Poplar hawks

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Poplar hawks
Poplar Hawk (Laothoe populi)

Poplar Hawk ( Laothoe populi )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Swarmers (Sphingidae)
Subfamily : Smerinthinae
Genre : Laothoe
Type : Poplar hawks
Scientific name
Laothoe populi
( Linnaeus , 1758)
Poplar Hawk caterpillar
Couple mating
Male poplar hawk, upper and lower side
Feminine, top and bottom
Gynander

The poplar hawkmoth ( Laothoe populi ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of hawkmoths (Sphingidae).

description

With a wingspan of 72 to 92 millimeters, it is one of the larger butterflies in Central Europe. Due to its gray color, it is ideally camouflaged at night. When at rest, the wings are spread apart, with the hind wings protruding from below the front wings. In case of danger, the red spot on the hind wing is presented. The gender can only be determined by the antennae shape: the males have hairy antennae , the females hairless . The caterpillars have the horn-like appendage on the abdomen ( anal horn ) that is typical for hawkers . It gets its name from the caterpillar's forage plants, the poplars , on which the eggs are laid.

Similar species

Subspecies

  • Laothoe populi iberica Eitschenberger, Danner & Surholt, 1998 Some authors regard it as a distinct species. The status of the subspecies is also not recognized by other authors.
  • Laothoe populi populi (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Laothoe populi populeti (Bienert, 1870)

Synonyms

  • Sphinx populi Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat. (Edn 10) 1: 489
  • Smerinthus borkhauseni Bartel, 1900
  • Amorpha populi lappona Rangnow, 1935, Ent. Rdj. 52: 189
  • Amorpha populi intermedia Gehlen, 1934, Ent. Z., Frankf. a. M. 48:60
  • Merinthus palustris Holle, 1865, Schmett. German : 95
  • Smerinthus roseotincta Reuter, 1935
  • Merinthus salicis Holle, 1865
  • Sphinx tremulae Borkhausen, 1793, Rhine. Mag. Naturk. 1: 649
  • Laothoe populi iberica Eitschberger, Danner & Surholt, 1989, Atalanta, Würzburg 20: 262-263

distribution and habitat

It occurs mainly in Europe and the Middle East . The habitat of the poplar swarm includes moist forests. The animals occur sporadically up to 1,000 meters high, but its main distribution areas are more in lowlands.

Flight time

The first generation of poplar hawms flies from May to July; if the climatic conditions are favorable, a second generation is formed, which flies from August to September.

Way of life

The females lay the eggs mainly on the underside of the leaves of poplars. The eggs are green and relatively large. The caterpillars are yellow-green and have fine yellow to reddish points and a yellow horizontal stripe. Caterpillars are found from June to September. They live mainly on poplars and willows. During her lifetime taking imagines no food because the suction nozzle of this type is stunted.

literature

  • Günter Ebert: The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg. Volume 4, Moths II (Bombycidae, Endromidae, Lemoniidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Drepanidae, Notodontidae, Dilobidae, Lymantriidae, Ctenuchidae, Nolidae). Ulmer, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-800-13474-8 .
  • Manfred Koch , Wolfgang Heinicke: We identify butterflies. 3. Edition. Neumann, Radebeul 1991, ISBN 3-7402-0092-8 .
  • Michael Chinery: Collins Field Guide. Insects of Britain and Northern Europe. HarperCollins Publishers 1999, ISBN 0-002-19918-1 .
  • Bernard Skinner: Color Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles. Penguin UK 1999, ISBN 0-670-87978-9 .
  • David J. Carter, Brian Hargreaves: Caterpillars and Butterflies of Europe and their Forage Plants. Blackwell Wissenschaftsverlag 1987, ISBN 3-826-38139-4 .
  • Hans-Josef Weidemann, Jochen Köhler: Moths, Spinners and Swarmers. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-89440-128-1 .

Web links

Commons : Poplar Hawk  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b W. Stichmann: The great cosmos nature guide. Animals and plants. Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. 1996, ISBN 3-440-09575-4
  2. ↑ Laothoe populi iberica Eitschberger, Danner & Surholt 1998. Fauna Europaea, Version 1.3, April 19, 2007 , accessed on January 3, 2008 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g A. R. Pittaway: The Hawkmoths of the western Palaearctic. Harley Books 1993, ISBN 0-946-58921-6
  4. ↑ Laothoe populi populi (Linnaeus 1758). Fauna Europaea, Version 1.3, April 19, 2007 , accessed on January 3, 2008 .
  5. ↑ a b c Laothoe populi (Linnaeus 1758). Fauna Europaea, Version 1.3, April 19, 2007 , accessed on January 3, 2008 .