Lapara coniferarum
| Lapara coniferarum | ||||||||||||
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Lapara coniferarum |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lapara coniferarum | ||||||||||||
| ( JE Smith , 1797) |
Lapara coniferarum is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of moth (Sphingidae). Some authors, such as Kitching & Cadiou (2000), consider thelarger and less patterned individuals of both sexes to be a separate species, Lapara halicarnie , but Tuttle does not follow this division.
features
The moths have a fore wing length of 28 to 40 millimeters. They look very similar to Lapara bombycoides and are difficult to distinguish from this species. Fresh specimens of Lapara coniferarum have a uniform gray color on the upper side of the forewings, which is lightened by white scales and slightly by delicate spots, whereas the similar species has a distinctly piebald coloring of gray, brown and white. The undersides of the wings of Lapara coniferarum either have no or only extremely weakly developed oblique bands, whereas the similar species has quite clear, white bands on the underside of both pairs of wings. The top of the hind wings is a solid gray. Lapara phaeobrachycerous is rather darker in color and has shorter antennae . In addition, the pattern on the wings of this species is even less pronounced than on Lapara coniferarum .
The type is regional, seasonal and individually very variable. The number of distinct black spots on the upper forewing varies from one to three. The intensity of the white scaling on the forewing tops is also quite variable. A brown spot is on the inner edge of the forewings. This can either be strong or completely absent. The females of Lapara coniferarum are usually larger and less patterned than the males. The adults of the spring generation are also significantly larger than those of the following.
The caterpillars are typically green and have white to yellowish longitudinal lines. Like the moths, they look similar to the caterpillars of Lapara bombycoides . The longitudinal lines of both species can vary from white to yellowish. The intensity of the reddish brown spots on the back and around the spiracles is also variable in both species. Adult Lapara coniferarum caterpillars appear to have mostly orange thoracic legs , whereas the similar species have green thoracic legs.
The smooth, almost black and elongated pupae of the genus Lapara cannot be differentiated at the species level.
Occurrence
The species is distributed from the southeastern United States, west to the Mississippi and further north over Louisiana, Mississippi, the east of Tennessee and Kentucky (here only one record from Brown County (Indiana) from 1978). The northern limit of distribution runs in the hill country of southeastern Ohio, in Pennsylvania and east over southern New York and New Jersey.
The animals inhabit mixed forests in the region around the Appalachian Mountains and the lower Mississippi, where pine trees often grow. Sandy, dry areas with pine vegetation are also populated along the lowlands on the coast.
Way of life
The adults were not observed visiting the flowers. The males often fly to artificial light sources, females are rarely found there.
Flight times
It is not clear how many generations the moths fly in each year. Some authors assume two, others assume up to five, at least in Louisiana. The moths fly from April to September, with the maximum in late summer.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars eat various types of pine , such as swamp pines ( Pinus palustris ) and frankincense pines ( Pinus taeda ), but have also been found on cypresses ( Cupressus ).
development
The females lay their translucent pale green eggs one by one near the base of the needles of the host plants. The caterpillars hatch after eight to ten days. Pupation takes place in a chamber just below the surface of the earth, which is reinforced a little by silk threads.
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ^ Ian J. Kitching, Jean-Marie Cadiou: Hawkmoths of the World. An Annotated and Illustrated Revisionary Checklist (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). Cornell University Press, New York 2000, ISBN 0-8014-3734-2
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l James P. Tuttle: The Hawkmoths of North America, A Natural History Study of the Sphingidae of the United States and Canada. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation, Washington, DC 2007, ISBN 978-0-9796633-0-7 .
- ↑ a b c d Sphingidae of the Americas. Bill Oehlke, accessed August 21, 2012 .
literature
- James P. Tuttle: The Hawkmoths of North America, A Natural History Study of the Sphingidae of the United States and Canada. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation, Washington, DC 2007, ISBN 978-0-9796633-0-7 .
