White-spotted Elm Owl

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White-spotted Elm Owl
Cosmia diffinis.jpg

White-spotted Elm Owl ( Cosmia diffinis )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Owl butterfly (Noctuidae)
Subfamily : Xyleninae
Genre : Cosmia
Type : White-spotted Elm Owl
Scientific name
Cosmia diffinis
( Linnaeus , 1767)

The white-spotted elm owl ( Cosmia diffinis ) is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the owl butterflies (Noctuidae).

features

butterfly

The moths have a wingspan of 29 to 35 millimeters and strong red-brown to violet-red colored forewings. The transverse lines, which are approximately trapezoidal towards the inner edge, show two clear, white spots on the costal edge , while the short basal transverse line usually has a pale, light mark. The fringing area is slightly lightened and is cut through by a whitish wavy line. Ring, kidney and tenon flaws are not recognizable. The hind wings are uniformly gray-brown and have yellow fringes.

Egg, caterpillar, pupa

The egg is irregularly spherical in shape, has a flattened base with strong longitudinal ribs and is initially greenish-yellow, later reddish-yellow. The caterpillars are gray or green in color and have white back and side back lines, as well as the side stripes. The head is black or brown, the pointy warts white and brown, the stigmas black. The pupa is reddish-brown in color and occasionally shows bluish tires.

Similar species

  • Cosmia confinis . This somewhat smaller Southeast European species often has a paler reddish brown or yellowish tending basic color. Nevertheless, it is difficultto distinguishexternally from diffinis , whereas there are very clear differences in the genitals of both sexes. However, there is only a risk of confusion in Bulgaria , Greece and Turkey , where the habitats of both species overlap.
  • Red-brown elm owl ( Cosmia affinis ). Here predominantly slightly darker, red-brown colors are predominant, ring and kidney defects are also recognizable and the inner white spot on the costal edge is often missing.
  • Purple- brown elm owl ( Cosmia pyralina ). In this species, the white spots at the costal margin are usually missing, but an elongated, bright, blurred mark can be seen near the wing tip.

distribution

The species is locally distributed in central and southern Europe, in the north to central England and the southern part of the Netherlands . There are also individual finds from Denmark and from a separate population on Gotland . It also occurs as far as the southern regions of Spain , Italy and Russia, as well as northern Greece and Bulgaria . In the east, the occurrence extends to Lithuania and the Black Sea . The white-spotted elm owl is mainly found in damp forests, bushes and bank areas, but also in gardens and parks. It is both moisture and heat loving.

Way of life

The species forms one generation a year. The moths are nocturnal, often come to artificial light sources and bait and fly from June to August. The caterpillars can be found almost monophagous on elms ( ulmus ) and especially on low elm bushes between spun leaves. They live from May to June and are considered murder caterpillars , i.e. In other words, they attack caterpillars of other species, and occasionally even conspecifics, and suck them up, both in nature, but especially when breeding in confined spaces. This behavior is also known, for example, from the caterpillars of the related trapezoid owl ( Cosmia trapezina ) and other Cosmia species. They pupate in a web between parts of plants on the ground. The egg hibernates.

Danger

The species is usually very rare in Germany, is completely absent in some regions or has been lost. On the Red List of Threatened Species , it is classified in Category 2 (critically endangered).

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Michael Fibiger and Hermann Hacker: Noctuidae Europaeae Volume 9 Amphipyrinae, Condicinae, Eriopinae, Xyleninae (part). , Entomological Press, Sorø 2007 ISBN 87-89430-11-5
  2. ↑ 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, Volume 6, Nachtfalter IV. , Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1997 (Eulen (Noctuidae) 2nd part), ISBN 3-8001-3482-9
  4. ↑ Arno Bergmann: The large butterflies of Central Germany. Volume 4/2: Owls. Distribution, forms and communities. Urania-Verlag, Jena 1954, DNB 450378381 .
  5. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany. Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9

literature

  • Günter Ebert (Ed.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg, Volume 6, Nachtfalter IV. , Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1997 (Eulen (Noctuidae) 2nd part), ISBN 3-8001-3482-9
  • Michael Fibiger and Hermann Hacker: Noctuidae Europaeae Volume 9 Amphipyrinae, Condicinae, Eriopinae, Xyleninae (part). , Entomological Press, Sorø 2007 ISBN 87-89430-11-5
  • Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 4: Owls. (Noctuidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5 .

Web links

Commons : White-Spotted Elm Owl  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files