Strymon melinus

Strymon melinus
	Strymon melinus
Systematics
Class :	Insects (Insecta)
Order :	Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family :	Bluebirds (Lycaenidae)
Subfamily :	Hairstreak (Theclinae)
Genre :	Strymon
Type :	Strymon melinus
Scientific name
	Strymon melinus
	( Huebner , 1818)

Strymon melinus is a butterfly from the family of Gossamer (Lycaenidae) the subfamily of Hairstreak (Theclinae).

features

Wing underside with the orange-black-white transverse line and the orange-black eye spot in front of the tail appendages

Reddish brown color variation of the underside of the wing

butterfly

The wingspan of the moths is between 20 and 30, according to other information, between 26 and 36.5 millimeters. The males are dark gray on top with a brownish-greenish tinge. Near the tail appendage of the hind wing there is an eye spot in the colors orange and black, which can also be seen on the underside of the wings. This is larger in Strymon melinus than in most other Strymon species. The females are more brown in color. The moth is silver-gray to reddish-brown underneath. Subspecies are often paler. Here an orange-black-white line runs across both wings. The color of the body is dark at the top and becomes lighter towards the abdomen, which also corresponds to the color of the wings.

egg

The eggs are white and have the shape of a dome.

Caterpillar

The body of the caterpillar is usually green. There are also color variations of light green, yellow green and purple or depending on the forage plant, matching the color of the flowers or leaves. In all color variations, the white diagonal bars on the sides are the same on each segment. Their body resembles a little louse and has bristly lobes underneath each body segment. In Texas, the caterpillars appear to be covered with short hair.

Caterpillar

Doll

The pupae are brownish in color.

Behavior and way of life

The moths prefer open, sunny locations. Here they sit on the leaves of the bushes and take nectar from lantana ( lantana ), ragweeds ( Senecio ), rubus plants, water fountains ( Eupatorium ) and Eriogonum plants as well as milkweed ( Euphorbia ), mint ( Mentha ), winter cress ( Barbarea vulgaris ) , Goldenrod ( Solidago ) and clover ( Trifolium )., And the flowers of numerous other shrubs and herbaceous plants. In doing so, they pollinate a large number of plants and have a large number of predators. They are quick fliers and are most common between May and September. They love to sunbathe with their wings spread wide. The typical rubbing movement of the wings is known from this butterfly, as is the case with other bluebells. It is believed that they want to deceive attackers.

The caterpillar eats up to 20 different plants including cotton ( Gossypium ), maize ( Zea mays ), hops ( Humulus ), mallow ( Malva ), knotweed ( Polygonaceae ), daisy family ( Asteraceae ) and acacia ( Acacia ) as well as legumes ( Fabaceae) ), Beans ( Phaseolus ) and clover ( Trifolium ). In the east of Canada, food plants such as fern myrtle ( Comptonia peregrina ) and gelatinous plants ( Myricaceae ) have been identified. It feeds on the flower buds, the flowers and the seeds of the plants.

The eggs are laid on the flowers or the stems of the forage plants. Often in newly opened flowers.

The pupa hibernates in the ground. Where ants cover them with soil. Pupation also takes place here.

development

The caterpillars hatch after about six days. They eat about 20 days until they pupate. After about 10 more days, the adult moths hatch. The development time varies depending on geography and climate. Three, sometimes more, generations are trained each year. Two generations in the north from May to September, three to four generations in the south from February to November. Canada has two overlapping generations from April to late September.

pairing

Mating and oviposition begin in spring. Adult males sit on small trees and raised shrubs from early afternoon to evening, waiting for females to pass by. In spring they sit deeper in the branches than in the rest of the year. Mating usually takes place at night and eggs are laid in the afternoon.

distribution and habitat

Strymon melinus occurs from Canada via Central to South America via Mexico south to Venezuela to Colombia . It is seldom found in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and even more rarely in Québec . The northernmost distribution record was in Neuville near Québec City . It lives in open country, fields, meadows, gardens, paths and forest edges with many flowers at heights of up to 600 meters. Other sources report heights of up to 2,700 meters.

Subspecies

In addition to the nominate form, the ITIS report distinguishes between the following subspecies:

Strymon melinus atrofasciata McDunnough, 1921 - Vancouver Island and the surrounding mainland
Strymon melinus franki W. D. Field, 1938 - U.S. and Canada's prairies
Strymon melinus humuli ( T. Harris , 1842) - USA
Strymon melinus melinus Huebner , 1818 - Eastern Canada
Strymon melinus pudica ( Hy. Edwards , 1877) - Oregon , California to Nicaragua
Strymon melinus setonia McDunnough, 1927 - in the arid interior of British Columbia

The status of the subspecies Strymon melinus clarionensis is still controversial because the orange-black-white line on the underside of the wings is not divided into individual segments as is the case with all other subspecies, but is framed by a red band. Further investigations are still pending, but it may soon be granted species status. This also applies to the subspecies Strymon melinus caldasensis which is only known from Colombia.

status

The butterfly is widespread and very common. Its caterpillars are considered a pest on crops. When they occur in large numbers, they cause considerable damage to cotton, beans, corn and hops. What brought them the names "Cotton Square Borer" and "Bean Lycaenid". The species is considered not endangered or threatened. Although this butterfly is so widespread, it is becoming increasingly rare or only sporadic in Canada. In some locations it disappears for years, but then reappears. It can be fairly common in southern Ontario and western Canada.

swell

literature

Elizabeth Balmer: Butterflies: Recognizing and Identifying. Parragon Books, 2007, ISBN 9781407512037 , p. 74

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Animal Diversity Web , English, accessed on October 30, 2014
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Learn about Butterflies , English, accessed on October 30, 2014
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Butterflies and Moth of North America , English, accessed October 30, 2014
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Butterflies of Canada , English, accessed on October 30, 2014
^ ITIS report , English, accessed on October 30, 2014

Web links

Commons : Strymon melinus - collection of images, videos and audio files

[Animal_Diversity_Web-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Animal Diversity Web , English, accessed on October 30, 2014

[Learn_about_Butterflies-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Learn about Butterflies , English, accessed on October 30, 2014

[Butterflies_and_Moth_of_North_America-3] Butterflies and Moth of North America , English, accessed October 30, 2014

[Butterflies_of_Canada-4] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Butterflies of Canada , English, accessed on October 30, 2014

[ITIS_Report-5] ITIS report , English, accessed on October 30, 2014