Parchment spinner

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Parchment spinner
Parchment moth (Harpyia milhauseri), ♂

Parchment moth ( Harpyia milhauseri ), ♂

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Toothed Moth (Notodontidae)
Subfamily : Stauropinae
Genre : Harpyia
Type : Parchment spinner
Scientific name
Harpyia milhauseri
( Fabricius , 1775)

The parchment spinner ( Harpyia milhauseri ), sometimes also referred to as parchment tooth spinner , is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of tooth spinners (Notodontidae).

features

Imago

The moths reach a wingspan of 40 to 52 millimeters and have elongated wings without scaly teeth. The forewings are gray with dark longitudinal veins and an elongated dark field on the inside. There is an indistinct yellow-brown transverse band parallel to the outer edge. The hind wings are light gray to whitish with a dark spot on the lower edge. Male moths with a pure white hind wing base color are called ssp. albida dan. and occur in the southern Alps valleys. The antennae are double combed in both sexes, but longer in the males and short sawtooth-like in the front part.

egg

The egg is hemispherical, light brown in color with a purple ring lined with yellow.

Caterpillar

The caterpillars are unmistakable due to their peculiar body shape. They are up to 60 millimeters long. On the fourth segment they have a long extension that is forked at the end. The following five segments have pointed dorsal humps, as does the eleventh segment. The color of the caterpillar is strong green, the back and the flanks are partly yellow-brown.

Doll

The pupa is black-brown, deep black on the back and wing sheaths. It's short and stocky. At the top of the head it has a sharp spike that serves to break through the cocoon.

Synonyms

  • Hybocampa milhauseri
  • Hoplitis milhauseri

Occurrence

The animals are widespread in Central Europe, mostly isolated in Germany, but are not considered acutely endangered. In a south-easterly direction their occurrence extends to Russia and Asia Minor . You prefer mixed deciduous forests with old oak and beech trees. In Upper Austria the populations are declining.

Way of life

The moths are nocturnal and fly to artificial light sources . The eggs are usually laid in small groups on the underside of the forage plants. The caterpillars prefer to stay in the treetops. Pupation takes place at a height of about one to two meters in a firm cocoon in the tree bark, which consists of wood shavings and filaments. The pupa hibernates.

Flight and caterpillar times

The moths fly mainly in May and June, the caterpillars live from June to August.

Food of the caterpillars

The caterpillars feed mainly on the leaves of oaks ( Quercus ) and beeches ( Fagus ), more rarely on birches ( Betula ).

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b 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 .
  2. ↑ a b Heiko Bellmann: The new Kosmos butterfly guide. Butterflies, caterpillars and forage plants. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-440-09330-1 .
  3. ↑ a b c Manfred Koch: We determine butterflies. Volume 2: Bears, Spinners, Swarmers and Drills in Germany. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Radebeul / Berlin 1964, DNB 452481929 .
  4. ↑ Gerfried Deschka, Josef Wimmer, Ecological valence analysis with large butterflies as indicators in the municipality of Waldhausen in Upper Austria , Linz 1996

literature

Web links

Commons : Parchment Spinner  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files