Southern lesser peacock butterfly
| Southern lesser peacock butterfly | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Saturnia pavoniella | ||||||||||||
| ( Scopoli , 1763) |
The southern lesser night peacock butterfly ( Saturnia pavoniella ), also known as the Ligurian night peacock butterfly , is a butterfly from the family of the peacock moth (Saturniidae). The species was separated from the small night peacock butterfly ( Saturnia pavonia ) in 2003 by Huemer & Nässig . This is justified in particular with the sterility of the F1 hybrids of the two species, differences in wing pattern and genital morphology .
features
butterfly
The moths have a wingspan of 45 to 70 millimeters (males) or 50 to 95 millimeters (females). This makes them larger than the similar small peacock butterfly. The males are also usually more vividly colored rusty to wine-red, the females often have pink pollination, especially on the hind wings. The outline of the wings is also more rounded, often with a broadly curved outer edge on the forewings. The similar species, however, has triangular forewings with a straight outer edge.
At least in the case of populations in the east of the Alps (especially the females), the course of the post and sub-medial lines of the hind wings is a good distinguishing feature. In S. pavoniella the two lines behind the eye-spots come very close to each other, only to move away from each other towards the inner edge. In front of the inner edge, the lines bend clearly to the rear. In the similar type, the two lines run almost parallel to the inner edge and do not bend backwards at the edge. The abdomen of the females is also suitable for differentiating the eastern populations. In S. pavoniella it is almost monochrome gray-brown and only sometimes has lighter brown colored intersegmental membranes. In S. pavonia the abdomen is a single color gray with whitish horizontal stripes at the posterior segment boundaries. However, these two characteristics cannot be used for species identification in northeastern Spanish and southern French populations. In general, the characteristics are not very variable. Problems with species delimitation are apparently caused by F1 hybrids occurring in areas of overlap, in which introgression may occur through reproductive male hybrids .
In the males, the ventral edge of the valves is provided with a flap-like extension. In the similar species, a second thorn-shaped appendage is formed at the distal end of the sacculus , which in S. pavoniella is at most a small tooth. In the female genitalia, the tips of the post-apophyses are moderately to distinctly arrow-shaped.
egg
The eggs are 1.4 by 2.2 millimeters in size and are grayish-white with olive-brown adhesive material.
Caterpillar
.JPG)
.JPG)
The caterpillars reach a length of 67 to 88 millimeters. The animals, which are initially two to three millimeters long, are initially black and have bristles. With increasing growth, orange spots appear around the base of the tubercles, especially ventro-laterally. These expand further in the course of development, merge with one another and - in contrast to S. pavonia , where this rarely occurs before - they become increasingly green after the third moult. As a rule, the adult animals are peppermint green and have a yellow longitudinal line below the stigmas on their abdomen . Each segment is provided on the back with a half-ring of six spiked tubercles, which sometimes have a black ring at the base. In some animals, these can merge into black spots. The adult caterpillars have significantly less black in their body color than S. pavonia .
The caterpillars of S. pavonia are generally more variable in color from the second instar and are also more colorful, restless and less uniformly patterned than those of S. pavoniella . With the latter type, the black rings around the individual segments along the solos are first broken down into individual spots towards green, and the black back line remains the longest. In the fourth stage, the caterpillar often has a grid pattern with additional black cross rings over the scoli. In the similar species, the dorsal line dissolves first, while the rings remain black the longest. The fourth stage caterpillar is then much more irregularly colored and very rarely has a grid pattern. The adult caterpillars of S. pavionella are often monochrome green except for the scoli, whereas the caterpillars of the similar species have at least black transverse rings along the scoli. However, the reduction in black is individually very variable and dependent on moisture, temperature and light. The drier, warmer and lighter, the sooner the caterpillars turn green. The tubercles on the scoli are individually variable yellow or less often reddish in color.
Doll
The comma-shaped doll is 22 to 28 millimeters long. It is light to dark brown in color and clearly flattened dorso-ventrally.
Similar species
- Viennese night peacock butterfly ( Saturnia pyri )
- Middle peacock butterfly ( Saturnia spini )
- Small peacock butterfly Saturnia pavonia
Occurrence
The species occurs from the alpine regions of Austria , the Czech Republic , Slovakia and Italy across south-eastern Europe to northern Turkey and the Caucasus . However, the species status in Asia Minor is unclear, as is the distribution of the species in south-eastern France . In the south of Germany and in the north of Austria the occurrence of the species overlaps with that of S. pavonia . There is a small amount of evidence from Upper Austria.
Way of life
The way of life of S. pavoniella does not differ from that of S. pavonia . There are only differences in mating behavior. The females of the first species mate with several males one behind the other, whereas those of the other species only attract males once and stop after the first mating.
Flight and caterpillar times
The moths fly from February to June. In northern Greece the maximum is in May.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed polyphagous . Depending on the region, they prefer other food crops. These include in particular Rubus species, blackthorn ( Prunus spinosa ), hawthorn ( Crataegus ), oak ( Quercus ), hornbeam ( Carpinus ), birch ( Betula ), willow ( Salix ), heather ( Erica ), blueberries ( Vaccinium ), sparrows ( Spiraea ), meadowsweet ( Filipendula ) Lythrum ( Lythrum ), Potentilla ( Potentilla ), roses ( Rosa ), heather ( Calluna ) and buckthorn ( Hippophae ). In the north of Greece the caterpillars are mostly found on Mediterranean blackberries ( Rubus ulmifolius ) and Pyrus amygdaliformis .
development
The females lay their eggs in a disordered clutch that is regularly but sparsely mixed with scales of the abdomen. The caterpillars hatch 10 to 14 days after being laid. At first they eat parts of the egg shell and then gather in groups. They move around fairly openly and tend to eat on the lower parts of the food plants. From the third stage onwards, they spread out and live as loners. Larger caterpillars can then be found higher up on the food plants. Pupation takes place in a double-walled brown cocoon deep down on the food plant. Often it is at ground level. The outer, very wide, sack-shaped layer is loose and closed. The inner layer is firm, very slender, elongated pear-shaped. There is a double slip lock. The smaller cocoon of S. pavonia , on the other hand, is without a complete outer layer, the inner cocoon is more compact and rounded. There are no known parasitoids that infect the species.
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Saturniidae of Europe. AR Pittaway, accessed March 22, 2011 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Differences between Saturnia pavonia and Saturnia pavoniella in Central and Southern Europe. (PDF; 609 kB) Wolfgang A. Nässig, accessed on March 22, 2011 .
- ↑ S. Ortner, N. Pöll, changes and additions for the state of Upper Austria to "The Butterflies of Austria" (HUEMER & TARMANN 1993) Macrolepidoptera, Mitt.Ent.Arb.gem.Salzkammergut, 2004
