Root burr

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Root burr
Heather rootworm (Phymatopus hecta)

Heather rootworm ( Phymatopus hecta )

Systematics
Subclass : Flying insects (Pterygota)
Superordinate : New winged wing (Neoptera)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
without rank: Exoporia
Superfamily : Hepialoid
Family : Root burr
Scientific name
Hepialidae
Stephens , 1829

The rootworms (Hepialidae) are a family of butterflies (Lepidoptera) that includes around 500 species. With the exception of Madagascar and West Africa, the rootworms are common worldwide.

features

The rootworms are small to huge moths ; only medium-sized to large species occur in Europe. Characteristic are the long, narrow wings with original blood vessels, the mostly elongated abdomen and the short antennae . The moths do not ingest because of the regrettable proboscis, which means that their lifespan as adults is short. The moths are crepuscular or nocturnal; some species are noticeable due to their swarming behavior at dusk, such as the European Hepialus humuli , in which the males buzz over meadows after sunset, which gives the ghostly white colored animals their English name "Ghost Moth".

In contrast to the rest of the butterflies, it is mostly the males of the rootworms that attract the females. This happens partly through the release of pheromones in flight as with Hepialus humuli , partly while sitting as with Phymatopus hecta . On the adjacent picture of a luring male, it is easy to see how the olfactory organ - it is the heavily modified, scented third pair of legs - protrudes between the wings and the body.

In some large species, the females lay more than 30,000 eggs. In some cases, the eggs are dropped in flight over caterpillars ' preferred feeding plants such as ferns , nettles and other herbaceous plants. The caterpillars live in the ground or in corridors lined with silk threads between detritus and parts of plants, where they feed on roots or come out at night to eat leaves. Other species live on ferns, gymnosperms or angiosperms ; still others drill tunnels in roots, stems or branches. In several species, the transition from fungivory (mushroom food) to phytophagy (plant food) has been documented during larval development.

In some high alpine species ( Pharmacis , Aoraia ) comes in females Brachypterie ago: The wings are shorter and so far receded that the females are no longer able to fly; accordingly, gendering is done in the traditional way: the females attract the males.

Species in Europe

Genera

Small hop rootworm ( Korscheltellus lupulinus )
Dock rootworm ( Triodia sylvina )

swell

literature

  • Günter Ebert (Ed.): The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 3, Moths I (Root Borers (Hepialidae), Wood Borers (Cossidae), Ram (Zygaenidae), Snail Moth (Limacodidae), Sack Bearer (Psychidae), Window Spot (Thyrididae)). Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1993. ISBN 3-8001-3472-1
  • Kristensen, NP (1999): The Homoneurous Glossata: 51-63. In: Handbook of Zoology. Volume IV: Arthropoda: Insecta. Part 35. Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies. Volume 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Berlin, New York (de Gruyter). ISBN 3-11-015704-7

Web links

Commons : Root Augers  - Collection of images, videos and audio files