Cleopatra butterfly
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Cleopatra butterfly ( Gonepteryx cleopatra ) |
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| Gonepteryx cleopatra | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1767) |
The Cleopatra butterfly ( Gonepteryx cleopatra ), also known as the Mediterranean brimstone butterfly , is a butterfly (day butterfly ) from the whitefly family (Pieridae). The specific epithet is derived from Cleopatra , the Egyptian queen famous as a beauty .
Appearance, relationship and name
The name Cleopatra-Falter is mentioned in German-language literature, but not used consistently. Alternatively, the butterfly is also called the "southern lemon butterfly" after its closest relative, the lemon butterfly .
The Cleopatra butterfly is regularly the same size as the lemon butterfly. Only the Canarian subspecies are usually significantly larger (forewing length 30–35 mm instead of 25–30 mm). The Cleopatra butterfly differs from the lemon butterfly in the male by the orange-red color on the forewings and generally the more outwardly curved, fuller wing section. The basic color, however, is more whitish-green, specimens with a more yellowish basic color belong to the subspecies massiliensis Foulquier = italica Gerhard (often in the Aegean). The caterpillar of the Cleopatra butterfly is also stronger and more blue-gray in color than that of the native lemon butterfly.
The English and Spanish name of the butterfly is "Cleopatra", the French "Citron de Provence".
Occurrence and way of life
The Cleopatra butterfly is actually a Mediterranean species that is rarely found in Central Europe. It is widespread in the canton of Ticino , in Spain, Portugal, southern France, Italy and the Balkans , in Greece and Turkey eastwards to Syria and on the Mediterranean islands. Various subspecies are native to the Canaries . Actual origin is north-west Africa north of the Sahara (type location: Algeria). Interestingly, despite its name, the butterfly does not occur in Egypt.
The butterfly inhabits open, bushy and rocky terrain up to light bush forests up to 1200, maximum 1600 meters altitude, in North Africa also up to 3000 meters. It appears in a generation from May or June (later at high altitudes) that overwinters as a butterfly. The partly locally specified second generation is questioned. The forage plants are buckthorn species .
Subspecies
The following subspecies are distinguished:
- G. c. cleopatra ( Linnaeus , 1767) - represents the nominate form.
- G. c. maderensis Felder 1862 - native to Madeira - has the special feature that the underside of the wings of the females does not reflect UV light to camouflage them against predators . Males are extensively colored orange. Nevertheless, they resemble the nominate form more than the Canarian subspecies.
- G. c. cleobule Hübner 1825 - on Tenerife
- G. c. palmae trunk 1963 - on La Palma
- G. c. eversi Rehnelt 1974 - on La Gomera
The Canarian subspecies are larger and sometimes even more reddish in color than the other subspecies. The generation succession of these long-lived, almost diapause-free subspecies is unclear.
literature
- Bernard d'Abrera, Butterflies of the Holarctic Region, Part I , Hill House, Victoria 1990, p. 98
- Tom Tolman / Richard Lewington, Collins Butterfly Guide , HarperCollins, London 1997, 2nd edition 2008, pp. 76/77 and 350, German: Die Tagfalter Europäische und Nordwestafrikas , Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, pp. 54–56
- Lionel Higgins / Norman Riley / Walter Forster, Die Tagfalter Europäische und Nordwestafrikas , Paul Parey, Hamburg 1971, 2nd edition 1977, pp. 57–59
- Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 2: Butterflies. (Rhopalocera and Hesperiidae). 3. Edition. Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-440-05278-8 , p. 14.
- Swiss Confederation for Nature Conservation, Butterflies and their Habitats , 3rd edition Basel 1991, pp. 144/145
- Adalbert Seitz , The Big Butterflies of the Earth , Volume I / 1, Paläarktis / Tagfalter, Stuttgart 1906, p. 61 (editor: J. Röber)
Individual evidence
- ^ Arnold Spuler: The butterflies of Europe . tape 1 . E. Schweitzerbartsche Verlagbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1908, p. 11 .
- ↑ Swiss Confederation for Nature Conservation, Butterflies and their Habitats , 3rd edition Basel 1991, p. 144
- ↑ Tolman / Lewington, Die Tagfalter Europäische und Nordwestafrikas , Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, p. 54; Röber, in: Seitz, Die Groß-Butterlinge der Erde, Volume I / 1, Paläarktis / Tagfalter , p. 61 suspects the italica as a summer form, ultimately unexplained.
