Thyme ram
| Thyme ram | ||||||||||||
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Thyme ram, Switzerland, Valais, Saas Fee, 2300 m, beginning of September |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Zygaena purpuralis | ||||||||||||
| ( Brünnich , 1763) |
The thyme ram ( Zygaena purpuralis ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the ram family (Zygaenidae).
features
The moths reach a wingspan of 28 to 35 millimeters. The forewings each have three broad, red longitudinal stripes, of which the middle one, which points to the wing tip, is broadened at the end. The antennae have a thick blunted lobe at the end. The females have a white ruff, the color of the ribbons can be changed from a bright red to a yellowish orange. As a butterfly, this species can only be distinguished from the common beaver ram ( Zygaena minos ) through a genital examination . The larvae of the latter species, however, clearly differ in their whitish color.
The 27 to 29 millimeter long caterpillars are gray-yellow, olive-green or brownish in color. On top of each segment, they have a yellow point at the front and a black point in the middle at the back. A series of small black dots run along the sides of the body.
Similar species
- Bibernell ram ( Zygaena minos )
Occurrence
They occur in southern and central Europe to the east of the Altai and in Great Britain , especially in the mountainous regions up to over 2,000 meters on limestone grasslands , sandy soils and in other warm and sunny places. They are very common in places in southern and central Germany, but rarely in the north. Their occurrence has greatly decreased.
Way of life
The moths can be found in smaller groups on flowers. Above all, they prefer purple flowers such as B. Marsh , ( Scabiosa ), Stachys ( Stachys ) and Natternkopf ( echium ) are also on the yellow flowers of old herbs ( Senecio to find).
Flight and caterpillar times
The moths fly in one generation from mid-June to August. The caterpillars can be found from August and after wintering until June.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed mainly on wild thyme ( Thymus serpyllum ) but also on other thyme . This ram species is the only one in Europe whose caterpillars do not eat butterflies (Faboideae) or umbellifers (Apiaceae).
development
The females lay their yellow eggs in piles on the underside of the thyme leaves. The caterpillars hatch after about nine days. They live close to the ground and do not climb up on the food plants in the evening. Pupation takes place in a boat-shaped cocoon on the ground. This is yellow to brown, sometimes sulfur yellow, very rarely white. The cocoons of Zygaena minos , on the other hand, are dirty-white. The doll itself is black-brown. The butterfly hatches after 18 to 20 days.
Systematics
The two species Zygaena purpuralis and Zygaena minos are also known as the purpuralis complex because of their similarity . The two species can be clearly separated from one another by examining the genitals, while a habitual differentiation is not possible in the field. In addition, both species often occur at the same time in many localities.
Hazard and protection
- Red list FRG: 3 (endangered).
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ Clas M. Naumann, On the knowledge of the taxa of the Zygaena purpuralis complex described by Hugo Reiss , Entomofauna, Volume 3, Issue 28, Linz, 1982 ( PDF )
- ↑ Manfred Koch : We identify butterflies. Volume 2: Bears, Spinners, Swarmers and Drills in Germany. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Radebeul / Berlin 1964, DNB 452481929 , p. 25f.
- ↑ Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg , Volume 3: Moths I (root borer (Hepialidae), wood borer (Cossidae), ram (Zygaenidae), snail spinner (Limacodidae), bag bearer (Psychidae), window spot (Thyrididae)) . Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-800-13472-1
- ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany. Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 978-3-896-24110-8
literature
- Heiko Bellmann : The new Kosmos butterfly guide. Butterflies, caterpillars and forage plants. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-440-09330-1 .
- Hans-Josef Weidemann, Jochen Köhler: Moths. Weirdos and hawkers. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-89440-128-1 .
- CM Naumann, GM Tarmann, WG Tremewan: The Western Palaearctic Zygaenidae. Apollo Books, Stenstrup, 1999, ISBN 87-88757-15-3
Web links
- Lepiforum e. V. Photos and taxonomy
- www.schmetterling-raupe.de
- Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa (English)
- Ian Kimber: Guide to the moths of Great Britain and Ireland (English)
- Zygaena purpuralis in Fauna Europaea