Great spear tensioner
| Great spear tensioner | ||||||||||||
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Large spear wrench ( Rheumaptera hastata ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Rheumaptera hastata | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The great spear wrench ( Rheumaptera hastata ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the spanner family (Geometridae).
features
Imago
The butterfly has a wingspan of 34 to 38 millimeters. The wings are black with white drawing elements of very variable dimensions. The very narrow basal transverse line is followed by a wider inner transverse line. The dark central field is streaked with white spots that may be related to the transverse lines. The outer transverse line forms a wide white band in which there is usually a row of black dots. In the black fringing area is the wavy line dissolved into white spots, which in the middle part forms an arrow-shaped or lance-shaped drawing directed towards the hem. The scientific name of the species is derived from this element. The fringes are checked in black and white. The drawing of the hind wings is similar to that of the forewings. In some shapes, the basic black shade is reduced to a few black spots.
egg
The egg is yellowish. The surface has a reticulate pattern. Warts sit on the crossing points of the mesh.
Caterpillar
The caterpillar is relatively short and tapers slightly at both ends. It is brown with a dark center line bordered with yellow lines. The side back line and the side panel are also yellow and can be expanded with dots. Pupation takes place between spun leaves.
Doll
The doll is brown with a pointed black cremaster with two pointed bristles at the end.
Way of life
Flight and caterpillar times
The Großer Speerspanner forms a generation a year that flies from the end of April to the end of July, a little later at higher altitudes. The eggs are laid on birch trees ( Betula ), wild berries ( Vaccinium uliginosum ) and blueberries ( Vaccinium myrtillus ). The caterpillars can be found from June to August. They live between spun leaves, where pupation also takes place. The pupa hibernates. The moths hatch in spring.
Occurrence
The species is found mainly in damp forests, meadow valleys, raised and birch moors. It rises in the Alps to an altitude of 1,900 meters. In northern Germany, however, it is limited to the plains and the flat hill country. The species is absent in the deeper valleys of the Southern Alps. The species is mostly not rare, but mostly not exactly common either. The stocks fluctuate greatly from year to year.
distribution
The species occurs in almost all parts of Europe. The distribution area then extends over northern Asia to the Far East and large parts of China. The species is also found in large parts of North America. There are currently three subspecies : Rheumaptera hastata hastata , Rheumaptera hastata nigrescens and Rheumaptera hastata thulearia .
swell
literature
- Arno Bergmann: The large butterflies of Central Germany. Volume 5/1: Spanner. Distribution, forms and communities. Urania-Verlag, Jena 1955, DNB 450378403 .
- Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . Volume 8, Nachtfalter VI (Spanner (Geometridae) 1st part), Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-800-13497-7 .
- Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 5: Spanner. (Geometridae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-440-04951-5 .
- Manfred Koch , Eduard Schütze: We determine butterflies. Volume 4: Spanner of Germany. Neumann, Radebeul / Berlin 1961, DNB 452481945 .
