Smerinthus kindermannii
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Smerinthus kindermannii |
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| Smerinthus kindermannii | ||||||||||||
| Lederer , 1857 |
Smerinthus kindermannii is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of moth (Sphingidae).
features
The moths reach a wingspan of 70 to 80 millimeters. Males and females have a different color ( sexual dimorphism ). The species looks similar to the evening peacock butterfly ( Smerinthus ocellatus ), but has more elongated forewings, the outer edge of which is strongly toothed. Their pattern is more prominent and has a light brown or yellowish brown border. The abdomen segments each have white fringes. The pattern of the animals is very little variable, only the first generation in the year has a paler and lighter color. Butterflies from hot, dry habitats are reddish and paler in color than those from cooler and humid habitats and are known as forma orbatus .
The eggs look similar to those of the evening peacock. Those of females from China are significantly larger than those of females from Turkey, which are similar in size to the eggs of the poplar hawk ( Laothoe populi ). The caterpillars reach a body length of 55 to 60 millimeters and come in a green or bluish white color variant. They also look similar to the caterpillars of the evening peacock. In contrast to these, however, the green color variant with oblique, yellow side stripes, which are sometimes bordered in red, is more common. The other color variant has a white pattern. Adult caterpillars are shorter and significantly slimmer than those of the similar species and have a stronger but less erect anal horn . The doll is 30 to 37 millimeters long. It is deeply mahogany brown in color, but otherwise similar to the pupae of the evening peacock, with the difference that they are shorter and slimmer.
Occurrence
The western extent of the distribution area has not been fully researched, but the species has been proven in northern Turkey to Istanbul and in the south to Konya . The distribution then extends to Cyprus, the Caucasus , Armenia, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Northern Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Northern Iraq, as well as further east via Mashhad and Shiraz in Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, western Xinjiang in China, Tajikistan and northeast and eastern Afghanistan, to the south and east of the Hindu Kush , northern Pakistan and Kashmir . The species is also found in north, central and south Xinjiang and in the western Himalayas in India. One individual has also been detected in Kuwait . Evidence from the Transbaikal region in Russia is incorrect and is the brown form of Callambulyx tatarinovii .
The species inhabits light forests, river banks, foothills of plantations and oases with overgrown pastures. In Mesopotamia the species can be found almost everywhere where willows grow. Similar habitats are also found in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. In Iran, the species occurs only between 1500 and 2000 meters above sea level in the Zagros and Elburs Mountains .
Way of life
The Imagines slip often just before or during the dawn. In the case of the populations from Xinjiang , it was observed that the females begin to attract males shortly afterwards and that they fly during the day, often until noon. The pairing lasts from a few hours until sunset. It is assumed that this way of life is an adaptation to the very cold nights of the populated area of distribution. The caterpillars have a similar way of life as that of the evening peacock eye. Pupation takes place at the base of the food plant or more often at some distance from it under a tuft of grass, two to three centimeters deep in the earth in a chamber. The pupa hibernates.
Flight and caterpillar times
The species flies at higher altitudes and in northern Iran and northern Turkey in one generation from May to June. In Lebanon, it flies in two overlapping generations from early June to mid-September. In Mesopotamia, Central Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan it flies in three separate generations in March / April, May / June and August / September. In Xinjiang, China, there are two generations most years, flying in May and July / August. Only in years with cold in late spring only one generation flies from June or even July. The caterpillars occur between April and October, depending on the populated area of distribution and the altitude. There are no known parasitoids that infect the species.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed mainly on willows ( Salix ), more rarely on poplars ( Populus ). It is also reported that they eat apples ( malus ).
supporting documents
Individual evidence
literature
- Ian J. Kitching, Jean-Marie Cadiou: Hawkmoths of the World. An Annotated and Illustrated Revisionary Checklist (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). Cornell University Press, New York 2000, ISBN 0-801-43734-2
- AR Pittaway: The Hawkmoths of the western Palaearctic. Harley Books 1993, ISBN 0-946-58921-6
Web links
- Smerinthus kindermannii at Fauna Europaea