Pine processionary moth
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Pine processionary moth ( Thaumetopoea pityocampa ) |
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| Thaumetopoea pityocampa | ||||||||||||
| ( Denis & Schiffermüller , 1775) |
The pine processionary moth ( Thaumetopoea pityocampa , syn .: Traumatocampa pityocampa ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the tooth moth family (Notodontidae). The species was first described by Michael Denis & Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775 as Bombyx pityocampa . As with the other processionary moths , the caterpillars have stinging hairs that can cause caterpillar dermatitis . The species occurs mainly in the Mediterranean area and is found there frequently and on all pine species that occur. The caterpillar processions typical of the subfamily consist of relatively few animals in this species.
features
butterfly
The moths have a wingspan of 29 to 35 millimeters (males) or 28 to 40 millimeters (females). Their coloring is very variable. The forewings are usually white to blue-gray and have a darker-colored, gray-brown band in the middle, which is bordered on both sides by narrow, dark-brown cross bars. A basal line is only weakly developed. The two cross bars run almost parallel, the one further outside is less jagged than the inside. Between them there is a crescent-shaped, dark brown discocellular spot near the wing leading edge. The hind wings are completely white and have no transverse band, only the inner corner has a black spot. Deviating from this, there are also dark-colored animals and those that lack the dark spot on the rear wings and instead have strongly marked transverse bars. The females differ from the males in that they usually have weaker transverse bands and short ciliate instead of feathery antennae . The head and thorax are black-brown in the male, light gray-brown in the female, and the abdomen is red-brown in both sexes.
Pine processionary moths are slightly larger than the similar oak and pine processionary moths , but the females in particular are easy to confuse with those of the pine processionary moth. One can distinguish the pine processionary moth from the latter by a white instead of black spotted, fringed hem on the rear wings, by almost parallel rather than towards the inner wing edge of the cross bars on the front wings and by the lack of red-brown or yellowish scales. Also Traumatocampa bonjeani looks the way very similar to the fringes of the seam on the hind wings, however, are dark brown mottled with this type and the cross bars on the front wings appear not as strong in appearance.
Caterpillars
The caterpillars reach a body length of up to 50 millimeters. They are blue-black on top and have a yellow to rust-red transverse bulge on the back of each segment. The underside of the animals are whitish to light gray. The sides of the body have long whitish hairs.
distribution
The animals occur mainly in the Mediterranean area and in the Middle East. To the north, however, it also spreads as far as the Pyrenees , southern France , Switzerland , South Tyrol , Lower Austria , Hungary , the countries of the northern Balkans and the northern coast of the Black Sea . Some authors, such as de Freina (1987), indicate a distribution also for the southwest of Germany, but according to Ebert these can only be false reports or dubious individual finds, since otherwise there is no reliable evidence for this region.
habitat
The pine processionary moth needs a lot of warmth and lives in warm, dry pine forests, where it is often found in the Mediterranean area near the sea coast, gravel valleys with increased humidity, rocky terrain and sun-exposed stream valleys. In the Alps, the species and its food plants have been found up to around 1200 meters above sea level, but butterflies have been found up to heights of 2100 meters.
Way of life
Flight and caterpillar times
The moths fly in one generation from mid-May to August, with the peak in July. The adults are nocturnal. After overwintering, the caterpillars are ready to pupate from around mid-April.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed mainly on pines ( Pinus ). They are found in all pine species occurring in the Mediterranean area, namely the pine ( Pinus pinea ), Aleppo pine ( Pinus halepensis ), black pine ( Pinus nigra ), and maritime pine ( Pinus pinaster ). In the north of the range, the caterpillars are mostly found on Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris ), rarely also on European larch ( Larix decidua ).
development
The females lay their eggs in clutches of 100 to 250 in the tops of the food plants. The clutches are usually placed around a pair of needles, more rarely around individual needles, in the shape of a piston and covered with scaly wool . Compared to the pine processionary moth, however, the clutches are thicker and have a lighter color. The caterpillars create common webs in the outer branches of the plants. These are pyramid-shaped and can reach an extension of up to 30 centimeters. The caterpillars are nocturnal and feed in small groups on the branches. At dawn they return to the web. The wintering takes place in the webs, the development does not end until the following spring. To pupate, the caterpillars wander chained one behind the other in processions typical for the subfamily. However, the chains usually only contain 5 to 30 individuals. The pupation finally finds in the ground in a brown colored cocoon instead. The caterpillars can bury themselves 5 to 20 centimeters deep.
Taxonomy
From Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, in addition to the nominate subspecies, the subspecies Traumatocampa pityocampa orana (Staudinger & Rebel, 1901) has been described, which occurs in the Middle Atlas up to about 2000 meters altitude. The moths have a lighter gray base color and paler colored forewings, whereby the two transverse bars stand out strongly. The hind wings are missing the black points on the edge. The moths of this subspecies occur from April to August.
Specialized enemies
The eggs of the pine processionary moth are of jewel wasps as Tetrastichus sevardeii , Oencyrtus pityocampae and Trichogramma evanescens parasitized . Are the caterpillars and pupae Tachinidae as Phryxe caudata , Compsillura concinnata , Exorista larvarum which Wollschweber Villa brunnea , various parasitic wasps as Erigorgus femorator or brackish wasp Meteorus versicolor detected as parasitoids.
Well protected by the stinging hairs, the caterpillars have few predators. Birds such as various titmouse , cuckoo , jay cuckoo , hoopoe , garden dormouse , but also several ant species ( Formica spp.) Or the hover fly Xanthandrus comtus have been proven . Long-beaked birds like the hoopoe can dig up the pupae and remove the pupal shell.
Danger
The species is common and widespread in southern Europe. In southern Central Europe it usually occurs only sporadically, which is why it is not included in the Red List of Endangered Species in Central Europe.
Harmful effect
The pine processionary moth is the most important pest on pine trees in the Mediterranean region. In Scots pine forests, which are rare in Spain , the effects of caterpillar feeding on the trees were investigated. In young pines, feeding on the needles had a negative impact on the following growing season and reduced growth by more than half. In older trees, the needles of which were eaten to more than 50 percent, the growth of the cones was greatly reduced in the following growing season. On average, cones that were only half as large were formed, which bore seeds that were almost 40% lighter. In addition, two (approx. 6%) of the 34 test trees died due to the infestation. It can therefore be assumed that the pine processionary moth leads to changes in sensitive habitats in which the spread of the species is favored by global warming .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Thaumetopoea pityocampa. Fauna Europaea, accessed February 25, 2010 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Josef J. de Freina, Thomas J. Witt: Noctuoidea, Sphingoidea, Geometroidea, Bombycoidea . In: The Bombyces and Sphinges of the Western Palaearctic . 1st edition. tape 1 . EFW Edition Research & Science, Munich 1987, ISBN 3-926285-00-1 , p. 290 f .
- ↑ a b c d e f Hans-Josef Weidemann, Jochen Köhler: Moths, Spinners and Swarmers . Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-89440-128-1 , p. 332 ff .
- ↑ a b Heiko Bellmann : The new Kosmos butterfly guide, butterflies, caterpillars and forage plants . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-440-09330-1 , p. 234 .
- ^ A b Günter Ebert: The butterflies of Baden Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 4 . Moths II Bombycidae, Endromidae, Lasiocampidae, Lemoniidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Drepanidae, Notodontidae, Dilobidae, Lymantriidae, Ctenuchidae, Nolidae . Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1994, ISBN 3-8001-3474-8 , pp. 385 f .
- ↑ a b Ficha de la plaga: Procesionaria de los Pinos. (No longer available online.) Www.plagasbajocontrol.com, archived from the original on April 29, 2009 ; Retrieved February 25, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b enemigos naturales de la "procesionaria del pino". (No longer available online.) Servei de Sanitat Forestal, archived from the original on December 12, 2009 ; Retrieved February 25, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ la procesionaria de los pinos. www.infroagro.com, accessed February 25, 2010 .
- ↑ Wolfgang Schwenke: The forest pests in Europe. A manual in 5 volumes. Volume 3: Butterflies. Parey, Hamburg and Berlin 1978 ISBN 3-490-11316-0
- ↑ Tomás Pérez-Contreras, Juan José Soler, Manuel Soler: Needle asymmetry, pine vigor and pine selection by the processionary moth Thaumetopoea pityocampa , acta oecologica, 33, 2008, pp. 213-221.
- ↑ José A. Hodar, Jorge Castro, Regino Zamora: Pine processionary caterpillar Thaumetopoea pityocampa as a new threat for relict Mediterranean Scots pine forests under climatic warming , Biological Conservation, 110, 2003, pp. 123-129.
literature
- Heiko Bellmann : The new Kosmos butterfly guide, butterflies, caterpillars and forage plants . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-440-09330-1 .
- Günter Ebert: The butterflies of Baden Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 4 . Moths II Bombycidae, Endromidae, Lasiocampidae, Lemoniidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Drepanidae, Notodontidae, Dilobidae, Lymantriidae, Ctenuchidae, Nolidae . Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1994, ISBN 3-8001-3474-8 .
- Josef J. de Freina, Thomas J. Witt: Noctuoidea, Sphingoidea, Geometroidea, Bombycoidea . In: The Bombyces and Sphinges of the Western Palaearctic . 1st edition. tape 1 . EFW Edition Research & Science, Munich 1987, ISBN 3-926285-00-1 .
- Hans-Josef Weidemann, Jochen Köhler: Moths, Spinners and Swarmers . Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-89440-128-1 .
Web links
- Lepiforum e. V. Taxonomy and Photos
- www.schmetterling-raupe.de
- Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa (English)
- Thaumetopoea pityocampa at Fauna Europaea
