Muschampia proto
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Muschampia proto |
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| ( Ochsenheimer , 1816) |
Muschampia proto is a butterfly fromthe thick-headed butterfly family (Hesperiidae).
features
The fore wing length is 14 to 15 millimeters. The top is dark gray and is usually lightly covered with yellowish hair. On the upper side there are pronounced white or yellow disk spots and indistinct crescent-shaped submarginal spots. The underside of the hind wings is basically variable in color from yellow-gray to red-brown. Furthermore, white or brownish spots can be seen like on the upper side, but mostly indistinct.
The eggs are yellowish and flattened. The outside is heavily ribbed, the ribs can be slightly curved. Some of the ribs end before the edge of the micropyle.
The caterpillars are dark gray with a black head in the first stages. In the last stage they turn light gray, shortly before or during the summer dormancy a light brown or orange-brown color appears. They are very hairy and stocky in the latter stages.
The pupa has a strong bluish frosting, with almost no black spots on the abdomen. A clear longitudinal line is only formed on the back of the thorax.
variability
Moths in spring and early summer are usually relatively large and have an olive-gray underside of the hind wings. Moths that fly in summer are usually a bit smaller and have a brown or reddish-brown underside of the hind wing. Specimens with forewing lengths of 15 to 17 millimeters live in Morocco and southern Spain. They are also called f. fulvosatura Berity, 1925.
Geographical occurrence and habitat
Muschampia proto is from North Africa across the Iberian Peninsula , southern France, southern Italy ,? Albania , Macedonia ,? Bulgaria , Greece to Asia Minor widespread. In the north the species is still reported from the Crimea . However, the occurrence is very local, the occurrences probably largely isolated. He stays on dry, hot and little overgrown rock slopes in the valleys of the mountains. However, it also occurs in the lowlands on dry grasslands. In Morocco the moth can be found up to 2000 meters. In Greece, butterflies were still observed at an altitude of 1600 m above sea level.
Way of life
The moths fly slightly differently from April to October in one generation. The main flight time in southern France is in August. The long flight time of the moths is explained by a summer dormancy of the caterpillar ready to pupate, which lasts for different lengths of time. To do this, it spins into the later pupal cocoon around the beginning of June, investing in leaves of the food plant. The cocoon is placed a few decimeters above the ground in order to avoid the greatest heat. The eggs are laid individually by the female at the very bottom of the host plant or even on stones in the immediate vicinity. The caterpillar lives on fire herbs ( Phlomis ), Phlomis herba-venti and Phlomis lychnidis have been recorded for southern France . Tolman & Lewington also state Phlomis fruticosa for "Europe". For North Africa, Phlomis crinita and Phlomis bovei are named as host plants. The egg caterpillar overwinters in the south of France.
literature
- Lionel G. Higgins, Norman D. Riley: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . 1st edition. Paul Parey, Hamburg / Berlin 1978, ISBN 3-490-01918-0 .
- Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Lionel G. Higgins and Norman D. Riley: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . P. 288
- ^ Zdravko Kolev: First record of Muschampia cribrellum in Bulgaria, with a review of the recorded distribution of genus Muschampia in the country (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae). Phegea, 31 (1): 15-21, Berchem 2003 ISSN 0771-5277 PDF ( Memento of the original from April 7, 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.
- ↑ VV Tshikolovets: The Butterflies of Ukraine. Sbirnyk prac Zoologitsnogo Muzeji, 37: 13–62, Kiev 2005 PDF
- ↑ a b c Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 , p. 262 .
- ↑ a b c after Wolfgang Wagner [1]
