Olive green owl

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Olive green owl
Valeria oleagina.jpg

Olive green owl ( Valeria oleagina )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Owl butterfly (Noctuidae)
Subfamily : Psaphidinae
Genre : Valeria
Type : Olive green owl
Scientific name
Valeria Oleagina
( Denis & Schiffermüller , 1775)

The olive green owl ( Valeria oleagina ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the owl butterfly (Noctuidae).

features

The olive green owl reaches a wingspan of about 34 to 38 millimeters. The forewings are black-brown in color, have distinct moss-green interventions, large white kidney blemishes and dark, white-edged ring blemishes . Other drawing elements are indistinct, but some wedge marks appear on the hem line. The hind wings are whitish, merging into a darker shade of gray and provided with an arched line consisting of black vein points. The antennae are toothed in both sexes, somewhat stronger in the male. There is a certain similarity to the flea herb owl ( Melanchra persicariae ), which also has noticeably white kidney defects. But it lacks the greenish interferences, the vein points on the hind wings and the toothed antennae. In addition, both species differ considerably in terms of flight time, as persicariae only flies from the end of May to the end of August, whereas oleagina already flies in March and April.

The adult caterpillars are gray-brown in color, with some darker spots. Directly behind the head there is a conspicuous orange-red ring-shaped bulge, which is hidden when it is at rest. All segments are provided with a few, short, thin, light hairs.

Similar species

Synonyms

  • Synvaleria oleagina

Distribution and occurrence

The species occurs in southern Europe and the Middle East as well as eastwards to Iran and the Ukraine. Information about finds in Great Britain is likely to be false reports. In Germany, the northernmost occurrence extends as far as the Eifel and Ahr . The habitat of the olive green owl is very similar to that of the sailing butterfly ( Iphiclides podalirius ), which also prefers warm, sunny areas on southern slopes with limestone subsoil and blackthorn bushes. The presence of low cripple sloes is important.

Way of life

The caterpillars live from May and feed north of the Alps on the leaves of the sloe ( Prunus spinosa ), but not on hawthorn ( Crataegus ). This behavior was confirmed by breeding. In the south, Prunus species and hawthorn are also accepted as fodder plants. The caterpillars usually feed at night and are snuggled close to branches during the day and are hardly recognizable. In case of danger, they jerk out the orange-red neck ring. They pupate as early as June. Since the new generation of butterflies does not hatch until March or April of the following year, the pupa has to survive a hot summer and a cold winter. For this purpose, an oval cocoon is made, which consists of an inner and an outer wall. There are several longitudinal ribs between the two walls, creating individual chambers that are apparently used for temperature regulation. Pupation usually takes place between stones on the ground or in the earth. The moths hatch in March and April, are nocturnal, fly to artificial light sources and visit artificial bait as well as pussy willow to eat .

Danger

In Germany, the species occurs regularly only in Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate. While it is not considered to be acutely endangered in Hesse, it is listed in Category 2 (severely endangered) on the Red List of Endangered Species in the other federal states mentioned .

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Manfred Koch : We identify butterflies. Volume 3: Owls. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Leipzig / Radebeul 1972, DNB 760072930 .
  2. ↑ a b c Günter Ebert (Ed.): The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 6, Nachtfalter IV. , Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-8001-3482-9
  3. ↑ K. Cleve: A breed of Synvaleria oleagina. , Communications from the Basler Entomological Society, No. 4, 1969
  4. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany. Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9

literature

  • Günter Ebert (Ed.): The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 6, Nachtfalter IV. , Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-8001-3482-9 .

Web links

Commons : Jeweled Olive Owl  - Collection of images, videos and audio files