Kidney spot Wickeye
| Kidney spot Wickeye | ||||||||||||
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Kidney spot wicked owl ( Lygephila pastinum ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lygephila pastinum | ||||||||||||
| ( Treitschke , 1826) |
The kidney spot wicked owl ( Lygephila pastinum ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the owl butterflies (Noctuidae). The specific epithet is derived from the Latin word pastinum with the meaning of hoe and refers to the curved shape of the kidney blemishes .
features
butterfly
The wingspan of the moth is 40 to 48 millimeters. The color of the upper sides of the wings varies from light gray to gray-violet to gray-brown. Noticeable is the large, black-brown kidney flaw in the form of an L or V, which makes the moths unmistakable. There are sometimes small black spots next to the kidney defects. The ring flaw is reduced to a black point. The transverse lines are indistinct, the submarginal area is slightly darkened. The back of the head and neck are noticeably hairy black-brown and velvety.
Caterpillar, pupa
Adult caterpillars are gray-brown to bluish gray in color. The fine back line and the side back lines are orange-yellow, the side stripes are whitish and broadly brown downwards. On the entire surface of the body there are white, black-seeded point warts and small black spots. The gray-brown head is finely dotted with black.
The slender doll has fine bristles on the pointed cremaster .
distribution and habitat
The distribution area of the kidney spot wicked owl extends through almost all of Europe and further through Central Asia to China and Japan . In the Alps, the occurrence reaches up to altitudes of 1,800 meters. The species primarily inhabits warm slopes, forest edges, clearings, heathland and wasteland.
Way of life
The nocturnal moths fly in one generation in the north and two generations in the south from June to July or in May and September. You visit artificial light sources and baits . Eggs are laid one at a time on the leaves of the food plant. The young caterpillars rest on the plant during the day, older ones under the leaf surface. They are nocturnal. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of the bird vetch ( Vicia cracca ). Other food crops include forest Vetch ( Vicia sylvatica ) Kronwicken ( Coronilla ) and bear pepper ( Astragalus glycyphyllos ). The species overwinters in the caterpillar stage. Pupation usually takes place on or in the earth, sometimes between spun leaves.
Individual evidence
- ^ Arnold Spuler: The butterflies of Europe , Volume 1, E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart (E. Nägele), 1908
- ↑ a b Barry Goater, László Ronkay, Michael Fibiger: Catocalinae & Plusiinae. Noctuidae Europaeae, Volume 10., Sorø, 2003, ISBN 87-89430-08-5
- ↑ Walter Forster, Theodor A. Wohlfahrt: The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .
- ↑ a b Manfred Koch : We identify butterflies. Volume 3: Owls. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Leipzig / Radebeul 1972, DNB 760072930 .
- ^ Günter Ebert: The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 5, Moths III. Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1997. ISBN 3-800-13481-0
literature
- Barry Goater, László Ronkay, Michael Fibiger: Catocalinae & Plusiinae. Noctuidae Europaeae, Volume 10., Sorø, 2003, ISBN 87-89430-08-5
- Günter Ebert: The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 5, Moth III. Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1997. ISBN 3-800-13481-0
- Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .
Web links
- Lepiforum e. V. - Taxonomy and photos
- ukmoths.org - UK Moths
- funet.fi - dissemination