Bird cherry web moth
| Bird cherry web moth | ||||||||||||
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Bird cherry web moth ( Yponomeuta evonymella ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Yponomeuta evonymella | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
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.JPG)
The bird cherry web moth ( Yponomeuta evonymella ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the web and bud moths (Yponomeutidae). The scientific name of the species misleadingly refers to the eucoat . However, this is eaten by the caterpillars of a distinguishable type of web moth.
features
The moths have a wingspan of 16 to 25 millimeters. The forewings are silvery white and have five longitudinal rows of fine black points. The smoky brown hind wings have a dark edge and are wider and shorter than the fore wings. The fine, thread-like antennae reach two thirds of the wing length. When the animals rest, the wings are gently rolled up and placed close to the body, so that the butterfly looks almost like a tube. At the slightest disturbance, the butterflies hop away and skilfully drop to the ground.
habitat
You can find this species in almost all of Europe from the river lowlands to the deciduous forest border in alluvial forests, on stream banks with bushes and trees as well as in gardens and parks. The frequency fluctuates over the years, but mass developments that lead to the devouring of the forage plants are not uncommon.
Way of life
The moths are found from early July to mid-August. After mating, which takes place only a few days to weeks after hatching, the females lay their eggs on the winter buds of the bird cherry. The young caterpillars overwinter under the bud scales and become active when they emerge in spring. They feed until the end of May or early June and then pupate in tightly packed communal webs on the trunk or in the herbaceous layer below.
The larvae feed almost exclusively on the common bird cherry ( Prunus padus ). The caterpillars are also very rarely found on cherry or buckthorn . So this species is largely a nutrition specialist. Only the spring shoots are eaten. This is possible because there is no second generation in the year.
swell
literature
- Thomas Kaltenbach, Peter Victor Küppers: Small butterflies. Verlag J. Neudamm-Neudamm, Melsungen 1987, ISBN 3-7888-0510-2
