , they need a warm climate and are therefore more common in the Mediterranean region and the Southern Alps . They live in warm, sparse deciduous forests .

Way of life

The moths are nocturnal and look like clucking when they are at rest . When they sit down, they even move back and forth just like a brooding hen. If the caterpillars are disturbed, they turn out orange folds of skin on their backs as a warning. If this is not enough, they straighten their upper body and rock back and forth, where you can see their yellow-black underside.

Flight and caterpillar times

The moths fly in one generation from late April to early June, the caterpillars are found in July and August.

Food of the caterpillars

The caterpillars feed on deciduous trees and shrubs, especially from European beech ( Fagus sylvatica ), Common Ash ( Fraxinus excelsior ), aspen ( Populus tremula ), goat willow ( Salix caprea ), silver birch ( Betula pendula ), common oak ( Quercus robur ) and other oak species .

development

The eggs are red-brown. The caterpillars that hatch from it pupate in a yellowish cocoon at the end of summer . The pupa overwinters, the butterfly hatches in the following spring.

Hazard and protection

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lepiforum Phyllodesma tremulifolia (HÜBNER, [1810]) - Eichenglucke, section Deviating spellings , accessed on May 15, 2014
  2. ↑ a b c d e Heiko Bellmann : The new cosmos butterfly guide. Butterflies, caterpillars and forage plants. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-440-09330-1 , p. 82.
  3. ^ A b Hans-Josef Weidemann, Jochen Köhler: Moths. Weirdos and hawkers. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-89440-128-1 , pp. 85f.
  4. ^ Phyllodesma tremulifolia. Butterflies-Deutschlands.de, Christian Tolasch, accessed on November 8, 2006 .
  5. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany. Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9

Web links

Commons : Eichenglucke  - Collection of images, videos and audio files