Sphingonaepiopsis gorgoniades
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Sphingonaepiopsis gorgoniades , male |
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| ( Huebner , 1819) |
Sphingonaepiopsis gorgoniades is a butterfly ( moth ) fromthe swarm family (Sphingidae). The species iswidespreadin south- east Europe and in the Near and Middle East .
features
The moths have a wingspan of 25 to 32 millimeters. Their forewings are patterned whitish-gray. The animals are only slightly variable, only the yellow-brown or pale orange speckles on the hind wings vary in their intensity and extent. In some individuals the hind wings have a very pronounced pattern of pale orange spots. In butterflies from drier habitats, this pattern sometimes occurs on the forewings of pale and brownish-colored animals. The species can only be confused with Sphingonaepiopsis kuldjaensis in its range .
The small, almost spherical eggs are 1.0 by 1.1 millimeters long. They are pale green; shortly before hatching, they turn bright yellow. The caterpillars reach a body length of 30 to 40 millimeters and come in three color variants (gray-green, reddish or whitish). All shapes have white vertical stripes. After hatching, the caterpillars are about 2.5 millimeters long and pale yellow in color. Your head is proportionally very large. When they eat the food plants, they turn gray-green with many fine white dots, which makes them appear grayish. From the pale orange head to the small, black, upwardly curved anal horn , a pale longitudinal line runs along the side of the back. Each segment is framed with a row of black hairs, the entire surface of the body is covered with fine white hairs. From the second caterpillar stage onwards, the caterpillars have their final color and pattern. They lose their black hair, but are lightly haired all over their bodies. When fully grown, the animals have white vertical stripes along their bodies, including on their heads. On the back there are two narrow stripes, on the side of the back one broad and brightly colored and one below the spiracles . All stripes can have a red border in some individuals. The head is rounded and has short bristles. The anal horn is narrow and short, straight or slightly curved upwards, and is pink or orange. Often its tip is black. The stigmas are white and lie below another, but very weak, longitudinal stripe. The doll is 18 to 20 millimeters long. It is glossy black-brown in color, with orange-brown intersegmental skins on the abdomen. The surface of the head and thorax is slightly wrinkled, the abdomen has a strong point-like structure. The proboscis is directed slightly forward. The triangular cremaster is elongated, dorsoventrally flattened and has a double point.
Systematics
According to Pittaway, the subspecies of this species described so far are untenable, since they appear to only show color variants due to different habitats. Individuals from humid habitats are usually somewhat larger and darker in color and have a clearer pattern. Specimens from arid areas are smaller, paler and have less pronounced patterning. The forms described are generally not clearly delimited from one another. They seem to have developed in different, isolated retreats during the Ice Age in the Pleistocene , but now they are genetically mingling again, similar to the little wine hawk ( Deilephila porcellus ).
Occurrence and habitat
The species is widespread in south- east Europe and in the Near and Middle East . The butterfly occurs in Croatia, Albania, Macedonia, in central and southern Greece, in the east of Bulgaria and in Romania via the south of Ukraine and the Crimea, the south of Russia north to Kazan , to the southern Urals and the east of Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan before. There are also finds from central and southern Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, western Jordan, the Caucasus, east to northern Iraq and from northern Iran and southern Turkmenistan. The distribution of the species is disjoint , but so far little explored. Since this hawkmoth is easy to miss due to its small size, it is possible that it can also be found in other areas.
Contrary to what was originally assumed, Sphingonaepiopsis gorgoniades is missing in southern Siberia, the Altai and the Amur region. This error was at least partly due to incorrect labeling of specimens from captured butterflies from Uzbekistan.
Sphingonaepiopsis gorgoniades inhabits open bushland and hilly steppes in local but highly individual populations. The species is found in the Caucasus between 2000 and 2500 meters above sea level. In Iran the species has been detected from 2400 meters, in Lebanon around 1700 meters. In Jordan, the species inhabits loose old oak forests with a thick layer of herbs between 500 and 1000 meters above sea level.
Way of life
Very little is known about the way of life of the adults . The crepuscular moths are strongly attracted by flowers at dusk. The caterpillars are mainly nocturnal. Many caterpillars live together in a confined space. The caterpillars are very timid and fall from the food plants at the slightest disturbance. Pupation takes place in a loosely spun cocoon made of silk between material on the ground. The pupa hibernates. Parasitoids of the species are not known.
Flight and caterpillar times
The moths fly in two generations mainly from late May to early June and late July / August. In the southern Urals, the animals fly from late May to mid-July with an incomplete second generation in late July / early August. In the southern parts of the distribution area sporadic specimens occur as early as April and still in September / October. The caterpillars are found mainly in June, July and September.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed mainly on bedstraws ( Galium ), especially real bedstraw ( Galium verum ). Rarely, they are also found on other types of the red family (Rubiaceae). The flowers are preferably eaten.
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
- Fauna Europaea: Taxonomy (English)