Little fire butterfly
| Little fire butterfly | ||||||||||||
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Little fire butterfly ( Lycaena phlaeas ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lycaena phlaeas | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1761) |
The small copper butterfly ( Lycaena phlaeas ) is a butterfly ( butterfly ) from the family of Gossamer (Lycaenidae).
features
The moths reach a wingspan of 22 to 27 millimeters. In contrast to most other bluebells, both sexes are colored the same. Their forewing tops are orange-red in color and have a broad, dark brown outer edge (hem band). Several dark cube spots can be seen near this edge. The hind wings are dark brown in color and have an orange band just on the outer edge. The edge itself is colored wavy brown and, like the forewings, lightly fringed. The underside of the forewings is colored in a similar way to the upper side, but the brown is replaced by a gray-brown and its coloring is more matte. The underside of the hind wings is brown-gray, has small, black dots and a fine orange dotted band near the outer edge.
The caterpillars are about 15 millimeters long. They are mostly green in color, but sometimes also reddish with a red topline and similarly colored substigmatic lines. But these can also be missing. The caterpillar head is brownish green and withdrawn into the body.
Subspecies
- Lycaena phlaeas polaris Courvoisier, 1911. Found in Lapland and Norway . The subspecies can be found at heights of up to 400 meters and forms a generation a year that flies from mid-June to late July.
- Lycaena phlaeas phlaeoides Staudinger & Rebel, 1901, Madeira ( Portugal ). The subspecies can be found at altitudes of up to 1,800 meters and forms several generations from March to October.
to form
- Lycaena phlaeas f. elea (Fabricius) hind wing lobes less pronounced in females.
- Lycaena phlaeas f. caeruleopunctata (Rühl) Upper surface of the hind wings with blue post- discal spots.
Synonyms
- Papilio timeus CRAMER, [1777]
- Papilio virgaureae SCOPOLI, 1763
Similar species
- Blue iridescent fire butterfly ( Lycaena bright )
Occurrence
The little fire butterfly is a common r-strategist that occurs in large parts of the northern hemisphere. It can be found from northeast North America across Europe and North Africa to the temperate latitudes of Asia and Japan . It lives in a wide variety of habitats, but above all in loosely overgrown and open areas, such as B. in sand pits, on inland dunes , on roadsides, on fallow land and in sandy areas. They are rather rare in chalky areas.
Way of life
The moths suck u. a. on the flowers of the mountain aster ( Aster amellus ), horse mint ( Mentha longifolia ) and pigeon scabiosis ( Scabiosa columbaria ). The male defends his territory against other males and also chases away much larger butterflies such as the peacock butterfly ( Nymphalis io ).
Flight and caterpillar times
The moths fly in three to four, not easily separable generations depending on the region from February or April to the end of October. In Northern Europe they fly in two generations from May to early October. In the Canaries they even fly all year round in many generations. The fourth generation in Central Europe is usually killed by early frost, without it having reproduced.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed on dock ( Rumex spec. ), In Central Europe mainly on the common sorrel ( Rumex acetosella ), but also on the meadow sorrel ( Rumex acetosa ). They are rarely found on the stump-leaved dock ( Rumex obtusifolius ). In hot areas where the dock plants are missing, they give way to bird knotweed ( Polygonum spec. ).
development
The females lay their very small eggs on the underside of the leaves of the forage plants. The caterpillars that hatch from it feed on the underside of the leaf. The last generation hibernates as a young caterpillar, less often than older ones. They only pupate in spring. The pupation takes place on the ground between spun leaves of forage plants in a light brown, black dotted doll. The moths hatch after about four weeks.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Heiko Bellmann : The new Kosmos butterfly guide, butterflies, caterpillars and forage plants . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-440-09330-1 , p. 234 .
- ↑ a b c David J. Carter, Brian Hargreaves: Caterpillars and butterflies of Europe and their forage plants . 1st edition. Paul Parey, Hamburg and Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-490-13918-6 , pp. 41 (Original title: A field guide to caterpillars of butterflies and moths in Britain and Europe . Translated by Alexander Pelzer).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 , p. 69 .
- ↑ a b butterflies. 2. Special part: Satyridae, Libytheidae, Lycaenidae, Hesperiidae . In: Günter Ebert, Erwin Rennwald (eds.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 2 . Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1991, ISBN 3-8001-3459-4 , pp. 205 .
- ↑ Hans-Josef Weidemann: Butterfly: observe, determine . Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89440-115-X , p. 338 .
