Olive stone owl

Olive stone owl
	Olive stone owl ( Polymixis polymita ), female
Systematics
Class :	Insects (Insecta)
Order :	Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family :	Owl butterfly (Noctuidae)
Subfamily :	Xyleninae
Genre :	Polymixis
Type :	Olive stone owl
Scientific name
	Polymixis polymita
	( Linnaeus , 1761)

Olive-brown stone owl in rest position

The olive-brown stone owl ( Polymixis polymita ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the owl butterfly family (Noctuidae).

features

butterfly

The wingspan of the moth is 39 to 46 millimeters. The basic color of the upper fore wing varies from gray-brown to olive-brown. The midfield is slightly darkened, the submarginal region slightly brightened. Ring and kidney defects are filled with whitish and dark core. The cross lines are white. The upper sides of the hind wings are whitish in the males and light brown-gray in the females.

egg

The egg has a hemispherical shape and a strongly flattened base, from which the micropyl zone stands out somewhat. It is dull reddish yellow in color, shows a broad red-brown band and is covered with finely wavy longitudinal ribs.

Caterpillar

Fully grown caterpillars are gray-brown or red-brown, sometimes dark green, from the back to the white side stripe. The ventral side is pale yellowish green, the spiracles white. There is a white dot on each segment just above the hard shoulder.

Doll

The shiny red-brown colored, piston-shaped doll has a stick-shaped cremaster with two thorns .

Similar species

Polymixis manisadjiani has a darker color in its overall appearance.
The lichen-colored stone owl ( Polymixis lichenea ) is less contrasting and less marked.
The blue-gray stone owl ( Polymixis xanthomista ) differs through the orange colored over-dusting on the front wings.
The yellowish stone owl ( Polymixis flavicincta ) differs by the yellowish dustiness on the front wings.

Geographical distribution and habitat

The species is distributed locally in Central Europe, but is absent on the Iberian Peninsula as well as the British Isles and in the northernmost parts of Fennoscandinavia . It also occurs in Turkey . The main habitat are warm and dry, light forest areas.

Way of life

The olive stone owl forms one generation per year. The moths fly from August to October. They are nocturnal and visit flowers, artificial light sources and bait . The caterpillars feed on a variety of lower plants, such as soap herbs ( Saponaria ), dead nettles ( Lamium ) and primroses ( Primula ). The species overwinters in the egg stage.

swell

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d László Ronkay, José Luis Yela & Márton Hreblay: Noctuidae Europaeae Volume 5 Hadeninae II. , Entomological Press, Sorø, 2001, ISBN 87-89430-06-9 , p. 210
^ ^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 , pp. 205-206.

literature

László Ronkay, José Luis Yela & Márton Hreblay: Noctuidae Europaeae Volume 5 Hadeninae II. , Entomological Press, Sorø, 2001, ISBN 87-89430-06-9 , p. 210

Web links

Commons : Olive stone owl - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Lepiforum e. V. - Taxonomy and photos
nic.funet.fi - dissemination
Polymixis polymita in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved October 14, 2016

[Ronkay-1] László Ronkay, José Luis Yela & Márton Hreblay: Noctuidae Europaeae Volume 5 Hadeninae II. , Entomological Press, Sorø, 2001, ISBN 87-89430-06-9 , p. 210

[Forster-2] 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 , pp. 205-206.