Swammerdamia compunctella
| Swammerdamia compunctella | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Swammerdamia compunctella | ||||||||||||
| ( Herrich-Schäffer , 1855) |
Swammerdamia compunctella is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the web and bud moths (Yponomeutidae).
features
The moths reach a wingspan of 14 to 15 millimeters. The head is white and often tinted ocher at the top. The forehead is brownish and only weakly scaled . The antennae are red-brown, the base segment is whitish-brown. The thorax is pale greyish ocher, the scales on the wing joint of the thorax ( tegulae ) are spotted reddish brown, the back is clearly lighter and paler. On the wing leading edge there is a clear light spot in the subapical area. The center line is just blurry and indistinct. Two dark brown lines run across the fringed scales. The hind wings are colored gray. The first and second pair of legs are red-brown, the tarsi are whitish. The hind legs are colored whitish gray. The abdomen is gray and paler ventrally .
The adult caterpillars reach a length of about 15 millimeters. The caterpillar's head is blackish. The prothoracic plate is also blackish and divided in the middle. The color of the caterpillar ranges from a deep dark red to dark brown. The color is slightly paler towards the back, there is a dark line on the back. The sides are white and sometimes have reddish spots on each segment. The legs are dark brown or black.
Similar species
The adults of Swammerdamia compunctella are characterized by their uniform gray appearance and the large white subapical area. However, it is easy to mix them up, so that a reliable determination is often only possible by examining the genitals.
- Paraswammerdamia albicapitella (Scharfenberg, 1805)
- Paraswammerdamia nebulella ( Goetze , 1783)
Occurrence
Swammerdamia compunctella is native to northern and central Europe . The species occurs in England, in the south of Wales and in Scotland , as well as in Dalmatia and Spain , but mostly only locally and rarely . The species colonizes open forest areas, preferably those in which tree seedlings of the food plants occur.
Way of life
The caterpillars feed on rowan berries ( Sorbus aucuparia ) and hawthorn species ( Crataegus ). The young caterpillars overwinter in a dense, white cocoon and feed on the leaves in the following spring with two or three more caterpillars per web. The loose webs are usually one meter above the ground. The larvae pupate from May to June in a semi-transparent cocoon in a light web on the ground.
Flight and caterpillar times
Swammerdamia compunctella makes one generation per year that flies from June to July. The moths are nocturnal and like to come to light. The caterpillars live from April to June.
Systematics
The type locality is in the Alps , the country was not specified. A synonym for Swammerdamia compunctella is Swammerdamia nebulosella Stainton, 1870.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d A. M. Emmet (Ed.): The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland. Volume 3: Yponomeutidae, Roeslerstammiidae, Epermeniidae, Schreckensteiniidae, Coleophoridae, Elachistidae. Harley Books, 1996, ISBN 0-946589-43-7 .
Web links
- www.lepiforum.de
- Markku Savela: Lepidoptera and some other life forms (English)
- Collection of the Natural History Museum Stockholm (Swedish)
- Swammerdamia compunctella at Fauna Europaea