Polygonia faunus
| Polygonia faunus | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Polygonia faunus , underside of the wing of a female |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Polygonia faunus | ||||||||||||
| ( Edwards , 1862) |
Polygonia faunus ( Syn .: Nymphalis faunus ) is a butterfly (day butterfly ) from the noble butterfly family(Nymphalidae).
features
butterfly
The moths reach a wingspan of 45 to 64 millimeters. All wings are very strongly serrated on the outer edge and have a red-brown to yellow-brown basic color on the upper side, which becomes darker towards the outer edge. There are also some dark spots on them. The undersides of the wings are lightly marbled in various shades of brown. A narrow greenish pattern near the outer edge is typical for the species , which is why it is also referred to as a green comma in English usage . The white C-symbol in the middle of the hind wings is noticeable.
Egg, caterpillar, pupa
The green eggs are laid individually on the top or bottom of the food plants.
Adult caterpillars show predominantly gray to black basic tints and are provided with orange longitudinal lines. The cross-cuts between the individual segments are mostly black or cream-colored. Whitish and blackish thorns are distributed over the entire body.
The fall doll is light brown or dark gray in color and has two distinct horns on its head.
Similar species
All species that show similar wing tops such as Polygonia comma , Polygonia interrogationis and Polygonia satyrus lack the greenish markings on the wing underside. This is also missing in the C-butterfly ( Polygonia c-album ), which is only found in Europe, Asia and North Africa. Thus in this case there is no overlap of the distribution areas to Polygonia faunus .
distribution and habitat
Polygonia faunus occurs from southern Alaska across the central states of the USA to the east coast and in some provinces of Canada . The distribution extends in the south to the northern regions of California , Georgia and New Mexico . The animals prefer moist terrain, for example the banks of rivers or shady forests.
Way of life
The species usually develops one generation per year and hibernates as a butterfly. Two generations per year can only occur in the southernmost occurrence areas. The main flight time is from June to August. When at rest, the moths like to sit on the ground and fold their wings upright. They then look like a withered leaf and are hard to see for predators. They suck on flowers, water points, carrion or dung to absorb food, liquids and minerals. In contrast to similar species, the caterpillars do not live in spun nests. They feed on the leaves of a large number of different plants, for example willow ( Salix ), poplar ( Populus ), birch ( Betula ) or alder species . The California populations prefer the leaves of the western azalea ( Rhododendron occidentale ). In breeding, nettle plants (Urticaceae) were also accepted as food.
Subspecies
In addition to the nominate form Polygonia faunus faunus , the following subspecies are distinguished:
- Polygonia faunus arcticus
- Polygonia faunus fulvescens
- Polygonia faunus hylas
- Polygonia faunus rusticus
- Polygonia faunus smythi
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ Butterflies and Moth of North America http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Polygonia-faunus
- ↑ a b c d James A. Scott: The Butterflies of North America: A Natural History and Field Guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California 1986, ISBN 0-8047-2013-4 , pp. 288/289.
- ↑ Photos at Bugguide http://bugguide.net/node/view/256001
- ^ Encyclopedia of Life http://eol.org/pages/162238/overview
literature
- James A. Scott: The Butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford CA. 1992, ISBN 0-8047-2013-4 , pp. 288/289.
Web links
- Carolina Nature Photos
- www.nic.funet.fi - dissemination
- butterfly.ucdavis.edu - Art Shapiro's Butterfly Site