Evening primrose hawk

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Evening primrose hawk
Evening primrose hawk (Proserpinus proserpina)

Evening primrose hawk ( Proserpinus proserpina )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Swarmers (Sphingidae)
Subfamily : Macroglossinae
Genre : Proserpinus
Type : Evening primrose hawk
Scientific name
Proserpinus proserpina
( Pallas , 1772)
Evening primrose caterpillar (head is on the right)
Preparation of an evening primrose hawk

The evening primrose moth ( Proserpinus proserpina ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of moth (Sphingidae).

features

The evening primrose hawk is a medium-sized butterfly. Its fore wing length is about 21 millimeters. In its appearance it resembles the pigeon tail , but it has jagged outer edges of the wings and green fore wings. It is a crepuscular and nocturnal hawker. - Characteristic of the caterpillars of Proserpinus is the absence of the anal horn common in hawk caterpillars. In its place there is an eye-spot simulating the head end. Adult caterpillars are usually brown-black shortly before pupation . Young caterpillars, on the other hand, are colored green. The animals overwinter as a pupa.

Synonyms

  • Spynx proserpina Pallas, 1772 Spicilegia Zool. quibus novae ... et obscurae anim. species ... illustrantur 1: 26
  • Proserpinus aenotheroides Butler, 1876 Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. 1875: 621
  • Pterogon gigas Oberthür, 1922
  • Pterogon japetus Grum-Grshimailo, 1890
  • Sphinx oenotherae Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775 Announcement of the Schmett plant. Vienna area: 43, 239
  • Sphinx schieffermilleri Fuessly, 1779 Magazin Liebh. Ent. 2: 69

Occurrence

Distribution of the evening primrose hawk

The evening primrose hawk is common in southern and central Europe with the exception of parts of the Iberian Peninsula , where only isolated occurrences exist, and the Mediterranean islands. Its distribution area forms a 500 to 1,000 km wide band, which extends from the Pyrenees in the west to Turkestan in the east. In Austria the species could be detected in southern Styria.

Flight and caterpillar times

One generation of the evening primrose hawkmoth flies in Germany from May to mid-June. Depending on the climatic conditions, the moths can be observed from late April to late July. The time of appearance of the caterpillars depends heavily on the weather . In warm summers you can find them as early as the end of June, in cool and humid years, however, only from mid-August.

Way of life

The warmth-loving caterpillars of the evening primrose hawk can only be found in Central Europe in climatically favorable places that are also humid. They live oligophagous on different types of evening primrose ( Oenothera ) and fireweed ( Epilobium ). Frequently recorded food plants are the shaggy willowherb ( Epilobium hirsutum ) and the small-flowered willowherb ( Epilobium parviflorum ), which can be found in damp locations such as brook banks and meadow ditches. Caterpillars are rarely found on the narrow-leaved willowherb ( Epilobium angustifolium ), which grows on lofts. Typical sites are also sand pits and gravel mining sites overgrown with evening primrose species such as the common evening primrose ( Oenothera biennis ).

Illustration of the species on a chromolithographic plate by F. Nemos (1895)

Ebert names the following food plants:

Similar to the caterpillars of the middle wine owl , the caterpillars can also be found on fuchsias that are planted in pots on the balcony or terrace.

The moths have a well-developed proboscis and are dependent on the presence of nectar-rich flowers, which are visited at dusk. At the nectar plants include various representatives from the families of the Pink family (Caryophyllaceaea), honeysuckle (Caprifoliaceae) and Pea family (Fabaceae).

protection

The evening primrose hawk is listed as one of 16 butterfly species in Annex IV of the Habitats Directive ; he thus enjoys an EU-wide protection status. In Switzerland, the evening primrose hawk is protected under the Swiss ordinance on nature conservation and the protection of the homeland, Art. 20, Paragraph 2, Appendix 3.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d A. R. Pittaway: The Hawkmoths of the western Palaearctic. Harley Books 1993, ISBN 0-946-58921-6
  2. ↑ a b Proserpinus proserpina (Pallas 1772). Fauna Europaea, Version 1.3, April 19, 2007 , accessed on January 3, 2008 .
  3. ↑ a b c d Günter Ebert (Ed.): The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 4, Moths II (Bombycidae, Endromidae, Lasiocampidae, Lemoniidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Drepanidae, Notodontidae, Dilobidae, Lymantriidae, Ctenidae)., Nolidae, Ctenidae)., 168, Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1994. ISBN 3-800-13474-8
  4. ↑ Tone Lesar and Heinz Habeler , lepidopterology in Štajersko , Joannea Zool. 9: 21-44 (2007)

literature

  • Manfred Koch : We determine butterflies. Volume 2: Bears, Spinners, Swarmers and Drills in Germany. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Radebeul / Berlin 1964, DNB 452481929 .
  • Hans-Josef Weidemann, Jochen Köhler: Moths. Weirdos and hawkers. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-89440-128-1 .

Web links

Commons : Evening primrose hawk  - album with pictures, videos and audio files