Peacock moth

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Peacock moth
Lesser peacock butterfly (Saturnia pavonia)

Lesser peacock butterfly ( Saturnia pavonia )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Subordination : Glossata
Superfamily : Bombycoidea
Family : Peacock moth
Scientific name
Saturniidae
Boisduval , 1837

The peacock moth (Saturniidae), also eye moth , are a family of butterflies ( moths ). They occur worldwide with about 1500 species , in Europe one can find 10 of them.

features

With wing spans of 25 to 300 millimeters, this family includes the largest butterflies in the world. The atlas moth ( Attacus atlas ) has the largest wing area among butterflies with over 400 cm². Argema mittrei from Madagascar and the Queen Alexandra bird butterfly ( Ornithoptera alexandrae ), which belongs to the knight butterfly family , are among the butterflies with the largest wingspan. In addition to the brightly colored coloring, many species have an eye-spot on each of the fore and hind wings. These serve to deter predators . Males and females differ more or less depending on the species, with a distinguishing feature being the antennae , which in the males can take on very large dimensions and are feathered. But there are also species in which the females have feathery antennae.

The caterpillars of the peacock moth vary greatly in shape, size and color. There are smooth, hairy and with appendages and thorns covered caterpillars. They feed mainly on leaves of deciduous trees and shrubs.

distribution

Most species live in the tropical and subtropical regions, but the family occurs worldwide. Some species were spread by humans for silk breeding .

Way of life

Most of the nocturnal moths live in one generation per year, but there are also species with two generations. In this case, the spring and summer generations pupate after a few weeks, the autumn generation takes a diapause over the winter before hatching as a butterfly in spring.

The adults of the peacock moth with their stunted or untrained digestive systems and mouthparts can not ingest food. They feed on stored fat from the caterpillar phase. Their life is directed towards their reproduction ; they die within a few days to a week after they have reproduced.

development

The females hatch with fully formed eggs and soon after hatching begin to attract males with pheromones that they secrete from special glands . The males can smell the fragrances with their large antennae over a distance of kilometers and even travel several kilometers in one night to find the localized female. The females wait in the meantime and do not fly. After mating, the female lays up to 200 eggs on the leaves of the host plant, depending on the species.

By the time they pupate, they usually molt six times. This takes place in a cocoon made of silk, between leaves or on the ground . Only a few species such as B. Citheronia regalis and Eacles imperialis pupate in a dug chamber just below the ground.

useful information

Silk can be obtained from the cocoons of many species of peacock moth. Because of this, the moths are bred in some countries, which is also the reason why some, such as the Japanese oak silk moth ( Antheraea yamamai ), were introduced into Europe. The European breeding was stopped. For example, the fagara silk is obtained from the cocoons of the atlas moth. However, these do not consist of one long, but many short threads.

Systematics

The family includes around 1500 species in 165 genera and 9 subfamilies worldwide. The most important genera of the subfamilies as well as all genera and species occurring in Europe are listed below. The species widespread in Central Europe are identified by their respective country codes (A, CH, D).

Non-European species (selection)

supporting documents

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Saturniidae. Fauna Europaea, accessed December 18, 2011 .
  2. ↑ Niels P. Kristensen: Lepidoptera, moths and butterflies . In: Maximilian Fischer (Ed.): Handbook of Zoology . 1st edition. tape 4 - Arthropoda: Insecta , volume 35. de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1998, ISBN 3-11-015704-7 , p. 336 ff . (English).
  3. ↑ Saturniidae. Lepiforum eV, accessed on March 21, 2011 .

literature

  • Niels P. Kristensen: Lepidoptera, moths and butterflies . In: Maximilian Fischer (Ed.): Handbook of Zoology . 1st edition. tape 4 - Arthropoda: Insecta , volume 35. de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1998, ISBN 3-11-015704-7 (English).
  • Malcolm J. Scoble: The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1995, ISBN 0-19-854952-0 (English).
  • Axel Steiner, Ulrich Ratzel, Morton Top-Jensen, Michael Fibiger: Die Nachtfalter Deutschlands - A field guide - page 68.Bugbook Publishing, 2014, ISBN 9783000438622

Web links

Commons : Peacock Moth  - Collection of images, videos and audio files