Vanessa itea
| Vanessa itea | ||||||||||||
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Vanessa itea |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Vanessa itea | ||||||||||||
| ( Fabricius , 1775) |
Vanessa itea is a butterfly ( butterfly ) from the family of Nymphalidae (Nymphalidae) in Australia and New Zealand found. The species is known in English as the Yellow Admiral . The Māori natives gave it the name Kahukowhai , meaning 'yellow coat'.
features
butterfly
The wingspan of the moth is 45 to 55 millimeters. The forewings have a rust-brown color in the basal region . The disk region is traversed by a wide, light yellow cross band. Close to the apex , a few small whitish spots stand out from the black background. The upper side of the hind wing is predominantly reddish-brown in color, blackish in the edge area. In front of it there are four very small eye spots. The yellow transverse band of the forewings shows through to the underside. At the front edge there is a single large bluish eye spot in the middle . The hind wing underside is brownish marbled.
Pre-imaginal stages
The egg is green in color and covered with eight to ten vertical ribs. The caterpillars are blackish or brownish in color, with many small white dots and yellowish side stripes. They have strongly branched thorns on the entire body surface. The falling doll is marbled yellow-brown and has a few whitish spots.
distribution and habitat
Vanessa itea occurs on the two main islands of New Zealand, in parts of Australia as well as on the Loyalty Islands and the Norfolk Island . The species colonizes almost all biotopes in which the food plants of the caterpillars grow and which contain enough flowers with nectar as a food source for the moths.
Way of life
The moths have a lifespan of up to nine months and spend the winter inactive in sheltered places. In spring they feed on flower nectar or tree sap. The eggs are laid on the food plant in small groups of up to three. The caterpillars feed on various nettles ( Urtica ), for example the great nettle ( Urtica dioica ), the small nettle ( Urtica urens ), Urtica incisa , and occasionally also ongaonga ( Urtica ferox ) or Parietaria debilis . To protect them from enemies, they spin the leaves together into a bag-like protective cover. Nevertheless, they are of parasitic wasps attacked (Ichneumonidae), in particular of the domestic Echthromorpha intricatori well as from Europe to reduce the small cabbage white ( Pieris rapae ) introduced Pteromalus puparum .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Yellow Admiral Butterfly
- ↑ caterpillar, pupa
- ↑ dissemination
- ^ Butterflies of New Zealand
- ↑ Small cabbage white butterfly as a pest
Web links
- nzbutterfly.info - Butterfly Info