Little heather owl
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Little heather owl ( Lycophotia porphyrea ) |
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| Lycophotia porphyrea | ||||||||||||
| ( Denis & Schiffermüller , 1775) |
The little heather owl ( Lycophotia porphyrea ), also called porphyry owl , is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the owl butterflies (Noctuidae).
features
butterfly
With a wingspan of 24 to 34 millimeters, the animals are one of the smaller owl butterfly species. The forewings are mostly red-brown in color, but can also shimmer purple (porphyry) and light brown or black-brown. Inner and outer transverse lines stand out clearly from the ground in white. The wavy line, which is also white, is usually weaker. The pattern of white drawing elements occasionally appears in knot shapes, which is why the type is called " True Lover's Knot " in English . The white flaws appear in dots, while the light kidney flaws are dark inside. The border area contains a dense series of white or black points between which some dark lines can be seen. The hind wings are colored gray without drawing.
Egg, caterpillar and pupa
The egg is white in color, has a hemispherical shape with a flattened base and is heavily ribbed. Adult caterpillars are colored in different shades of brown. They are particularly characterized by the broad, yellow-white and dark bordered back and side back lines interrupted at the segment incisions. Occasionally these lines also run continuously. The squat doll is black-red-brown with a very small cremaster on which two short, curved bristles stand.
Similar species
Due to the distinctive drawing, the butterflies and caterpillars are unmistakable.
Geographical distribution and habitat
The species is distributed across a wide range through Northern, Central and Eastern Europe to Russia (to the Urals). In the south, the distribution limit runs through northern Spain and northern Portugal, northern Italy, Macedonia, Bulgaria and northern Greece. In the mountains it can still be found at heights of over 2000 meters. The lesser heather owl prefers warm heather areas, moors, sunny slopes and forest edges, often on sandy soils.
Way of life
The main flight time of the mostly nocturnal moths, which fly in one generation per year, are the months of June to August. They like to come to artificial light sources , more rarely to the bait . Occasionally they can also be found on flowers during the day, such as those of arnica ( Arnica montana ). The caterpillars live from September, overwinter and pupate in May of the following year. They feed mainly of heather ( Calluna vulgaris ) and other heather species ( Erica ). In spring they live hidden during the day and feed at night. They pupate in the ground or between parts of plants in a light cocoon.
Danger
The little heather owl occurs sporadically or frequently in most federal states in Germany and is listed on the red list of endangered species as not endangered.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ Red lists at Science4you
- ↑ Fibiger (1993: pp. 119–120)
- ↑ a b Forster & Wohlfahrt (1971: p. 45)
- ↑ Lycophotia porphyrea - doll ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Axel Steiner in Steiner & Ebert (1998: pp. 389–391)
- ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .
literature
- Michael Fibiger: Noctuinae II . In: WG Tremewan (Ed.): Noctuidae Europaeae . 1st edition. tape 2 . Entomological Press, Sorø 1993, ISBN 87-89430-02-6 (English).
- Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 7 . Moth V Noctuidae 3rd part. Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1998, ISBN 3-8001-3500-0 .
- 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
- www.schmetterling-raupe.de
- Lycophotia porphyrea in Fauna Europaea