Two-brood dice thick-headed butterfly
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Two-brood cube-headed butterfly ( Pyrgus armoricanus ) |
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| Pyrgus armoricanus | ||||||||||||
| ( Oberthür , 1910) |
The two-brood cube-headed butterfly ( Pyrgus armoricanus ), also two-brood puzzle butterfly , is a butterfly from the family of the thick-headed butterfly (Hesperiidae).
features
The fore wing length of the butterfly is twelve to 14 millimeters. The upper sides of the fore and hind wings are characterized by white spots. The discal spot on the hind wing is particularly pronounced. On the underside of the hind wings there is a discal band, particularly strong in cells four, five and six. There is a round spot in cell 1c. In the female, the number of spots on the top is fewer.
The egg is yellowish green, rounded and flattened. The outside shows numerous, strong longitudinal ribs.
The caterpillars are mostly dark brown to grayish brown, rarely greenish brown or reddish brown with a black head and a dark neck shield. The two side spine lines are light and stand out very clearly from the basic color. They are very hairy, but the hair is short. The back is covered with bright spots.
The doll has a strong bluish frosting with a very pronounced pattern consisting of black dots and lines on the back.
Geographical occurrence and habitat
The two-brood dice thick-headed butterfly is distributed from North Africa ( Algeria and Morocco ) across most of southern, central and southeastern Europe, southern and eastern Europe (Ukraine, southern Russia), the Caucasus, Asia Minor to Iran and Turkmenistan . Tshikovoletz records an isolated occurrence in the area of the South Urals (border area Russia / Kazakhstan). However, it is absent in the British Isles, the northwestern European coastal areas and in most of Scandinavia. The northernmost occurrences are in southern Sweden ( Scania ) and in the southern Baltic States . The species has become very rare in the north of its range. It occurs from about 50 to 1700 meters above sea level, in North Africa from 1500 to 1800 meters. The species only inhabits poorly overgrown limestone grasslands, where Potentilla plants can lie freely on the ground or are surrounded by moss, including dry, south-facing slopes. At least in Central Europe they have to be kept open through constant grazing.
Way of life
The species is multi-brood and fast developing, which forms a continuous generation succession under optimal breeding conditions. The moths fly in two generations in Central Europe from late May and mid-June and from early August to mid-September. In very warm years even a partial third generation can be formed. In climatically less favorable areas (in the north of the distribution area), however, there is only one generation from June to July. The females lay the eggs individually on the underside of the leaves of the host plants. The caterpillars feed on creeping cinquefoil ( Potentilla reptans ), common spring cinquefoil ( Potentilla tabernaemontani ), Potentilla verna , high cinquefoil ( Potentilla recta ) and star-haired spring cinquefoil Potentilla pusilla . In breeding, they also ate yellow sunflower ( Helianthemum nummularium ). Small meadowsweet ( Filipendula vulgaris ) is also mentioned as a caterpillar food for southern Sweden . They live in a "tent" made of leaves that are spun together in the moss layer around the food plants. The feces are shot far away. The caterpillars can overwinter in the 2nd to 4th instar. They start feeding on the first warm days in spring. The doll rests in a cone-like web between leaves.
Systematics
The division of the species into subspecies has been controversial in the past. In 1940 the subspecies ssp. disjunctus established by Alberti. It is not recognized by all authors.
- Pyrgus armoricanus armoricanus (Oberthür, 1910), in Western Europe and Italy, Switzerland
- Pyrgus armoricanus disjunctus Alberti, 1940, in Northern Germany. Populations in Bavaria and also in Austria are assigned to this subspecies by some authors. It is smaller than the nominate subspecies flying in Central Europe with clearer drawing, the drawing elements are somewhat larger. The underside of the wings is a little grayer.
- Pyrgus armoricanus maroccanus ( Charles Picard 1950), North Africa (Algeria and Morocco), this subspecies is slightly larger than the nominate subspecies, the markings are more distinct. The underside of the forewing is lightened along the inner and outer edges and the costa. The hind wing underside is grayish-yellow.
- Pyrgus armoricanus persicus (Reverdin, 1913), southern Greece, Crete , Caucasus region, Turkey and Iran. The subspecies shows slight deviations in the male genital apparatus.
Danger
The two-brood cube-headed butterfly is endangered by habitat loss due to eutrophication , fallow traps and intensification, overbuilding, dismemberment, but also by renaturation measures such as rewetting of populated bogs and isolation of the few populations. In places, an area expansion is observed as a result of global warming, as the higher temperatures favor this fast-breeding species. However, due to the increasing fragmentation and change in habitats, it is certainly z. T. destroyed again.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans-Josef Weidemann: Butterfly: observe, determine . Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89440-115-X , p. 316 .
- ^ A b c Lionel G. Higgins, Norman D. Riley: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . 1st edition. Paul Parey, Hamburg / Berlin 1978, ISBN 3-490-01918-0 , pp. 278 .
- ↑ Vadim V. Tshikolovets: Butterflies of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and the Urals. 176 pp., Self-published by V. Tshikovolets, Kiev & Brno 2003 ISBN 966-02-2861-9 .
- ↑ a b Wagner (2006: pp. 91–92)
- ↑ Erik Öckinger: Possible Metapopulation Structure of the Threatened Butterfly Pyrgus armoricanus in Sweden. Journal of Insect Conservation, 10 (1): 43-51, London 2006 doi : 10.1007 / s10841-005-1249-7
- ^ Herbert G. Meier: Contribution to the Lepidoptera fauna of the Upper Mur Valley of Styria and Lungau (Salzburg). Announcements of the Natural Science Association of Styria, 93: 242-273, Graz 1963 PDF
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Emmanuel de Bros: Ten Hesperiidae (Lep.) From the Rif (Morocco). Journal of the Association of Austrian Entomologists, 14 (3): 94-99, Vienna 1962 PDF
- ↑ Nimet Sema Gençer, Orkun Barış Kovanci and Bahattin Kovanci: Distribution and Current Status of Hesperiidae and Pieridae species (Lepidoptera) Occurring in Bursa Province, Northwestern Turkey. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 33: 215-223, Ankara 2009 doi : 10.3906 / zoo-0802-8
- ^ VK Tuzov et al .: Guide to the Butterflies of Russia and adjacent territories. 480 p., Sofia and Moscow 1997 text and photos
literature
- Lionel G. Higgins, Norman D. Riley: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . 1st edition. Paul Parey, Hamburg / Berlin 1978, ISBN 3-490-01918-0 .
- Wolfgang Wagner: The genus Pyrgus in Central Europe and its ecology - larval habitats, nutrient plants and development cycles . - In: T. Fartmann & G. Hermann (Eds.): Larval ecology of butterflies and rams in Central Europe. Treatises from the Westphalian Museum of Natural History, 68 (3/4): 83–122, Münster 2006 PDF .
- Butterflies. 2. Special part: Satyridae, Libytheidae, Lycaenidae, Hesperiidae . In: Günter Ebert, Erwin Rennwald (eds.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 2 . Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1991, ISBN 3-8001-3459-4 .
- Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 .
- Hans-Josef Weidemann: Butterflies: observe, determine . Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89440-115-X .
