Hawthorn Owl

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Hawthorn Owl
Hawthorn Owl (Allophyes oxyacanthae)

Hawthorn Owl ( Allophyes oxyacanthae )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Owl butterfly (Noctuidae)
Subfamily : Psaphidinae
Genre : Allophyes
Type : Hawthorn Owl
Scientific name
Allophyes oxyacanthae
( Linnaeus , 1758)
Hawthorn Owl
Tense butterfly

The hawthorn owl ( Allophyes oxyacanthae ) is a butterfly from the family of the owl butterflies (Noctuidae), which is widespread in almost all of Europe .

features

butterfly

The moths have a wingspan of 32 to 50 millimeters. The wide forewings are mostly dark brown with gray streaks and ocher brown spots. There are metallic green scales on the rear and outer edge of the forewings, especially along the veins. The costa (front edge) is convex, the apex pointed and the outer edge slightly wavy. Ring and kidney flaws are large and, like the border area, lighter in relation to the base color. The hind wings are gray-brown at the base and darker on the veins. The light undersides of the wings are heavily dusted gray-brown. The head is dark brown with a few long ocher-colored scales. The dark, red-brown antennae are dorsally gray. The males have small, narrow, semicircular branches, the females are very short-toothed and have a large whitish tuft of antennae.

Egg, caterpillar, pupa

The barrel-shaped egg with not very many longitudinal ribs is cream-colored with reddish spots. It gets white spots before the caterpillar hatches.

The caterpillar is lighter or darker, whitish blue-green or brownish gray, with many dark hook-shaped lines, the strength and number of which vary greatly. On the 4th ring there is usually a dark slash on both sides, which extends to the slightly raised back. There are four light-colored warts on a dark spot on the back of each ring. The air holes are fine, white, lined with black. The belly is light gray, with a broad blue-reddish stripe that extends like spots on each ring. On the slightly raised 11th ring are two pairs of tips, the rear pair of which is stronger. There are no pointed nipples on the 12th ring. The flat head is little incised and pale brown. The caterpillar becomes 50 to 60 millimeters long.

The thick honey-yellow doll has a dark stripe on the back. The short Kremaster has two ticks.

  • Young hawthorn owl caterpillar

  • Hawthorn owl adult caterpillar

  • Hawthorn Owl pupa

Similar species

Way of life

The caterpillars are mainly found on hawthorn ( Crataegus ), sour cherries ( Prunus cerasus ) and apple trees ( Malus ) from the end of April to the end of June , and rarely on medlars ( Cotoneaster ) and pears ( Pyrus ). The caterpillars rest on branches during the day, where they are excellently camouflaged because of their flat body shape. In the evening the younger stages eat the still fresh buds; the adult caterpillars eat leaves. Depending on the region, the moths fly in one generation (univoltin) from mid-August to the end of October, sometimes until the end of November. They are attracted by light sources and bait in large numbers . The species overwinters as an egg and pupates in a stable cocoon in the ground in May and June of the following year.

Geographical distribution and habitat

Distribution of the species of the genus Allophyes in Europe, hawthorn owl green.

The hawthorn owl is the most widespread species within its genus and is found in almost all of Europe except on the Iberian Peninsula and the Pyrenees . It is absent south of the Apennines and on the large Mediterranean islands. To the north it is widespread in Ireland, in Scotland almost to the north coast, and in central Fennoscandia , to the east as far as the Ukraine and southern Russia. Reports of occurrences outside of Europe probably refer to a different species. In the Alps it is found up to 1,600 meters above sea level.

The species lives in different, more or less heavily forested or overgrown with trees and bushes habitats, but is mainly to be found at forest edges and clearings .

Systematics

The system of the hawthorn owl has not been finally clarified. There are several species complexes in the genus. A. oxyacanthae forms a species complex together with A. protai and their subspecies A. protai parenzani . Depending on the author, A. protai is regarded as a species ( L. Ronkay, IL Yela & M. Efrebla 2001) or a subspecies ( Mazel 1991) of A. oxyacanthae . Mazel also regards A. alfaroi as a subspecies of A. oxyacanthae .

Synonyms

  • Miselia oxyacanthae L.
  • Meganephria oxyacanthae L.

literature

  • Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 6 . Moth IV. Noctuidae 2nd part. Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1997, ISBN 3-8001-3482-9 , pp. 530-533 .
  • Lázló Ronkay, José Luis Yela & Márton Hreblay: Hadeninae II . In: Michael Fibiger, Martin Honey (Ed.): Noctuidae Europaeae . tape 5 . Entomological Press, Sorø 2001, ISBN 87-89430-06-9 , pp. 271-273 (English).
  • Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 , p. 198.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Lázló Ronkay, José Luis Yela & Márton Hreblay: Hadeninae II . In: Michael Fibiger, Martin Honey (Ed.): Noctuidae Europaeae . tape 5 . Entomological Press, Sorø 2001, ISBN 87-89430-06-9 , pp. 271-273 (English).
  2. ↑ a b c Walter Forster, Theodor A. Wohlfahrt: The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 , p. 198.
  3. ↑ a b Arnold Spuler: The butterflies of Europe . tape 1 . E. Schweitzerbartsche Verlagbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1908, p. 204 .
  4. ↑ a b c Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 6 . Moth IV. Noctuidae 2nd part. Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1997, ISBN 3-8001-3482-9 , pp. 530-533 .
  5. ↑ North Ireland Priority Species: Allophyes oxyacanthae - green-brindled crescent [1]
  6. ^ Butterfly Conservation - East Scotland Branch Committee: Scottish Moth Flight Times and Distribution Maps [2]
  7. ↑ Lázló Ronkay, José Luis Yela & Márton Hreblay: Hadeninae II . In: Michael Fibiger, Martin Honey (Ed.): Noctuidae Europaeae . tape 5 . Entomological Press, Sorø 2001, ISBN 87-89430-06-9 , pp. 270 (English).

Web links

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