Woody leaf owl

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Woody leaf owl
Polia nebulosa.jpg

Woody leaf owl ( Polia nebulosa )

Systematics
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Superfamily : Noctuoidea
Family : Owl butterfly (Noctuidae)
Subfamily : Hadeninae
Genre : Polia
Type : Woody leaf owl
Scientific name
Polia nebulosa
( Hufnagel , 1766)

The woody leaf owl ( Polia nebulosa ), also known as the Reseda garden owl , is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the owl butterflies (Noctuidae).

features

butterfly

With a wingspan of 41 to 52 millimeters, the species is one of the larger owl butterfly species. Typical of the species is the monotonous light gray to dark gray basic color of the forewings, which can occasionally take on olive-gray or gray-brown tones. Cone, kidney and ring blemishes are relatively large, but often only stand out indistinctly, are blurred and appear “like in a fog”, which is also the reason for the epithet of the species. All flaws are outlined in dark brown. The wavy line is strongly jagged and slightly darkened. At the inner corner there is a distinctive, wedge-shaped, black-brown spot. Several small arrow marks can be seen on the hem. The hind wings show a gray-brown color.

Egg, caterpillar, pupa

The spherical egg is initially colored whitish green and later shimmers in a dark tint. It is flattened at the base. The surface is provided with many fine, irregular longitudinal ribs.

Adult caterpillars are usually brown-yellow in color. A row of dark diamond spots can be seen on the back , which are cut through by the lighter back line. There are short, blackish slashes on the sides.

The doll is red-brown in color. The short Kremaster has two short bristles and two longer thorns at the tip.

Similar species

The species resembles the gray-colored forms of the Restharrow-Leaf-Owl ( Polia bombycina ) and the Birch-Leaf-Owl ( Polia hepatica ), both of which, however, show more distinctive drawing elements.

Geographical distribution and habitat

The species is widespread in the temperate climatic zones of Europe and Asia to East Asia - including Japan - but is absent in the northernmost Fennoscandinavia as well as in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and Greece . In the Alps it can still be found at altitudes of 1,600 meters. The main habitat are mixed forests, clearings, bog edges as well as gardens and park landscapes.

Way of life

The nocturnal moths fly in one generation from May to August and like to visit artificial light sources and bait . Occasionally they have also been observed sucking butterfly lilacs ( Buddleja davidii ). The caterpillars live from August. They feed at night and feed polyphagously on the leaves of a wide variety of plants. These include willow ( Salix ), blackberry ( Rubus ) or plum species ( Prunus ) as well as nettles ( Urtica dioica ) and many others. They overwinter and pupate in May of the following year.

Danger

In Germany, the woody leaf owl is widespread and usually not rare. It is therefore listed as not endangered on the Red List of Endangered Species .

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hermann Hacker, László Ronkay, Márton Hreblay: Hadeninae I . In: Michael Fibiger, David Agassiz, Martin Honey (Eds.): Noctuidae Europaeae . tape 4 . Entomological Press, Sorø 2002, ISBN 87-89430-07-7 (English).
  2. ^ A b Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .
  3. ^ Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 7 . Moth V Noctuidae 3rd part. Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1998, ISBN 3-8001-3500-0 .
  4. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .

literature

  • Hermann Hacker, László Ronkay, Márton Hreblay: Hadeninae I . In: Michael Fibiger, David Agassiz, Martin Honey (Eds.): Noctuidae Europaeae . tape 4 . Entomological Press, Sorø 2002, ISBN 87-89430-07-7 (English).
  • Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 7 . Moth V Noctuidae 3rd part. Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1998, ISBN 3-8001-3500-0 .

Web links

Commons : Woody Leaf Owl  - Collection of images, videos and audio files