Sawtooth sensor softwood tensioner
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Sawtooth feeler coniferous wood tensioner ( Thera britannica ) |
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| Thera britannica | ||||||||||||
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The Spruce Carpet or British fir tensioner ( Thera britannica ) is a butterfly from the family of the tensioner (Geometridae).
features
The moths reach a wingspan of 24 to 27 millimeters for the males and 27 to 31 millimeters for the females. They are very variable in color. The most common are dark brown forms with a broad, white midfield, less common are forms that are leg white and often have a gray tint. The middle and basal fields are dark gray and constricted towards the hem. At the rear edge there are three egg-shaped, red-brown filled areas. The midfield, which is wide down to the lower transverse branch, narrows at the rear edge. A white wavy band cuts through the dark fringing area. The gray hind wings have a curved center line. The underside is almost white, with generally darker specimens the underside is also darker.
The rather narrow caterpillar resembles a spruce needle and is green in color. Typical small, pointed appendages occur in the anal area. The dark green dorsal line is delimited by fine white lines. The lateral line, which is clearly widened in the thorax and anal area, is colored lemon yellow. The legs are green, rarely drowned out in red. The eggs, 0.7 mm long and 0.4 mm wide, are initially greenish white and later light yellow. The pupa has the same basic color as the caterpillar.
Similar species
The species can hardly be distinguished from Thera variata ( Denis & Schiffermüller , 1775) on the basis of the drawing . The males can be easily distinguished by their antennae . With Thera britannica these have sawtooth-like antenna elements, which can easily be seen from the side with a magnifying glass. However, these sawtooth-like sensor elements cannot be seen from above or below. In females, a safe separation between Thera britannica and Thera variata is sometimes not possible even by genital examination . The males of Thera obeliscata can just as easily be distinguished by the antennae of Thera britannica , the females only by genital examination .
distribution
The sawtooth sensor coniferous wood clamp is widespread from the British Isles and France across Central Europe to the north of the Carpathian Mountains . The species is found in the north as far as the south of Scandinavia. In the south there are isolated occurrences in the Pyrenees , Corsica , the Apennine Peninsula , the Carpathians and the mountains of Greece (including the Peloponnese ) and Bulgaria . The species is more common in the northern regions of the Alps than in the southern areas. Outside of Europe there is confirmed evidence from north-west and north-east Turkey , from the Transcaucasus and the Caucasus . However, this evidence can also concern a previously unknown species or subspecies.
Way of life
The nocturnal moths fly in two generations from late April to early June and from early August to late October. The caterpillars of the first generation overwinter and can be found from mid-August to autumn and in spring to the end of March, the caterpillars of the second generation can be found from late May to late June. These caterpillars grow within four weeks, whereas those of the first generation eat less and overwinter than small caterpillars. Firs ( Abies ) and spruces ( Picea ) are used as fodder plants , which is why the species mostly only occurs in fir and spruce forests, sometimes it is also found in settlement areas. There she flies in the twilight and at night and also likes to come to light and to bait . During the day the moths sit between branches. Usually they are not easily startled, only in warmer temperatures, especially males, are more easily startled. Various small-flowered plants as well as leaking tree sap serve as food for the moths. They are most common on coltsfoot ( Tussilago farfara ) and butterbur ( Petasites ) in spring and on water deast ( Eupatorium ) in late summer.
Systematics
The kind was first started in 1920 by Höfer under the invalid name Thera variata . albonigrata . Gornik established in 1942 that this is a species different from Th. Variata , which was designated as Thera albonigrata Gornik , 1942. It was later found that the subspecies Thera variata britannica Turner , 1925, is identical to albonigrata . The valid name of the species is therefore Thera britannica .
supporting documents
- ^ A b Axel Hausmann, Jaan Viidalepp: The Geometrid Moths of Europe . In: Axel Hausmann (Ed.): The Geometrid Moths of Europe . 1st edition. Volume 3: Larentiinae II . Apollo Books, Stenstrup 2012, ISBN 978-87-88757-39-2 , pp. 236 (English).
- ↑ European butterflies ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Thera britannica
- ↑ a b Nature in NRW , Thera britannica; Section: Special Features; (Evidence for the entire section: Features)
- ↑ a b Lepiforum , Thera britannica; Section: Diagnosis
- ↑ a b Sven Erlacher: Thera britannica (TURNER, 1925) - a new kind of tensioner for the Saxon fauna (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) , Chemnitz PDF ; Section: "To distinguish between Thera britannica and Thera variata";
- ↑ Malcolm J. Scoble: Geometrid moths of the world. A catalog (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). Apollo Books, Stenstrup 1999, ISBN 0-643-06304-8
Web links
- Thera britannica at Fauna Europaea. Retrieved September 10, 2013
- Euroleps , Thera britannica