Striped grass bear
| Striped grass bear | ||||||||||||
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Striped grass bear ( Spiris striata ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Spiris striata | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The Striped Grasbär or Streifenbär ( Spiris striata ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the subfamily of the tiger moth (Arctiinae).
description
The moths have a wingspan of 30 to 35 millimeters. They have very narrow, yellow or light yellow fore wings that go into white and are striped dark brown in the male. In females, the stripes can be almost absent or limited to the outer parts of the forewings. The also yellow, but darker hind wings are much wider and have a dark edge on the outside. There are also animals with completely dark rear wings. The antennae of the males are feathered in contrast to those of the females. The yellowish, shiny eggs are flattened at the base and have a dark spot at the top. The caterpillars are black with light spots on the side and reddish brown spots along the back. They are black haired. The red-brown doll is rounded at the rear end with a few small bristles.
Way of life
In their resting position, the moths roll their wings around their bodies, making them appear much smaller. They are diurnal and let themselves be scared off in the late afternoon, but after short flights they settle down on grass again.
Flight and caterpillar times
The species flies in a generation or two. In Central and Northern Europe in particular, there is generally only one generation, and a weaker second generation in Southern Europe. The first generation can fly from May and then into August. If a second generation is formed, it flies from August to September.
food
The caterpillars mainly eat clumpy grasses and lower herbs such as B .:
- Silver grass ( Corynephorus spec.)
- Fescue ( Festuca spec.)
- Common heather ( Calluna spec.)
- Meadow sage ( Salvia pratensis )
- Hawkweed ( Hieracium spec.)
- Mugwort ( Artemisia spec.)
They can be found in the upper areas of the plants in the afternoon, but they can also bask on the ground or on branches. They only eat after dusk.
development
The caterpillars hatch in August. After overwintering, they are already active early in spring and pupate in May / June in a white-green web on the ground between the leaves of the forage plant. The moths hatch in the same month.
Occurrence
The animals are found all over Europe . The distribution area extends over Asia Minor, Syria to Iran. In Eastern Europe (north of the Black and Caspian Seas) via Kazakhstan to Mongolia, Northern China and the Far East of Russia. The animals prefer particularly sunny, sandy and open areas that are overgrown with grass and herbaceous plants , rarely also on limestone grasslands . They can therefore only be found regionally where the living conditions are applicable. But then they are often not uncommon. The vertical distribution extends from the plain to the low mountain ranges.
Systematics
The naming of the species is not uniform. The fauna Europaea (see below links) lists the species under the genus Coscinia , as this genus is said to be an older synonym for Spiris . This view is apparently not shared by all experts, as the various other sources (web links and literature) show.
swell
literature
- Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 5, Moths III. Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1997. ISBN 3-800-13481-0 .
- Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 3: Weirdos and Swarmers. (Bombyces and Sphinges). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1960, DNB 456642196 .
- Hans-Josef Weidemann, Jochen Köhler: Moths. Weirdos and hawkers. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-89440-128-1 .
