Blue iridescent fire butterfly

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Blue iridescent fire butterfly
Blue iridescent fire butterfly ♀ (Lycaena bright)

Blue iridescent fire butterfly ♀ ( Lycaena bright )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Bluebirds (Lycaenidae)
Subfamily : Lycaeninae
Genre : Lycaena
Type : Blue iridescent fire butterfly
Scientific name
Lycaena bright
( Denis & Schiffermüller , 1775)
Shimmering blue fire butterfly ♂
Wing undersides, sitting here on a snake knotweed

The blue-iridescent fire butterfly ( Lycaena helle ) is a butterfly (day butterfly ) from the family of the bluebells (Lycaenidae).

features

The moths have a fore wing length of only 12 to 14 millimeters. See the butterflies the small copper butterfly ( Lycaena phlaeas ) quite similar and include him among the smallest fire moths. It owes its name to a blue or violet shimmer, which in the male extends over the entire wing surface and in the female butterfly only over the edge areas. The undersides of the wings of the butterflies are colored bright orange and show a pattern of black dots and white crescent moons. The moths that occur in Fennoscandia have a less pronounced color on the upper sides of the wings.

Similar species

Occurrence

The blue iridescent fire butterfly is a boreal species and occurs only locally in Europe in small populations, but with a high population density. The total distribution area ranges from northern and central Europe via Russia and Siberia to the Amur . In Europe it occurs in the east of the French Pyrenees , in the north-west of Switzerland , in the south of Belgium , in the Hohes Venn-Eifel nature reserve , in southern Germany and in Poland . The species is extinct in Latvia . You can find them up to an altitude of 1,800 meters. They live on wet meadows , mostly near rivers, lakes and raised bogs , with large stocks of caterpillar fodder plants.

Way of life

The animals fly to the species with a high population density during the flowering period of the marsh marigold ( Caltha palustris ) and the meadow foam herb ( Cardamine pratensis ).

Flight and caterpillar times

The moths fly in one generation from May to July, depending on the region.

Food of the caterpillars

The caterpillars of Central Europe feed on the snake knotweed ( Persicaria bistorta ), the caterpillars in Fennoscandinavia eat nodular knotweed ( Persicaria vivipara ).

development

The females lay their eggs individually on the underside of the leaves of the forage plants. The young caterpillars are perfectly adapted due to their whitish to light gray color, eat a characteristic pattern on the underside of the leaves and leave a layer of the cuticle as a window. With advancing age, the caterpillars take on an increasingly green color and then feed on the upper side of the leaf. The pupae are small, whitish-gray in color and are attached to leaves or dry stems. The blue iridescent fire butterfly pupae are the only species of fire butterfly that overwinter.

Hazard and protection

The species is endangered by the drainage and forestation of wet meadows and in some cases threatened with extinction. That is why it is listed as "strictly protected" in the Federal Species Protection Ordinance. In addition, the species also enjoys special protection status under European law and is listed in Appendices II ("Species of community interest, for the conservation of which special protection areas must be designated") and IV ("Species of community interest to be strictly protected") of the fauna-flora-habitat -Directive of the EU . In Germany it is listed in the Red List of Endangered Species as critically endangered (Category 1), in several federal states the species is already listed as extinct. In Austria the species is classified as "critically endangered" (CR).

credentials

  1. ↑ a b c d Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 , p. 69 .
  2. ↑ Butterfly. 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. 200 .
  3. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 , p. 95 .
  4. ↑ Butterflies of Germany, online http://www.schmetterlinge-deutschlands.de/verbindungenfam.php?fam=Lycaenidae&erster=7035 (accessed on January 16, 2013)
  5. ^ Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (Ed.): Red Lists of Endangered Animals Austria. Checklists, risk analyzes, need for action. Part 1: Mammals, birds, grasshoppers, water beetles, netflies, beaked flies, Tagfalter Böhlau Verlag, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-205-77345-4

literature

  • Hans-Josef Weidemann: Butterflies: observe, determine . Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89440-115-X .

Web links

Commons : Blue Shimmering Fire Butterfly  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files