Osterluzeifalter

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Osterluzeifalter
Osterluzeifalter (Zerynthia polyxena)

Osterluzeifalter ( Zerynthia polyxena )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Knight Butterfly (Papilionidae)
Genre : Zerynthia
Type : Osterluzeifalter
Scientific name
Zerynthia polyxena
( Denis & Schiffermüller , 1775)

The Osterluzeifalter ( Zerynthia polyxena ), also called Southern Osterluzeifalter by some authors , is a butterfly from the family of the Knight Butterfly (Papilionidae). The specific epithet is derived from Polyxena , the daughter of Priam from Greek mythology .

features

The moths reach a wingspan of 52 to 56 millimeters, with the females having slightly longer wings than the males. The basic color of the wings is yellow, but they have a complicated pattern of various black bands and spots. The undulating wing edge is striking. On the hind wings there are red and blue points on the inside of the wave pattern, but these can be missing in some animals. Female moths are usually a little lighter in color than males. The body of the moth is dark brown and has red spots on the sides of the abdomen.

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Caterpillar, on easter egg ( Aristolochia clematitis )

The caterpillars are up to 35 millimeters long. They are silver-gray-greenish to light brown or red in color and have black spots. They also have six rows of orange, spiky, fleshy thorns.

Similar species

Occurrence

Osterluzeifalter ( Zerynthia polyxena )

The animals come from central southern Europe (southeastern France and Italy) and southeastern Europe east to northwest Kazakhstan and the south of the Urals . You can find them up to 1,700 meters above sea level, but usually below 900 meters. They live in warm, sunny, dry and open places such as B. on vineyards, river banks and in karst terrain , they are relatively true to location. Although the moths are widespread, they only occur very locally in eastern Austria and the south-eastern area of Vienna .

Food of the caterpillars

In Central Europe, the caterpillars feed on common easter egg ( Aristolochia clematitis ), otherwise also on other pipe flowers ( Aristolochia ).

Flight and caterpillar times

The moths fly in one generation from the end of March to the beginning of June, the caterpillars occur from May to July, depending on the altitude.

development

The females lay their eggs individually or in loose, small groups on the underside of the forage plants. They are spherical and whitish at first, bluish-mother-of-pearl before hatching. Young caterpillars initially only eat the flowers and young shoots, from the second molt also leaves. They are initially black in color, initially the thorns turn orange. Caterpillars often sun themselves, sitting on the upper side, but adult caterpillars sit on the underside of the leaf. Pupation takes place in a slim, light brown to gray belt pupa on stems, bark or stones. The belt thread does not run in the middle, but includes two thorns on the head part. The pupa hibernates, the butterfly hatches next spring.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Arnold Spuler: The butterflies of Europe . tape 1 . E. Schweitzerbartsche Verlagbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1908, p. 3 .
  2. ↑ a b Heiko Bellmann : The new Kosmos butterfly guide. Butterflies, caterpillars and forage plants. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-440-09330-1 , p. 118.
  3. ↑ Elizabeth Balmer: Butterflies: Recognize and Determine. Parragon Books Ltd., 2007, ISBN 9781407512037 , p. 43
  4. ↑ a b c Hans-Josef Weidemann: Tagfalter: watch, determine , p. 188, Naturbuch-Verlag Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89440-115-X
  5. ↑ a b Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: Die Tagfalter Europäische und Nordwestafrikas , p. 23f, Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7

literature

  • Günter Ebert (Hrsg.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 1, Tagfalter I (Knight butterflies (Papilionidae), Weißlinge (Pieridae), Edelfalter (Nymphalidae)), Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1993. ISBN 3-8001-3451-9

Web links

Commons : Osterluzeifalter  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files