Hackberry butterfly
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Hackberry butterfly ( Libythea celtis ) |
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| Libythea celtis | ||||||||||||
| ( Laicharting , 1782) |
The hackberry butterfly ( Libythea celtis ), sometimes also known as the hackberry butterfly , is a butterfly (day butterfly ) from the family of the noble butterfly (Nymphalidae) and the subfamily of the snout butterfly (Libytheinae).
description
butterfly
The wingspan of the moth is 34 to 48 millimeters. The jagged outer edge of the wings is striking. The basic color of all wings is brownish. They are marked with large orange spots. There are a few white spots on the upper side of the forewing. The underside of the forewing shows a similar color pattern as the front, but a little more indistinct. The hind wing underside is usually marbled light brown or gray-brown.
Hackberry butterfly
△ Hackberry butterfly
The very long, hairy palps that extend forward from the head and look like a snout or together with the antennae like the stem of a leaf are typical of the moths . When at rest, with folded wings, they resemble a withered leaf. The colorful front wings are hidden behind the rear wings. This camouflage means that they are well protected from predators.
egg
The eggs are oval in shape, pale green in color, covered with ribs, and are laid one by one near the buds of the food plants.
Caterpillar
Adult caterpillars are cylindrical, have a green or brownish basic color, a light topline, light side stripes, black horizontal lines and are darkly dotted on the entire body surface and with short velvety hairs.
Doll
The tumbler is green or brown in color and has light edges on the wing sheaths.
Similar species
There is a certain similarity to Libytheana carinenta , which however has more white spots on the upper side of the forewing. Since this species occurs only in North, Central and South America, there is no geographical overlap with the hackberry butterfly.
distribution and habitat
The distribution area of the hackberry moth includes North Africa, the south of Europe and extends eastward through the south of Asia to China and Japan . It also occurs in the Pyrenees and occurs in Europe between 400 and 1500 meters above sea level; Stray animals can be found up to 2300 meters above sea level. The hackberry butterfly is not native to Germany. Two older finds from Baden-Württemberg in 1908 and 1921 were on a railway line. It can be assumed that they were brought in by train. The species prefers to live in wooded areas, but has also been proven in open, bushy landscapes.
Way of life
The moths fly from June to August, overwinter and reappear from March to May of the following year. In order to absorb liquid and minerals, they like to suckle on damp places on the ground, where they are sometimes found in large numbers. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of the European nettle tree ( Celtis australis ).
Others
The Hungarian Post issued a postage stamp showing the hackberry butterfly.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: The butterflies of Europe and North West Africa , Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 .
- ^ A b Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 2: Butterflies. (Rhopalocera and Hesperiidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1955, DNB 456642188 .
- ↑ Distribution and subspecies http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/libytheinae/libythea/index.html#celtis
- ↑ Günter Ebert, Erwin Rennwald: The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 2, Tagfalter II (Augenfalter (Satyridae), Bläulinge (Lycaenidae), Dickkopffalter (Hesperidae)), Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-8001-3459-4
literature
- Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa , Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 .
Web links
- Lepiforum e. V. - Taxonomy and photos
- Libythea celtis at Fauna Europaea. Retrieved October 6, 2013