Sickle owl
| Sickle owl | ||||||||||||
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Sickle Owl ( Laspeyria flexula ) |
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| Laspeyria flexula | ||||||||||||
| ( Denis & Schiffermüller , 1775) |
The sickle owl ( Laspeyria flexula ), also known as the coniferous lichen owl or gray lichen owl , is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the owl butterflies (Noctuidae). It is the only species of the genus Laspeyria and the subfamily Aventiinae that occurs in Europe.
features
The moths have a wingspan of 26 to 36 millimeters. The head, the labial palps and the patagium are orange-red, the rest of the thorax and the abdomen are gray-white with black over-dusting. The antennae of the male are only covered with short cilia. The drawing and basic color of the wings are comparatively little variable. The apex of the fore wing is crescent-shaped with a deep indentation below it. The top of the forewing is gray with a brown smudge towards the terms and a dark overdust. The inner and outer transverse lines run diagonally and bend abruptly on the Costa. Both transverse lines are lined with brown and are thus clearly drawn. From the kink of the transverse lines to the costal edge, a dark, faded spot is formed on both transverse lines to the median field. The wavy line is drawn more finely than the inner and outer transverse line, colored pale straw yellow and wavy. The kidney defects are faintly drawn and barely visible, but contain two small black dots. The indentation on the term is bordered in brown and gives the image of a crescent moon. The internural spots are darker than the base color and can also be seen in the brown crescent moon. The hind wings are a little lighter and slightly angled on half of the terms. They only show a single dark transverse line and dark internural spots. The fringed scales are light brown. The underside of the wings is light gray with an orange-brown over-dusting. The underside of the fore and hind wings show a curved post-disk transverse line and a v-shaped, dark disk spot.
The egg is cone-shaped, with a flattened tip and a broadly curved underside. The surface has 28 weak, corrugated ribs, of which 15 reach the micropyl zone and there z. T. are somewhat stronger. The egg is light yellow in color, the ribs are light brown in the area of the micropyl zone.
The caterpillar is noticeably slender and becomes 22 to 26 millimeters long. The first two pairs of legs are greatly reduced, the edge of the abdomen is provided with skin protuberances. The basic color varies from whitish gray to greenish with a darker, lichen-like pattern on the back and sides. There are black slashes on the sides of the first three segments. The back line is a little darker than the base color, especially in the segment incisions. The secondary back lines are lined with light and darker lines. The segments 9 and 10 are kept a little darker. The point warts are black. From autumn - overwintering - to June on coniferous lichen.
The doll is relatively slim. The Kremaster has four fine bristles of equal length.
Geographical distribution and habitat
The sickle owl occurs from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Russian Far East. The southern border of the distribution runs from the north of the Iberian Peninsula, across Corsica , southern Italy and southern Greece to the Black Sea, along the northern coast of Turkey to the Caucasus . The northern area boundary runs from southern England, southern Norway over the Urals , Siberia to the Ussuri region and Japan.
The species prefers coniferous and mixed forests, but also deciduous forests and parklands. In the Alps it rises to 1,300 meters.
Way of life
The sickle owl forms two generations per year, and in favorable years and under favorable climatic conditions three generations, whose moths fly almost continuously from the beginning of June to the beginning of October. In Baden-Württemberg, the first generation moths fly from around the end of May / beginning of June to mid / end of July, the second generation from late July to mid-August. The moths that fly from the beginning of September probably belong to a third (partial?) Generation. The moths are nocturnal and come to light and the bait. They rest on trunks during the day, but fly up easily. According to Bergmann (1954), they like to sit on the ground on needles and moss on hot days.
The caterpillars are nocturnal and can be found in August and September and again from October. They feed on lichens such as ( Physcia stellaris and common yellow lichen ( Xanthoria parietina )), which grow on the bark of conifers, as well as algae of the Protococcus genus , which grow on the bark of conifers, but also shrubs such as blackthorn ( Prunus spinosa ) and hawthorn ( Crataegus spp.) Grow. Bergmann (1954) gives the lichen genera Parmelia , Peltigera and Graphis . The young caterpillar overwinters.
Pupation takes place in a yellow-gray solid web between needles and lichen on the branches. The puppet rest lasts four to six weeks.
Danger
The sickle owl is not endangered in Germany.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Red Lists at Science4you
- ↑ a b c d Goater et al. (2003: p. 112/3)
- ^ Forster & Wohlfahrt (1971: p. 300/1)
- ↑ Kari Nupponen & Michael Fibiger: Contribution to the knowledge of the fauna of Bombyces, Sphinges and Noctuidae of the Southern Ural Mountains, with description of a new Dichagyris (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae, Endromidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Notodontidae, Noctuidae, Pantheidae , Nolidae, Arctiidae). Phegea 30 (4): 121-185, 2002 ISSN 0771-5277
- ↑ a b Ebert (Ed.) (1997: pp. 493–496)
- ↑ a b Bergmann (1954: p. 960/1)
literature
- Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg. Volume 5. Moths III (Sesiidae, Arctiidae, Noctuidae). Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1997. ISBN 3-8001-3481-0 .
- Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .
- Barry Goater, Lázló Ronkay and Michael Fibiger: Noctuidae Europaeae, Volume 10 Catocalinae & Plusiinae. Sorø, 2003, ISBN 8-789-43008-5 .
Web links
- www.lepiforum.de - Taxonomy and photos
- Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
- www.biolib.cz
- Laspeyria flexula at Fauna Europaea. Retrieved December 15, 2010