Milkweed tensioner
| Milkweed tensioner | ||||||||||||
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Feminine milkweed on yarrow |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Minoa murinata | ||||||||||||
| ( Scopoli , 1763) |
The milkweed spanner or mouse spanner ( Minoa murinata ) is a butterfly from the spanner family (Geometridae).
features
butterfly
The inconspicuous gray-brown colored butterfly has a wingspan between fourteen and eighteen millimeters. The wingspan of the female can reach almost 20 millimeters, that of the male stays below that. The Austrian natural scientist Scopoli described the species for the first time under the name Phalaena murinata with the words "Murina tota, absque maculis fasciisque", ie "completely mouse-colored, without spots or bands" . The moths are monochrome, the males a stronger gray-brown, the females paler. Whitish- gray specimens are called forma cinerearia Staudinger. Blackish specimens form the forma cyparissaria man. The wing veins also hardly stand out in color. Scopoli continues: "Seticornis, pulchella, oculis fuscis". The antennae are therefore thread-shaped, the eyes dark. The word "pulchella" (pretty), which stands out in the sober description, perhaps refers to the silky sheen that characterizes newly hatched animals.
Eggs and caterpillars
The eggs are pale yellow to cream-colored, oval, 0.55 by 0.41 by 0.26 millimeters in size, with a smooth surface. Newly hatched caterpillars are white with a dark head capsule. The caterpillars are up to thirteen millimeters long. The body is compact, gray-pink in the last caterpillar stage with black markings of varying intensity. He wears yellowish white bristle pale red warts. The caterpillar has an irregular orange or yellowish- pink longitudinal line that runs just below the respiratory orifices (substigmatic line). The underside of the animals is gray, the head is brown with black markings.
Way of life
The moths are diurnal and love the sun. Nocturnal occurrence at light sources is due to the fact that the animals are awakened by the light. The moths fly up easily and often sit for a short time. The species is usually dormant with wings outstretched to one side, with the fore wings almost completely covering the hind wings. They often fly gregariously, but as a rule only in stocks of cypress milkweed or almond-leaved milkweed. They suck nectar not only from the food plants, but also from common privet ( Ligustrum vulgare ), meadow marguerite ( Leucanthemum vulgare ), parsnip ( Pastinaca sativa ), carrot ( Daucus carota ), field man litter ( Eryngium campestre ), common yarrow ( Achillea millefolium ), broad-leaved thyme ( Thymus pulegioides ), oregano ( Origanum vulgare ), and others.
Flight and caterpillar times
According to Koch, the species forms two generations with flight times from late April to late June for the first generation and from mid-July to early September for the second generation. The flight times vary according to the different altitudes and numbers of generations and do not show a uniform picture. The moths only live about two weeks. The first generation flies in the Upper Rhine Plain between the beginning of April and the end of June. A second, individually weak generation develops in July, a third in August. However, animals can be found until September. Caterpillars can also be found from May to September. Bergmann notes that the succession of generations is irregular and dependent on the weather, with both generations overlapping and mixing up. The pupae can overwinter twice. He describes the milkweed sprout as the leading species of poor stocks of cypress milkweed on sunny, dry limestone slopes of the warm, dry areas of the flat and hilly regions.
In England the species usually develops only one generation, only in exceptional cases does it occur in warm regions two generations. According to Ebert, there are at least three generations in warm areas (for example at the Kaiserstuhl ), but usually only two. The first generation is much more individual than the second. At higher altitudes the species is one-brood. In Spain the number of generations is given as two.
Food of the caterpillars
After cooking, and after Ebert food plant is the Cypress Spurge ( Euphorbia cyparissias ), possibly more coming milkweed species as secondary food crops into consideration, according to Carter & Hargreaves food plant is the Spurge ( Euphorbia amygdaloides ). In Canada it is being examined whether the milkweed spanner can be used to control the field weed donkey spurge ( Euphorbia esula ).
Mating and development
Mating and oviposition take place one day after hatching. The eggs are laid individually or in rows on the underside of the leaves of the food plants. In middle altitudes this happens in June. Eating caterpillars can be found from July to September. They hang in a U-shape on the underside of the leaves and prefer to eat plant parts that are growing. The four different larval stages can be distinguished by the size of the head capsule. Pupation and wintering takes place in the earth. The moths hatch in the following spring, although the periods vary depending on the area. A recorded breeding provided the following data: Mating outdoors on May 29th; Deposition of 47 eggs on May 30th; Egg stage 9 days; Larval stage 22 days. From the 47 eggs, 39 individuals developed into a pupa. After the pupae were in rest for seven to nine days, 14 butterflies hatched and the remaining pupae hibernated. In the coming spring three butterflies hatched, the remaining butterflies only hatched after another hibernation. In laboratory tests, the moths lived for 15 days at 12 ° C, the females laid an average of 57 eggs, development took 33 days and the ratio of males to females was 1: 1.
Distribution and occurrence
The species is distributed throughout Europe except in Fennoscandinavia , the range of the subspecies M. m. monochroaria joins to the east and extends from the Black Sea region through Asia Minor and the Caucasus to the Central Asian mountains.
It can be found in Central Europe from the plain to the montane level on sunny slopes, on dry heaths, meadows, on the edges of forests, in warm valleys, and often in vineyards. In temperate zones, it only penetrates the forest at the edge of wide paths that are sunny all day. In warmer regions it occurs only in higher altitudes. In Spain, light deciduous and coniferous forests are given as habitats . On a small scale, the species is bound to the occurrence of food plants. For example, in the center of the northern Black Forest there is no cypress wolf milk and thus the butterfly completely. Intensive agriculture pushes the plant and with it the butterfly back.
In England the occurrence is falling sharply. The butterfly is included there as a priority species ("Priority Species") in the action plans for biodiversity ("UK Biodiversity Action Plan").
Taxonomy
Subspecies
The following subspecies are currently described:
- Minoa murinata murinata (Scopoli, 1763)
- Minoa murinata amylaria (Prout, 1914)
- Minoa murinata limburgia Lempke, 1969
- Minoa murinata lutea swing shot, 1954
Synonyms
In the literature, the milkweed tension is known by the following synonyms:
- Minoa cyparissaria man, 1854
- Geometra euphorbiata Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775
- Phalaena fuscata Hufnagel, 1767
- Acidalia italicata Milliére, 1885
- Minoa monochroaria Herrich-Schäffer, 1848
- Geometra sordiata Linnaeus, 1767
- Phalaena unicolorata Huebner, 1787
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ Scopoli: Entomologia Carniolica exhibens insecta Carnioliae indigena et distributa in ordines, genera, species, varietates, method Linnaeana. (Vindobonae, 1763) online
- ↑ DJCarter, B. Hargreaves: "European caterpillars and butterflies and their forage plants" Paul Parey Verlag ISBN 3-490-13918-6
- ↑ a b c d Günter Ebert (Ed.): The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 8, Nachtfalter VI (Spanner (Geometridae) 1st part), Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 2001. ISBN 3-8001-3497-7
- ↑ a b Manfred Koch: We identify butterflies. Volume 2: Bears, Spinners, Swarmers and Drills in Germany. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Radebeul / Berlin 1964, DNB 452481929 .
- ↑ Arno Bergmann: The large butterflies of Central Germany. Volume 5/1: Spanner. Distribution, forms and communities. Urania-Verlag, Jena 1955, DNB 450378403 .
- ↑ a b Butterfly Conservation, Factsheet ( Memento of the original from June 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ a b J. Cifuentes & M. Alcobentes: Los Geometridae de Navarra. Subfamilia Larenttinae SHILAP Revta.lepid.34 (134), 2006: 171-192 ISSN 0300-5267
- ^ Leafy Spurge News; Agricultural Experiment Station; NDSU Extension Service; North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105; Volume XIX, Issue 1 February 1997 Download (PDF; 197 kB)
- ^ A b Malcolm J. Scoble: Geometrid moths of the world. A catalog (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). Apollo Books, Stenstrup, 1999, ISBN 0-643-06304-8
literature
- Günter Ebert (eds.), Daniel Bartsch, Stefan Hafner: The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 8, Nachtfalter VI (Spanner (Geometridae) 1st part), Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 2001. ISBN 3-8001-3497-7
- Manfred Koch : We determine butterflies. Volume 2: Bears, Spinners, Swarmers and Drills in Germany. 2nd, expanded edition. Neumann, Radebeul / Berlin 1964, DNB 452481929 .
- David J. Carter, Brian Hargreaves: Caterpillars and Butterflies of Europe and their Forage Plants. Publisher Paul Parey ISBN 3-490-13918-6
