Marbled small clamp
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Marbled small spanner ( Scopula immorata ) |
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| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The marbled small spanner ( Scopula immorata ), also called sand-gray heather small spanner or sand- gray grass heather small spanner , is a butterfly ( moth ) from the spanner family (Geometridae).
features
The moths reach a wingspan of 23 to 27 millimeters (males) or 22 to 26 millimeters (females). The second generation is smaller at 19 to 25 millimeters.
The basic color varies from whitish, yellowish to gray. The drawing elements, however, are differently brown. The basic color depends on the temperature and humidity during pupal development. Animals that pupated under cold conditions resulted in almost purely gray moths. In contrast, animals kept under warmer conditions produce butterflies with a yellowish base color. The drawing elements consist of jagged cross lines, which can only be addressed as an inner cross line, central band and outer cross line in contrasting animals. In many specimens, however, the transverse lines are so irregular that, together with the gray drawing elements, they give the butterflies a "marbled" appearance. The species name immorata is certainly derived from this. In some animals these lines are also framed lighter. Butterflies, in which the basic color and the color of the drawing elements almost match, are almost uniformly colored brown or gray. The transverse lines are then only hinted at the lighter frames of the lines. The wavy line can be marked by gray triangular spots or by discontinuous spots. The hemline is brown, the fringes are often colored alternately light and dark. Discal spots are generally absent on the forewings, but can be present on the hind wings, but mostly these are small and inconspicuous.
The egg is irregularly cylindrical in shape with a blunt end. It is initially light green, then light yellow, and is spotted red shortly before the egg caterpillars hatch. The outside is covered with 20 longitudinal ribs that cross with a few transverse ribs.
The caterpillar is relatively slender and long. It is whitish yellow or gray-brown in color. The narrow dark back line is lined with two red lines, the inner line of which becomes black towards the rear end. The narrow or wide side stripes are reddish brown.
The doll is relatively slim. It measures nine to 10.5 millimeters in length and about 2.5 to three millimeters in diameter. It is light to reddish brown in color and has blackish or at least darker wing sheaths. The relatively large Kremaster is twice as long as it is wide at the base. In the lateral view it is rather pointed. At the side it is covered with two longer, curved bristles and at the end with four shorter, curved bristles.
Geographical distribution and habitat
The marbled Kleinspanner has a very large distribution area, ranging from the Iberian Peninsula in the west, across Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, Central Asia to the Far East. However, many occurrences are isolated and disjointed. The species is therefore rather rare and only a little more common locally.
The few spotty occurrences on the Iberian Peninsula are included in the subspecies Scopula immorata duercki , while the occurrences in the southern Balkans (southern Romania, Bulgaria , Macedonia and Albania ) as well as in the north of Turkey and in the Caucasus region are classified as the subspecies Scopula immorata riloensis Züllich, 1936 by the nominotypic subspecies separated.
The species occurs in warm, dry, but also moist habitats. It prefers uncultivated land, blooming meadows, semi-arid grasslands, heathland, steppes, forest edges, clearings and aisles. But the species has also been observed in gardens, old orchards, sand and gravel pits. In the vertical, it occurs from the plain up to about 1200 meters, in southern Europe up to 2400 meters and in eastern Turkey and northern Iran up to 3000 meters. Here, however, the species is completely absent in lower elevations.
Phenology and way of life
The species is usually bivoltine ; ie two generations are formed per year. In the north of the distribution area and at higher altitudes, however, only one generation is formed. In the first case, the moths fly from mid-May to early July and from late July to late August. In particularly favorable regions, the moths appear as early as the end of April. If only one generation is formed, the moths appear in mid-June and fly until the end of July. The moths occasionally fly during the day, but mostly rest in the vegetation, but can be easily startled. The main activity is just after sunrise and just after sunset. Flower visits have so far only been observed on broad-leaved thyme ( Thymus pulegioides ). They are attracted to artificial light sources.
The eggs are laid on the host plants. This has been observed on feathered twinks ( Brachypodium pinnatum ). Caterpillars have been found to: broadleaf thyme ( Thymus pulegioides ), oregano ( Origanum vulgare ), Artemisia ( Artemisia ), heather ( Calluna vulgaris ), hawk herbs ( Hieracium ), Common Catchfly ( Lychnis viscaria ), plantain ( Plantago major ), Lonicera Caprifolium ( Lonicera caprifolium ), knotweed ( Polygonum ), heather ( Erica ), sand thyme ( Thymus serpyllum ), common yarrow ( Achillea millefolium ) and common dandelion ( Taraxacum officinale ). However, they primarily eat dead plant material. If the caterpillar is disturbed, it takes on a peculiar shape reminiscent of a question mark. The caterpillar overwinters and pupates in spring.
Systematics
The species was first scientifically described by Carl von Linné in 1758 under the name Phalaena Geometra immorata . It was later described under the names Phalaena contaminata Scopoli, 1763, Phalaena graminata Hufnagel, 1767, Phalaena festucaria Brahm, 1791, Phalaena fuscata Fabricius, 1794 and Acidalia serenata Turati, 1905, all of which are more recent synonyms. Acidalia immorata L. var. Riloensis Züllich, 1936 and Scopula immorata duercki Sheljuzhko, 1955 are now accepted as subspecies.
Danger
The species is not endangered anywhere in Germany. However, the risk looks different in individual federal states. In Saxony and Lower Saxony it is classified in category 2 (endangered), in North Rhine-Westphalia it is threatened with extinction.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b see red lists at science4you
- ↑ a b Bergmann, pp. 83–5
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Jan Pactočka: The pupae of the tensioners (Lepidoptera, Geometridae) Central Europe: subfamily Sterrhinae. Bonn zoological contributions, 51 (4): 269–296, Bonn 2002 ISSN 0006-7172 PDF ( Memento of the original from May 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (2.9 MB)
literature
- Arno Bergmann: The large butterflies of Central Germany. Volume 5/1: Spanner. Distribution, forms and communities. Urania-Verlag, Jena 1955, DNB 450378403 .
- Günter Ebert (Hrsg.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 8, Nachtfalter VI (Spanner (Geometridae) 1st part), Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 2001. ISBN 3-800-13497-7 .
- Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 5: Spanner. (Geometridae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-440-04951-5 .
- Axel Hausmann: The Geometrid moths of Europe, 2nd Sterrhinae. Apollo Books, Stenstrup 2004, ISBN 8-788-75737-4 .
