Ocnogyna boeticum
| Ocnogyna boeticum | ||||||||||||
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Ocnogyna boeticum |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Ocnogyna boeticum | ||||||||||||
| ( Rambur , 1837) |
Ocnogyna boeticum , formerly also Ocnogyna baetica or Trichosoma boetica , is a butterfly ( moth ) from the subfamily of the bear moth (Arctiinae).
features
butterfly
The moths have a wingspan of 20 to 29 millimeters in the males. The upper side of the forewings has a black base color, from which a creamy white, sometimes slightly pink or yellowish dusty band or grid pattern stands out. The fringed scales are whitish. The upper side of the hind wing is also black and has a jagged, cream-colored band in the post-disk region . Basal region is also cream colored. The undersides of all the wings depict the colors and patterns of the upper sides in a somewhat weaker intensity. There is a strong sexual dimorphism between the two sexes . The wings of the females are reduced to small stumps. You are unable to fly. Your body reaches a length of 8 to 15 millimeters. Thorax and abdomen are very woolly gray-brown hair. The antennae of the males have long ciliates on both sides, those of the females are thread-shaped and slightly saw-toothed.
Caterpillar
The caterpillars are very hairy and have gray-brown warts on each segment. Young animals are blackish in color and have thick red-brown hairs. In fully grown caterpillars, the hair on the front part is reddish, that of the rear part is gray-brown or white and whitish on the sides. Occasionally there appear almost monochrome reddish-brown specimens.
Distribution and occurrence
The species is common in North Africa , the Iberian Peninsula , Sicily and central Italy . It prefers to inhabit sunny areas near the coast up to middle mountain areas.
Way of life
The main flight time of the adults flying in one generation includes the months of November and December, in the north of their range also January and February. After mating, the females lay eggs in large numbers on stones or low vegetation. The young caterpillars initially live gregariously in spun nests. Adult caterpillars live individually. Due to the late flight time of the moths and the peculiarity of the caterpillars to create webs in their youth, the species is sometimes referred to as winter webworm in English usage . The caterpillar feeds polyphagous . The main food plants are the leaves of legumes (legumes), for example sasparsets ( Onobrychis ), sweet clover ( Hedysarum ) or clover ( Trifolium ) as well as various grasses. The caterpillars are often infested with parasites to a high percentage . Investigations in Spain showed an infestation of around 40%, including Gymnophryxe carthaginiensis and in particular Tryphera lugubris . Pupation takes place in a cocoon in the earth. The species overwinters in the egg stage.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Josef J. de Freina, Thomas J. Witt: Noctuoidea, Sphingoidea, Geometroidea, Bombycoidea. In: The Bombyces and Sphinges of the Western Palaearctic. 1st edition. 1, EFW Edition Research & Science, Munich 1987, ISBN 3-926285-00-1 , pp. 116/117
- ↑ Jerzy Lipa et al .: Observations on Tachinid Parasitoids (Diptera: Tachinidae) of the Winter Webworm Ocnogyna baetica in Spain (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) , Entomologia Generalis, Volume 20 Numbers 1-2 (1995), pp. 73-80
literature
- Josef J. de Freina, Thomas J. Witt: Noctuoidea, Sphingoidea, Geometroidea, Bombycoidea. In: The Bombyces and Sphinges of the Western Palaearctic. 1st edition. 1, EFW Edition Research & Science, Munich 1987, ISBN 3-926285-00-1 , pp. 116/117
Web links
- Lepiforum eV - taxonomy and photos
- schmetterling-raupe.de - development
- leps.it - Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
- funet.fi - dissemination
- Ocnogyna baetica at Fauna Europaea. Retrieved November 13, 2015