Compass lettuce owl
| Compass lettuce owl | ||||||||||||
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Compass lettuce owl ( Hecatera dysodea ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Hecatera dysodea | ||||||||||||
| ( Denis & Schiffermüller , 1775) |
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The compass lettuce owl ( Hecatera dysodea ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of owls .
features
butterfly
The moth has a wingspan of 25 to 30 mm. The antennae of the males have short eyelashes, the antennae of the females are thread-shaped. The forewings have two serrated transverse lines, with the outer serrated line being strongly curved. The basic color of the forewings is gray-white with ocher-brown to almost orange-red areas around the blemishes and transverse lines, which, however, are highly variable. The inner side of the hemline also has triangular, often orange-red spots. The middle field is darker with a color tint in olive green. Ring flaws and kidney flaws are outlined in light and black. The hind wings are whitish. The hem areas and a cross line are a bit darker. The discal patch is indistinct.
egg
The whitish egg is spherical, but flattened at the bottom. It has strong, irregular longitudinal ribs.
Caterpillar
The back of the caterpillar is brownish-green with brownish speckles, the belly side is yellowish-green. The topline is relatively thin, bordered by light and dark. The secondary lines are slightly wavy, the side lines yellowish. The caterpillar has a brown-colored head.
Doll
The slender doll is red-brown; the cremaster is conical with protruding bristles.
Geographical distribution and way of life
The species is distributed all over Central Europe to the Urals . It is almost completely absent in Scandinavia, with the exception of Skåne (Sweden). The species was extinct in England at the beginning of the 20th century. It has now repopulated the south ( Kent , Essex ). The northern limit of the distribution stretches further from the Baltic Sea, through the southern part of Lithuania, Belarus, south of Moscow to the Urals. In the south, North Africa forms the limit of distribution. In the east the distribution area extends over the Middle East to Central Asia.
The moths are mainly found on the outskirts or in localities. They prefer dry ruderal areas, industrial wastelands, roadsides, embankments, gardens and parks. In the Alps they rise up to 1400 m.
Way of life
The moths fly from May to August. However, the number of individuals is quite small in the first few months. At the beginning of July the density of individuals suddenly increases and reaches a maximum in the middle of the month. After that, the number of individuals decreases again significantly. It is not yet clear whether the animals flying in August are not a partial second generation. In breeding this is possible by keeping the pupae warm. The caterpillars are usually found from July. They eat on wall lettuce ( Mycelis muralis ), prickly lettuce (also Compass lettuce Lactuca serriola ) Poison lettuce ( Lactuca virosa ), lettuce ( Lactuca sativa ) and Hasenlattich ( Prenanthes purpurea ). They pupate before winter and the pupa hibernates. Or they hatch under favorable conditions in August (2nd generation). The moths are attracted by the light. They were in sucking on buddleia ( Buddleja observed).
Danger
Hecatera dysodea has become much rarer in the last few decades. Ruderal posts are used more and more intensively. The roadsides are mowed too often. For example, in the past two decades the species has become quite numerous in Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmö, Sweden, although the population density has remained relatively low in the vicinity of these cities. This is explained by the higher average temperature of the cities compared to the surrounding area.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ UKMoths by Ian Kimber
- ↑ after Wolfgang Wagner , accessed on August 4, 2008
literature
- Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .
- Hermann Hacker, László Ronkay & Márton Hreblay: Noctuidae Europaeae vol. 4 Hadeninae I . Entomological Press, Sorø 2002 ISBN 87-894-30-07-7 .
- Günter Ebert (Hrsg.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 7: Moths V. 582 S., Verlag Eugen Ulmer ISBN 3-8001-3500-0 .
