Moon bird
| Moon bird | ||||||||||||
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Moon bird ( Phalera bucephala ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Phalera bucephala | ||||||||||||
| Linnaeus , 1758 |
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The moon bird or moon spot ( Phalera bucephala ) is a moth from the tooth moth family (Notodontidae).
features
This species is quite large (up to 32 mm long) and built quite stable, the wingspan is 55–68 mm. The forewings are gray, silver scales and have a conspicuously contrasting light brown spot on the wing tip (apex), the moon spot. The thoracic hair is of the same color, with its wings folded , this butterfly looks amazingly like a broken twig, most likely a birch twig . The hind wings are beige-white, the head (caput) is brown. The moon bird flies at night from May to July and often flies to light sources.
Subspecies
- Phalera bucephala bucephala
- Phalera bucephala tenebrata
Similar species
- Phalera bucephaloides ( Ochsenziemer , 1810) - Found in Austria
distribution
The moon bird is distributed from the Iberian Peninsula across Europe (including the British Isles ) to East Asia. In the south, its distribution area extends over Turkey and the Caucasus to Central Asia . In the north, the area boundary runs south of the Arctic Circle . It can be found in deciduous forests and parks from the plains up to an altitude of about 1,600 meters.
development
The young caterpillars are very sociable, but later they become loners. Older caterpillars are very conspicuously colored, black with orange-yellow transverse and yellow-white longitudinal stripes. The head is black and has a yellow V. They are up to six centimeters long and feed on many tree and shrub species. This butterfly overwinters in the ground as a pupa . The caterpillars are found from July to August and the moths from early May to July.
Forage plants
- Linden ( Tilia ), hence the name "Lindenspinner"
- Norway maple ( Acer platanoides )
- Alder trees ( Alnus sp.)
- Birch trees ( Betula sp.)
- Hazel ( Corylus sp.)
- Beech ( Fagus sp.)
- Laburnum ( Laburnum sp.)
- Poplars ( Populus sp.)
- Fruit trees of the genus Prunus
- Oak trees ( Quercus sp.)
- Robinia ( Robinia sp.)
- Roses ( Rosa sp.)
- Willows ( Salix sp.)
- Elms ( Ulmus sp.)
- Snowball bushes ( Viburnum sp.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Phalera bucephala (Linnaeus 1758). Fauna Europaea, Version 1.3, April 19, 2007 , accessed on January 14, 2008 .
literature
- Günter Ebert: The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 4: Moths II (Bombycidae, Endromidae, Lemoniidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Drepanidae, Notodontidae, Dilobidae, Lymantriidae, Ctenuchidae, Nolidae). Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-8001-3474-8 .
- Alexander Schintlmeister: Zoogeography of the Palaearctic Notodontidae (Lepidoptera). In: Entomological News. Vol. 25, Eitschberger, Marktleuthen 1989, pp. 1–117.
- Richard South: The moths of the British Isles. Warne, London / New York 1963, ISBN 0-7232-0002-5 .
