Perisomena caecigena
| Perisomena caecigena | ||||||||||||
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Preparation of a male |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Perisomena | ||||||||||||
| Walker , 1855 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Perisomena caecigena | ||||||||||||
| ( Kupido , 1825) |
Perisomena caecigena is a butterfly ofthe peacock moth family (Saturniidae). The species is the only one of the genus Perisomena . Some authors include it in the closely related genus Saturnia .
features
butterfly
The moths reach a wingspan of 62 to 88 millimeters, with the males becoming larger. The wings are thinly scaled. In the males, the antennae are pinnate fourfold with particularly long, fan-shaped, orange-brown comb teeth. The head and neck collar are reddish yellow, the thorax and abdomen are bright yolk yellow. The basic color of the animals is otherwise light ocher yellow, on the front edge of the forewings and in the submarginal area they are pink. The forewings have an antemedian and a postdiscal dark gray to black-brown transverse band, of which the inner (antemedian) is less developed and the outer (postdiscal), jagged one is very strongly marked. The small, red-brown eye spots are outlined in black. The hind wings are colored like the forewings, but they lack the eye spots. The females look very similar to the males, but have a more extensive pink to pale wine-red wing coloration, which sometimes covers almost the entire wing. The basic color at the base and on the inner edge of the forewings is more yellowish. The plump body is colored like the male, the wings are more elongated and more rounded. The antennae of the females are provided with short comb teeth.
The intensity of the transverse bandages and the pink scales are variable.
There are completely yellow colored (forma unicolor ), as well as almost completely pink colored (forma wiskotti ). The latter occurs mainly in females. Near the coast, the moths are clearly more contrasting in color than the relatively pale, weakly scaled animals from higher altitudes, which are also smaller.
The subspecies Perisomena caecigena stroehlei reaches wing spans of 40 to 65 mm (females) and 48 to 90 mm (males). It shows only a few sexual dimorphisms, even if the variability is higher in this subspecies and the basic color of the animals ranges from dark brown-red or dark gray-brown to wine-red, light gray-brown or light pink-brown. Yellow components are absent in both sexes.
egg
The rectangular 2.5 by 2 mm eggs are glossy cream-colored and are coated with a brown mass when they are placed.
Caterpillar
The caterpillars are 60 to 90 millimeters long and appear in only one color. After hatching, they are 4.5 millimeters long, black in color with brown tubercles. When fully grown, they resemble the caterpillars of the lesser night peacock butterfly ( Saturnia pavonia ). They are pale green with six yellowish tubercles on each segment. They have a yellow band that runs underneath the stigma and differ from the similar species in that they have long, white hairs on the tubercles. The body is otherwise covered with shorter white hair.
Doll
The pupa is brown and has fine gray fuzz.
distribution and habitat
The nominate subspecies comes from Italy, east of Venice on the Croatian border and the south-east of Austria (Styria) via Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Albania, western Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, large parts of Turkey, the Georgian Caucasus , Armenia to Azerbaijan. There is also an isolated population in the mountainous regions of Lebanon and Israel. Despite statements to the contrary, there is no other isolated occurrence in Abruzzo in Italy. Evidence from Sicily is also questionable. The subspecies Perisomena caecigena stroehlei occurs only in the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus.
The nominate subspecies inhabits dry, bushy, open forest areas with oak vegetation , the subspecies Perisomena caecigena stroehlei inhabits similar habitats in mountainous areas.
Way of life
The nocturnal moths hatch at dusk on cool and damp autumn nights. The males begin to fly an hour after dark and prefer cool and even cold, damp weather. The females lure the males with pheromones about two hours after dark. They can attract many males at once. The moths are active up to a temperature of 2 ° C and survive even light frosts. The males can be attracted by light sources and can often be seen in the beam of light from car headlights when driving through forests. Similar to the nail patch ( Aglia tau ), the wings are flapped roof-like over the body in the resting position. The moths are short-lived and very active. Most animals mate in the first night after hatching and take 15 minutes to two hours. The females try to lay all of their eggs in the same night and lay the remaining eggs the following night. Most butterflies are dead three to four days after mating.
Flight and caterpillar times
The moths of the nominate subspecies fly from late September to early November, depending on the altitude, with the maximum in October. The moths of the subspecies Perisomena caecigena stroehlei fly from late September to early October. The caterpillars can be found from April to the end of May.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed mainly of oak ( Quercus ), such as English oak ( Quercus robur ), sessile oak ( Quercus petraea ), downy oak ( Quercus pubescens ), Turkey oak ( Quercus cerris ), cork oak ( Quercus suber ) and holm oak ( Quercus ilex ), one But it is also found on common beech ( Fagus sylvatica ), hornbeam ( Carpinus betulus ), black poplar ( Populus nigra ), silver poplar ( Populus alba ), ash ( Fraxinus ), pear ( Pyrus ) and species of Prunus . The subspecies Perisomena caecigena stroehlei has been found in oaks and poplars. On oaks, the caterpillars prefer to eat the immature pollen sacs of the male kittens. Sal willow ( Salix caprea ) is also accepted for rearing .
development
The females lay up to 100 eggs in clutches of up to six on the branches of the food plants. The eggs hibernate and the caterpillars do not hatch until spring, when the weather is warm. After hatching, part of the egg shell is first eaten. The caterpillars then look for a suitable resting place between young, still undeveloped leaves. They initially sit in groups on top of the leaves and branches. Later they live as loners. Depending on the quality of the food, they go through four or five caterpillar stages. They need dry and hot conditions for good development. Pupation takes place in a dark brown, about 35 millimeter long, double-walled cocoon , which is spun on branches and leaves of the food plants, often on or near the ground. The inner wall is made of a fine fabric, the outer one of a coarser fabric. You can see the pupa through the cocoon. The summer is spent resting the dolls.
Specialized enemies
In the nominate subspecies, the caterpillar fly Exorista sorbillans and the parasitic wasp Coelichneumon erythromerus have been identified as parasitoids .
Hazard and protection
The species is widespread in southern Europe and occurs frequently in places. She is not endangered.
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Saturniidae of Europe: Antheraea pernyi. AR Pittaway, accessed December 18, 2011 .
- ↑ a b c Josef J. de Freina, Thomas J. Witt: Noctuoidea, Sphingoidea, Geometroidea, Bombycoidea . In: The Bombyces and Sphinges of the Western Palaearctic . 1st edition. tape 1 . EFW Edition Research & Science, Munich 1987, ISBN 3-926285-00-1 , p. 399 .
literature
- Josef J. de Freina, Thomas J. Witt: Noctuoidea, Sphingoidea, Geometroidea, Bombycoidea . In: The Bombyces and Sphinges of the Western Palaearctic . 1st edition. tape 1 . EFW Edition Research & Science, Munich 1987, ISBN 3-926285-00-1 .
Web links
- Saturnia (Perisomena) caecigena in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved December 20, 2011