Ring moth

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Ring moth
Ring moth (Malacosoma neustria)

Ring moth ( Malacosoma neustria )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Huckling (Lasiocampidae)
Subfamily : Lasiocampinae
Genre : Malacosoma
Type : Ring moth
Scientific name
Malacosoma neustria
( Linnaeus , 1758)
Ice level
Ring moth caterpillar
The caterpillar's head with pseudo-eyes
Doll cocoon of the ring moth

The Ringelspinner ( Malacosoma neustria ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of clucking (Lasiocampidae).

features

The moths reach a wingspan of 25 to 40 millimeters. The basic wing color varies between light yellow, brown, red-brown and gray-brown. On the forewings of the males there are two transverse lines, which are brownish in light specimens and whitish in darker representatives. They roughly separate the thirds of the wings. In the females, which are significantly larger than the males, the area between the cross bars is darker in color. The antennae of the males, in contrast to the thread-like ones of the females, are strongly combed.

The caterpillars are about 60 millimeters long and are strikingly brightly colored. They have a bright blue-gray basic color next to which a light back line and next to it orange, dark and yellow vertical stripes can be seen. Her head is blue-gray but has two black spots that look like eyes. They have long, light, soft hair, especially on the sides. They have a hump on the 12th segment.

  • ♂

  • ♀

Similar species

  • Spurge moth ( Malacosoma castrensis ) (Linnaeus, 1758)

Occurrence

The animals are found all over Europe except in the far north, east to the Black Sea . They live in light forests and hedges, but also on orchards and parks. They have become rare almost everywhere. The species, which was still locally harmful in many parts of Central Europe in the 19th century, is from today's perspective a sensitive bio-indicator for near-natural orchards, orchards, etc.

Way of life

Flight and caterpillar times

The moths fly from the end of June to mid-August, the caterpillars are found from May to June.

Food of the caterpillars

The caterpillars feed particularly on blackthorn ( Prunus spinosa ), but also on numerous other deciduous trees and shrubs, such as. B. from willow ( Salix caprea ), hornbeam ( Carpinus betulus ), English oak ( Quercus robur ), pear ( Pyrus communis ), apple ( Malus domestica ) and Eingriffeligem Hawthorn ( Crataegus monogyna ). In the past, the caterpillars were feared pests and could cause damage to fruit trees through mass reproduction, but now there is no more damage due to the reduced population numbers.

development

In summer, the females lay their eggs, which are hard and glued together with hard putty, in rings about one centimeter wide around thin branches. The eggs hatch in the next spring, almost naked caterpillars that are striped lengthways and that eat the leaves and flowers when the weather is nice. They live socially in webs, in which they retreat to skin and also during feeding breaks. After the last moult, they live solitary and pupate in June in a white cocoon between leaves that is powdered lemon yellow.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Heiko Bellmann : The new cosmos butterfly guide. Butterflies, caterpillars and forage plants. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-440-09330-1 , p. 74.
  2. ^ A b Hans-Josef Weidemann, Jochen Köhler: Moths. Weirdos and hawkers. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-89440-128-1 , p. 121ff.
  3. ↑ Gerfried Deschka, Josef Wimmer, The Butterfly Fauna of the Cross Wall, Contribution. Naturk. Upper Austria, 2000
  4. ↑ Malacosoma castrensis. Butterflies-Deutschlands.de, Christian Tolasch, accessed on November 2, 2006 .

literature

  • Günter Ebert (Ed.): The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 4, Moths II (Bombycidae, Endromidae, Lemoniidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Drepanidae, Notodontidae, Dilobidae, Lymantriidae, Ctenuchidae, Nolidae). Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1994. ISBN 3-800-13474-8
  • Manfred Koch , Wolfgang Heinicke: We identify butterflies. 3. Edition. Neumann, Radebeul 1991, ISBN 3-7402-0092-8 .

Web links

Commons : Ringelspinner  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files