Little Schiller Butterfly

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Little Schiller Butterfly
Little Schiller Butterfly

Little Schiller Butterfly

Systematics
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Noble butterfly (Nymphalidae)
Subfamily : Common Schiller Butterfly (Apaturinae)
Genre : Apatura
Type : Little Schiller Butterfly
Scientific name
Apatura ilia
( Denis & Schiffermüller , 1775)
Large and small blue butterflies on a frog carcass

The small butterfly butterfly ( Apatura ilia ) is a butterfly (day butterfly ) of the genus Apatura in the family of the noble butterfly (Nymphalidae). It is sometimes referred to as the Aspen Schiller Butterfly. The specific epithet is derived from Ilia , the mother of Romulus and Remus from Roman mythology .

description

The small schiller butterfly resembles the large schiller butterfly ( Apatura iris ) as well as the eastern butterfly butterfly ( Apatura metis ) found in south- eastern Europe . In all three species the male adults show bluish iridescent structural colors on the upper side of the wing dorsally. The small Schiller butterfly reaches a wingspan of 55 to 60 millimeters. This means that the size difference to the Great Schiller Butterfly is so small that it is usually only noticed when the animals can be seen side by side. Both species often occur together in the same locations; they sometimes sit close together when they suck up minerals in puddles or excrement.

On the upper side of the forewing, the Little Schiller Butterfly has a ring-shaped, reddish dark spot that the Big Schiller Butterfly lacks. In addition, the forewings of the Lesser Schillermaid are proportionally somewhat shorter and less pointed. The upper side of the hind wing has a light-colored transverse band near the base and a smaller, eye-shaped spot on the outside, similar to that of the Great Schiller Butterfly. The tip of the antennae of the Lesser Schiller Butterfly is at least a quarter yellow-brown, and of the Greater Schiller Butterfly it is at most the outermost antennae tip.

An important distinguishing feature is the coloration and patterning of the wings on the ventral side, which is not very rich in contrast in the small butterfly. The entire underside of the Greater Schiller Butterfly has a strongly contrasting maroon-white color with a white wedge on the underside of the hind wing, whereas the Lesser Schiller Butterfly is rather faded with a yellow-brown tint.

The Little Schiller Butterfly appears in different morphs. In addition to the more common form ( f. Ilia ), in which the transverse band is white, there is also a reddish variant ( f. Clytie ):

  • Dorsal view ♂

  • △ Anterior view ♂

  • Apatura ilia f. ilia

  • Apatura ilia f. ilia ♀

  • Dorsal view ♂

  • △ Anterior view ♂

  • Apatura ilia f. clytie

  • Apatura ilia f. clytie ♀

Both forms also come as dark variants in which the proportion of light areas is greatly reduced.

Similar species

Flight time

Small butterflies often take up minerals with their proboscis on the ground ( Apatura ilia f. Ilia , ♂)
If light falls on the wing surface at a certain angle, a bluish iridescence can appear
Red variation of the small common butterfly ( Apatura ilia f. Clytie )
Young blue butterfly caterpillar in October

The Little Schiller butterfly flies in Central Europe in one or two generations from June to July and from August to September. In Germany, a second generation is only formed under very favorable climatic conditions.

habitat

The habitat of the small schiller moth includes clearings, aisles and trails in deciduous forests, on the edges of which the fodder plants grow, but also wooded river valleys, especially river banks with occurrences of the white willow Salix alba .

Way of life

After mating, the females lay the eggs on the upper side of the leaf of the forage plant. The freshly laid eggs are greyish in color and shortly afterwards take on the color of the aspen leaf. The caterpillars are very difficult to find due to their camouflage color. Recently, black poplar hybrids and balsam poplar hybrids have also played an increasingly important role in oviposition. The assessment, however, that the cultivation of these non-native, faster-growing hybrid poplars would endanger the species because the females do not distinguish these from native species when laying eggs, but the caterpillars would not be able to eat the thicker and harder leaves, is correct Not to Ebert. "Black poplars and Canadian hybrid poplars do not differ in terms of the mechanical nature of the leaves. Even the balsam-poplar hybrids, which actually have leather-like thick leaves, are not only abundantly covered, but are also suitable, at least to a certain extent as caterpillar food ".

The forage plants of the caterpillars include:

Outside of Central Europe, there are also:

  • White willow ( Salix alba )
  • Salix atrocinerea (Northern Spain)

The caterpillars take on the gray color of the bark for wintering. They hibernate on the branch tips, or on the second or third bud, by clinging to the branch. The proportion of dried out overwinterers is quite high.

The males of the lesser schiller moth are found on strongly smelling substances. These include excrement (dog excrement, horse droppings ) or carrion, from which it sucks the minerals needed to achieve reproductive capabilities. The females, on the other hand, look for food containing carbohydrates. You can find them on the "honeydew" of aphids or on overripe fruits. You can also attract the species with a strong smelling cheese bait.

The species is endangered by the deforestation of alluvial forests and the clearing of poplars and willows on forest paths and inner forest fringes; if there is an overpopulation of caterpillar-eating birds (especially titmice ), the population can decrease significantly.

distribution

The Lesser Schiller butterfly is common in northern Portugal ( Minho ), northern Spain ( Cantabrian Mountains , and provinces of Huesca and Catalonia ). Furthermore from the Pyrenees to Latvia , in the Balkans , in northwest Greece . The species is absent in western northern Germany , Poland , Fennoscandinavia , Great Britain and southern Italy. It can be found at altitudes between 300 and 1300 meters above sea level .

  • Red List FRG: 3
  • Baden-Württemberg Red List: 3
  • Rhineland-Palatinate: 2
  • Red List Saxony: 3

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Arnold Spuler: The butterflies of Europe . tape 1 . E. Schweitzerbartsche Verlagbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1908, p. 14 .
  2. ↑ a b c W. Düring: The Little Schiller Butterfly. In: Species portraits of butterflies in Rhineland-Palatinate. BUND RLP, February 27, 2020, accessed on March 2, 2020 (German).
  3. ↑ Hans-Josef Weidemann: Butterfly: observe, determine . Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89440-115-X .
  4. ↑ Günter Ebert, Erwin Rennwald (ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 1 . Butterflies . 1. General part: systematics, taxonomy and nomenclature, faunistics and ecology, endangerment and protection, data processing; Special part: Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae . Ulmer, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-8001-3451-9 .
  5. ↑ Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 .
  6. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany. Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 978-3-896-24110-8

literature

  • Ekkehard Friedrich: The Schiller butterflies. Apatura iris, A. ilia, A. metis . In: The new Brehm library . 2nd Edition. tape 505 . Westarp Sciences, Magdeburg 1996, ISBN 3-89432-841-X .

Web links

Commons : Kleiner Schillerfalter  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files