Plantain bear

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Plantain bear
Plantain bear (Arctia plantaginis ♀)

Plantain bear ( Arctia plantaginis ♀ )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Owl butterfly (Erebidae)
Subfamily : Bear Moth (Arctiinae)
Genre : Arctia
Type : Plantain bear
Scientific name
Arctia plantaginis
Linnaeus , 1758
Plantain bear caterpillars, shortly after hatching from eggs
Specimen from the Natural History Museum in Vienna

The parasemia plantaginis ( Arctia plantaginis , Syn. : Parasemia plantaginis ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the subfamily of the tiger moth (Arctiinae).

description

The moths have a wingspan of 32 to 38 millimeters. The plantain bear looks similar to the brown bear , but is slightly smaller. The colors of this species vary greatly, so there are specimens with red-black, white-black and yellow-black hind wings. However, it has been found that the females are always red and the males white or yellow. Melanistic forms have also been described, e.g. f.melanata . The sexes can also be distinguished on the legs, males have white legs and females black.

The adult caterpillars are black-gray behind and in front, fox-red in the middle and densely hairy.

Similar species

habitat

The plantain bear can be found all over Europe , but mainly in the mountains and low mountain ranges up to 3000 m. Hilly lands with wet meadows, moors or damp forest edges or aisles are ideal . Many populations of the hill country have died out because the species is very sensitive to cultivation measures in the inhabited meadow biotopes. Many formerly very large populations have died out since the middle of the 20th century.

development

The nocturnal moths are found from June to mid-July, the caterpillars from August to May. While the males fly around during the day, the females usually just sit on the ground. There is only one generation a year. The caterpillars overwinter. Correct food intake and the associated growth does not begin until spring. Like all bear moths, the caterpillars are densely hairy and inedible for most birds . Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, they bring themselves to safety every time the forage plant is shaken.

food

The larvae feed mainly on plantain species ( Plantago spec. ), But also on dandelions , sorrel and other herbs.

swell

literature

  • Günter Ebert: The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 5, Moth III. Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1997. ISBN 3-8001-3481-0
  • KH Cleve: A melanistic form of Parasemia plantaginis L. In: Communications of the German Entomological Society. 26, 1967, issue 5.
  • Manfred Koch : We determine butterflies. Volume 2: Bears, Spinners, Swarmers and Drills in Germany. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Radebeul / Berlin 1964, DNB 452481929 .
  • Heiko Bellmann : Steinbach's nature guide. Butterflies , Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2010, ISBN 978-3-8001-4653-6

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ K. Rönka, J. Mappes, L. Kaila, N. Wahlberg: Putting Parasemia in its phylogenetic place: a molecular analysis of the subtribe Arctiina (Lepidoptera) . In: Systematic Entomology . tape 41 , no. 4 , 2016, p. 844-853 .
  2. ^ Lepiforum
  3. ↑ Gerfried Deschka, Josef Wimmer, The Butterfly Fauna of the Cross Wall, Contribution. Naturk. Upper Austria, 2000

Web links

Commons : Plantain Bear  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files