Narrow-winged heather spanner

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Narrow-winged heather spanner
Pachycnemia hippocastanaria.jpg

Narrow-winged heather moth ( Pachycnemia hippocastanaria )

Systematics
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Spanner (Geometridae)
Subfamily : Ennominae
Tribe : Hypochrosini
Genre : Pachycnemia
Type : Narrow-winged heather spanner
Scientific name
Pachycnemia hippocastanaria
( Huebner , 1799)
Caterpillar
Common heather ( Calluna vulgaris ), the food plant of the caterpillar

The narrow-leaf Heather tensioner ( Pachycnemia hippocastanaria ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the tensioner (Geometridae). The reason for choosing the scientific species name is not known, because there is no connection to the common horse chestnut ( Aesculus hippocastanum ); The caterpillars feed on heather ( Calluna vulgaris ).

features

butterfly

The moths reach a wingspan of 24 to 32 millimeters. The long, narrow forewings, the upper side of which shows a matt gray color, are typical of the species. A whitish over-dusting, a blackish discal stain and the dark veins are mostly only indistinctly visible. The inner and outer transverse lines are made up of short dark lines, the border line with small black dots. The upper side of the hind wing is colored gray-white.

Caterpillar

The caterpillars are brown in color and darkly marbled. On the sides they are provided with triangular, whitish or yellow spots that vary in size. The head is colored red-brown.

Similar species

The females of the Bumblebee Nest Motte ( Aphomia sociella ) differ significantly by the striking black Diskalfleck on the front wing upper surface and the very long palps . The males differ primarily by a color graded drawing in light and dark tones on the upper side of the forewing.

distribution and habitat

The distribution area of ​​the narrow-winged heather stretcher stretches from northwest Africa through Europe to the south of Russia and Asia Minor . The main habitat are dry heaths, heather meadows and heather valleys. In the Alps , the species rises to an altitude of 1,400 meters.

Way of life

The moths are nocturnal and fly in two to three generations, mainly in March, July and October. Occasional overlaps are possible. They appear on artificial light sources . The caterpillars feed on the leaves of heather ( Calluna vulgaris ). The last generation overwinters in the pupal stage .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Arnold Spuler: The butterflies of Europe , Volume 2, E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, 1910, p. 107
  2. ^ A b Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 5: Spanner. (Geometridae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-440-04951-5 , S 262/263
  3. ↑ a b Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg. 1st edition. Volume 9. Moths VII. Geometridae 2nd part. 1 Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim), 2003, ISBN 3-8001-3279-6 , pp. 366-369
  4. ↑ Manfred Koch , Wolfgang Heinicke, Bernd Müller: We determine butterflies. Volume 4: Spanner. 2nd, improved and enlarged edition. Neumann, Leipzig / Radebeul 1976, DNB 780451570 , p. 242/243
  5. ↑ flight times

literature

  • Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg. 1st edition. Volume 9. Moths VII. Geometridae 2nd part. 1 Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim), 2003, ISBN 3-8001-3279-6

Web links

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