Parasitized bear

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Parasitized bear
Ocnogyna parasita.jpg

Parasitized bear ( Ocnogyna parasita )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Owl butterfly (Erebidae)
Subfamily : Bear Moth (Arctiinae)
Genre : Ocnogyna
Type : Parasitized bear
Scientific name
Ocnogyna parasita
( Huebner , 1790)

The parasitized bear ( Ocnogyna parasita ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the subfamily of the bear moth (Arctiinae).

features

butterfly

The moths have a wingspan of 27 to 32 millimeters in the males. The upper side of the forewings has a gray base color and is provided with some black wedge and longitudinal spots. The upper side of the hind wing is light gray, darkened towards the hem and slightly hyaline . The undersides of all the wings depict the colors and patterns of the upper sides in indistinct and weakened intensity. There is a strong sexual dimorphism between the two sexes . The wings of the females are significantly shortened and reach wingspans of 14 to 23 millimeters. Sometimes their wings show reddish hues. Thorax and abdomen are very hairy woolly gray. 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, show three yellow longitudinal stripes and are provided with blackish warts on each segment. In younger animals the hair is gray. Adult caterpillars are hairy reddish or yellowish.

Distribution and occurrence

The species is locally distributed in the French , Swiss and Italian Alps at altitudes between 1200 and 2500 meters. It is also found in the areas around the Black Sea , the southern Balkans , Asia Minor and southern Russia . The parasitized bear lives in hilly and mountainous areas as well as grassland areas .

Way of life

The flight time of the moths flying in a generation includes the months February to May, depending on the climatic conditions. In the Alps they appear immediately after the snow melts . The males visit artificial light sources . In Russia, they were seen flying even in the sunshine. After mating, the females lay eggs in large numbers on stones or low vegetation. Young caterpillars live gregariously, older ones individually. They are polyphagous . The main food plants are the leaves of gentian ( Gentiana ), plantain ( Plantago ), nettle ( Urtica ) or scabiosa species ( Scabiosa ) and other low-growing plants. The caterpillars are often infested with a high percentage of parasitoids . The species owes its name to this fact. Diseases of the caterpillars are triggered, for example, by caterpillar flies of the genus Phebellia or molds of the genus Botrytis . Pupation takes place in a cocoon in the earth. The species overwinters as a pupa , which sometimes lasts two years.

Subspecies

In addition to the nominate form Ocnogyna parasita parasita , which occurs in the Alps , the following subspecies are distinguished:

  • Ocnogyna parasita arenosa Witt , 1980, ( Zakynthos )
  • Ocnogyna parasita intermedia Staudinger , 1878, ( Asia Minor )
  • Ocnogyna parasita lianea Witt , 1980, ( Balkan Peninsula )
  • Ocnogyna parasita nogelli Lederer , 1865, (Asia Minor)
  • Ocnogyna parasita rothschildi Bang-Haas , 1912, (Lower Volga region )

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c 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. 120-122
  2. ^ A b c Thomas Witt: The spread and racial formation of Ocnogyna parasita (Huebner, 1790) (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) , communications from the Munich Entomological Society, No. 69, 1980, pp. 133-165
  3. ↑ Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 3: Weirdos and Swarmers. (Bombyces and Sphinges). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1960, DNB 456642196 , pp. 28-29.

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. 120-122

Web links

Commons : Parasitized Bear  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files