Polygonia progne

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Polygonia progne
Polygonia progne

Polygonia progne

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Noble butterfly (Nymphalidae)
Subfamily : Spotted butterfly (Nymphalinae)
Genre : Polygonia
Type : Polygonia progne
Scientific name
Polygonia progne
( Cramer , 1775)
Wing underside
Caterpillar

Polygonia progne ( Syn .: Nymphalis progne ) is a butterfly (day butterfly ) from the noble butterfly family(Nymphalidae).

features

butterfly

The moths reach a wingspan of 44 to 63 millimeters. The wings are strongly serrated on the outer edge and are variable in color. The basic color is orange to brownish on the upper side of the forewing. The upper side of the rear wing shows a broad dark brown band in a "summer generation", while the "autumn / winter generation" shows a narrow dark band. All butterflies have a black, brown and yellow pattern of spots. The undersides of the wings are marbled in graduated, dark gray tones, which is why the species is also referred to as gray comma in English usage . Noticeable is a white mark in the middle of the hind wings that resembles a comma punctuation mark or the letter L.

egg

The egg is green in color. It is deposited individually on the underside of leaves of the food plant.

Caterpillar

Adult caterpillars show a yellow-brown, reddish brown or dark brown basic color. The entire body is covered with many short, strongly branched thorns. There are also orange spots or lines on the sides. Behind each segment there are alternating narrow yellow and brown ring-like transverse lines.

Doll

The doll is black-brown to red-brown in color. It has a very pronounced hump and two short tips on the head. A few silver or gold iridescent spots stand out on the back.

Subspecies

The following subspecies are known:

  • Polygonia progne progne ( Cramer , 1775)
  • Polygonia progne nigrozephyrus ( Scott , 1984)

Similar species

Polygonia progne resembles many types of Polygonia due to the drawing on the upper side of the wings , in particular:

distribution and habitat

Polygonia progne occurs in the southeastern provinces of Canada , but has also been detected in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia . The distribution extends along the Pacific coast to the middle of California . To the east the species is distributed through the north of the USA to Maine , to the south to Kansas . The animals prefer forest areas, for example areas with coastal sequoia trees ( Redwood forest ).

Way of life

The species forms up to two generations per year depending on the climatic region of the occurrence. The moths of the last generation overwinter as moths and fly again in the spring of the following year. At rest they like to sit on the ground and fold their wings upright. You then look like a withered leaf. This means that they can hardly be recognized by predators. The moths rarely visit flowers. Instead, they prefer watering holes, overripe fruit, and manure for ingesting food and minerals. The caterpillars mostly live individually and feed on a variety of different plants, such as the heather family (Ericaceae) or currant species ( Ribes ).

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Butterflies and Moths of North America
  2. ↑ a b 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. 287/288.
  3. ↑ caterpillar at Bug Guide
  4. ^ Lepidoptera and some other life forms. Markku Savela, accessed January 30, 2015 .
  5. ↑ Scott, James A. (1984): A Review of Polygonia progne (oreas) and P. gracilis (zephyrus) (Nymphalidae), including a new Subspecies from the Southern Rocky Mountains. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 23 (3): pp. 197-210 PDF
  6. ^ Animal Diversity Web

literature

  • James A. Scott: The Butterflies of North America , Stanford University Press, Stanford CA., 1992, ISBN 0-8047-2013-4 , pp. 287/288

Web links

Commons : Polygonia progne  - collection of images, videos and audio files