Emerald wrench

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Emerald wrench
Thetidia smaragdaira.jpg

Emerald wrench ( Thetidia smaragdaria )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Spanner (Geometridae)
Subfamily : Geometrinae
Genre : Thetidia
Type : Emerald wrench
Scientific name
Thetidia smaragdaria
( Fabricius , 1787)

The emerald spanner ( Thetidia smaragdaria ), also called emerald green yarrow spanner or emerald green spanner , is a butterfly ( moth ) from the spanner family (Geometridae).

features

butterfly

The wingspan of the males is 25 to 29 millimeters, that of the females 27 to 34 millimeters. Second generation butterflies are much smaller and usually only reach a wingspan of 20 millimeters. All wings are brightly colored emerald green. Characteristic are two wavy white transverse lines on the front wings and a distinctive white discal spot . The front edge sometimes shimmers yellow. The transverse lines on the hind wings are missing or very indistinct, the front edge is whitish. The antennae of the males are combed, those of the females are thread-shaped.

egg

The freshly laid egg is pale yellow in color and turns gray just before hatching. It has an oval shape, but is severely flattened on both sides. It is also polygonally meshed.

Caterpillar

The caterpillars are gray-brown in color and show cross-folds, wrinkled skin. They have a blackish back line, which is interrupted on the breast segments, a wavy, dark side back line, also dark side spots and clearly black point warts.

Doll

The slender doll is yellow-brown in color. Black vertical stripes can be seen on the wing covers. There are thorns on the stem-shaped cremaster .

Geographical distribution and occurrence

The distribution of the species extends through almost all of Europe (with the exception of the far north) to Asia Minor and further through Asia to the Pacific . In the Southern Alps , it rises to 1,100 meters. It inhabits mainly dry and warm areas, including sunny slopes, heaps, steppes and forest edges.

Way of life

The moths fly univoltin in Central Europe in June and July, a second generation can also appear in the south. They are nocturnal and fly to artificial light sources . To camouflage themselves, the caterpillars cover themselves with small pieces of dried up leaf remnants, which they spin on their backs and which give them the appearance of a withered leaf as they move. They prefer to feed on the leaves of various yarrow ( Achillea ) or mugwort species ( Artemisia ) and overwinter.

Subspecies

  • Thetidia smaragdaria smaragdaria is the nominate form that occurs in most areas of distribution
  • Thetidia smaragdaria gigantea has a larger wingspan than the nominate form and is found in the mountains of central Spain
  • Thetidia smaragdaria volgaria has a smaller wingspan than the nominate form and in Eastern Europe, the Urals and shallow areas along the Volga to find
  • Thetidia smaragdaria anomica occurs in Central Asia
  • Thetidia smaragdaria mongolica occurs in Mongolia ago
  • Thetidia smaragdaria amurensis is in East Asia and Japan before

Danger

The emerald tensioner is listed in Category 3 (endangered) on the Red List of Endangered Species , and in Baden-Württemberg it is on the pre-warning list.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Axel Hausmann: The Geometrid Moths of the World . In: Axel Hausmann (Ed.): The Geometrid Moths of Europe . 1st edition. Volume 1: Introduction. Achiearinae, Orthostixinae, Desmobathrinae, Alsophilinae, Geometrinae. Apollo Books, Stenstrup 2001, ISBN 87-88757-37-4 (English).
  2. ↑ a b c Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 5: Spanner. (Geometridae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-440-04951-5 .
  3. ^ Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 8 . Moth VI. Spanner (Geometridae) 1st part. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3497-7 .
  4. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .

literature

  • Axel Hausmann: The Geometrid Moths of the World . In: Axel Hausmann (Ed.): The Geometrid Moths of Europe . 1st edition. Volume 1: Introduction. Achiearinae, Orthostixinae, Desmobathrinae, Alsophilinae, Geometrinae. Apollo Books, Stenstrup 2001, ISBN 87-88757-37-4 (English).
  • Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 8 . Moth VI. Spanner (Geometridae) 1st part. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3497-7 .

Web links

Commons : Emerald Wrench  - Collection of images, videos and audio files