Bog gold owl

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Bog gold owl
Bog gold owl (Syngrapha microgamma)

Bog gold owl ( Syngrapha microgamma )

Systematics
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Superfamily : Noctuoidea
Family : Owl butterfly (Noctuidae)
Subfamily : Plusiinae
Genre : Syngrapha
Type : Bog gold owl
Scientific name
Syngrapha microgamma
( Huebner , 1823)

The bog gold owl ( Syngrapha microgamma ), formerly also known as the peat bog silver owl , is a butterfly ( moth ) from the owl butterfly family (Noctuidae).

features

butterfly

With a wingspan of 27 to 34 millimeters, the moths of the bog gold owl are among their smaller representatives of the gold owls . On the front wings reign gray coloration, sometimes in front with a slight purple tint. They show a characteristic silver-white symbol, for example in the form of the letter gamma from the Greek alphabet. This gamma symbol is very bulbous at the lower end and narrow and clearly diverging at the upper end. Ring and kidney flaws have a faint whitish border, but hardly stand out from the ground. The lower middle field and the edge field are black-gray. The hind wings are yellow with a relatively wide black band. The thorax is furry and has a few tufts of hair. The proboscis is well developed.

Caterpillar

Adult caterpillars are dark purple-brown in color with a slight whitish sheen. They have dark back and side back lines, sulfur-yellow side stripes, black spiracles, and a small light red-brown head.

Doll

Light segment incisions stand out from the blackish doll .

Similar species

  • Hochenwarth's gold owl ( Syngrapha hochenwarthi ) is distinguished by a predominantly brownish base color on the forewings and a narrower black band on the hind wings.
  • Syngrapha devergens is distinguished by a strongly jagged wavy line on the fore wings and a narrower black fringe on the hind wings.

In both of the aforementioned species, the narrow runners in the upper part of the gamma sign are closer together than in the bog gold owl.

Geographical distribution and habitat

The nominate form Syngrapha microgamma microgamma occurs locally in humid areas in Northern, Eastern and Central Europe, but can occur in large numbers in narrowly limited places. It is also represented in the mountainous regions of Central Asia and in Kamchatka . The ssp lives in Canada and the USA . Syngrapha microgamma nearctica . Their distribution area extends in an east-west direction in a wide belt from Labrador to British Columbia and to Michigan , Wisconsin and Colorado in the south. The main habitat of the species are raised bogs, peat bogs and swampy meadows.

Way of life

The moths of the bog gold owl form one generation per year, whose main flight time is in the months of May and June. They mainly fly during the day in the sunshine and like to suckle on flowers, for example on swamp porch ( Rhododendron tomentosum ) and rest on tree trunks or branches. They rarely visit artificial light sources at night . The caterpillars prefer to feed on the leaves of various willow ( Salix ) and blueberry species ( Vaccinium ). They appear from July, overwinter and pupate in the spring of the following year in a whitish-gray web.

Danger

The species was found in some eastern regions of Germany in the 20th century, but is no longer indigenous there and is listed as missing on Germany's Red List of Endangered Species .

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Arno Bergmann: The large butterflies of Central Germany. Volume 4/2: Owls. Distribution, forms and communities. Urania-Verlag, Jena 1954, DNB 450378381 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e Barry Goater, Lázló Ronkay and Michael Fibiger: Catocalinae & Plusiinae Noctuidae Europaeae, Volume 10. , Sorø 2003 ISBN 87-89430-08-5
  3. ^ A b Walter Forster, Theodor A. Wohlfahrt: The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .
  4. ↑ Ernst and Herta Urbahn: The butterflies of Pomerania with a comparative overview of the Baltic Sea region , Entomological Association of Stettin, Stettin 1939
  5. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Bog Gold Owl  - Collection of images, videos and audio files