Blackthorn brush spinner
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Blackthorn brush spinner ( Orgyia antiqua ), ♂ |
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| Orgyia antiqua | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The sloe brush spinner , sloe spinner or small brush spinner ( Orgyia antiqua ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the subfamily of the bearer moth (Lymantriinae) within the family of the owl butterflies (Noctuidae).
features
The moths reach a wingspan of 25 to 30 millimeters. There is a strong sexual dimorphism between the two sexes . The males have normally developed wings, which are spotted rust and dark brown. There is a white, dark-edged spot on the inner corner of the forewings. Their antennae are feathered. The females, on the other hand, have almost completely receded wings and a plump body that doesn't have much in common with that of a typical butterfly. Their body is very hairy, gray on top and yellow-green on the underside.
The caterpillars are about 30 millimeters long and are very strikingly colored or hairy. The body has a gray basic color, on the back there are red and black patterned areas. There are several red point warts on each segment that carry long tufts of white hair. On the fourth to seventh segment there are very dense, yellowish to brownish brushes on the back. On the eleventh segment there is a tuft of short brown and long black hair that is directed backwards. Similar tufts are found arranged in pairs on the fifth segment protruding laterally and directed forward on the first.
Occurrence
The animals occur in almost all of Europe , except the far north and parts of the Mediterranean area , east to East Asia and in North America . They are found widespread and often found in forests, in open areas and also in gardens.
Way of life
The moths are diurnal. Males fly around frantically in search of females. After the female has hatched from its cocoon , it sits down on it and secretes pheromones from the ovipositor in order to attract a male. After mating, the female lays all of her white-gray eggs directly on or next to the old cocoon and dies shortly afterwards. The eggs of the first generation hatch relatively soon, those of the second generation overwinter. The caterpillars pupate in a soft, oval, gray-colored cocoon between leaves and twigs.
Flight and caterpillar times
The moths fly in two generations from mid-June to mid-July and from late August to September. The caterpillars are found in May and from late July to August. In cold years only one generation is formed in July, in favorable years there can also be a third in October.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed on numerous deciduous tree and shrub species, such as blackthorn ( Prunus spinosa ), single hawthorn ( Crataegus monogyna ), raspberry ( Rubus idaeus ), rowanberry ( Sorbus aucuparia ), willow ( Salix caprea ), sycamore maple ( Acer pseudoplatanus ) and also of herbaceous plants .
Similar species
- Cornice brush spinner ( Orgyia recens )
photos
Female at the cocoon, on the right the empty pupa shell
Caterpillar from above
Caterpillar from the front
Eggs
L1 caterpillar (2 mm, shortly after hatching) from above
L1 caterpillar (2 mm) from the side
L2 caterpillar (8 mm, after 5–6 weeks)
3. caterpillar stage with exuvia
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Heiko Bellmann : The new Kosmos butterfly guide. Butterflies, caterpillars and forage plants. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-440-09330-1 , pp. 286f.
- ↑ Hans-Josef Weidemann, Jochen Köhler: Moths. Weirdos and hawkers. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-89440-128-1 , pp. 352f.
- ↑ a b Manfred Koch : We identify butterflies. Volume 2: Bears, Spinners, Swarmers and Drills in Germany. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Radebeul / Berlin 1964, DNB 452481929 , p. 86f.
Web links
- Lepiforum e. V. Taxonomy and Photos
- www.schmetterling-raupe.de
- Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa (English)
- Orgyia antiqua at Fauna Europaea