Acronicta rumicis
Dock moth ( Acronicta rumicis )
The dock moth ( Acronicta rumicis ), also Ampfereule is a butterfly (moth ) from the family of cutworms ( Noctuidae ).
Features
The moths reach a wingspan of 34-40 millimeters. The ground color of the forewings is dark gray -brown, often with an olive tint. The root line is rather patchy, as is the tornale line; also a short line in the midfield along A1 is formed. Often anterior to the tornalen stroke a white dot available. The inner and outer transverse line is black and double drawn and jagged. The outer transverse line is strongly angled between the tornalen line and the trailing edge and jump back inside. The middle shade is narrow in most specimens or blurred. The hem line is only indicated by a series of very small dots. The ring is round and blemish such as the kidneys blemish margins black. The ring stigma often shows a tiny black dot in the center of the blemish. The fringes are gray with narrow interneuralen strokes. The hind wings are brownish-gray with a broad, subapical, brown binding. The fringes are pale brown. The underside of the forewings are dark brown gray, the underside of the hind wings light brown gray, both with wide black binding and a Diskalfleck. There are also black gray or completely black, melanistic individuals. Head and thorax are dark brown in color gray.
The egg is flattened - conical blunt tip. It is initially yellowish and later carmine with white spots, which flow into each other. The surface has weak and irregular longitudinal ribs.
The caterpillars are up to 38 mm long. They have a red - or gray-brown color and carry the whole body gray or brown tufts of hair. Along the ridge running red dots that are flanked on both sides by white spots. At the level of the spiracles runs a whitish- yellow, interrupted by red lots, wide longitudinal line.
The dark brown to black brown pupae, in which three abdominal segments are colored light brown on the head has two blunt tips. The cremaster is occupied relatively short and straight bristles.
Geographical distribution and habitat
The dock moth is found in almost all of Europe. They lack only in some areas of North West Scandinavia, in northern Scandinavia and northern Russia. Outside Europe, the Ampfereule in northwest Africa, in Asia Minor, the Middle East (Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Jordan ), Cyprus, Caucasus, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, northwestern India, on the north by the Ural Mountains through Siberia to the Far East ( Russian Far East, Mongolia, northern China, Korea)
The animals are found in almost all habitats and are all very common. In the mountains soar up to 1500 m above sea level.
Way of life
The dock moth forms two generations a year, flying the moth from mid-April to mid-July and from late July to early September. Occasionally, an incomplete third generation is formed. The moths are nocturnal and come to artificial light sources, and also visit the bait. The caterpillars feed on polyphagous from a variety of herbaceous plants, perennials, shrubs and trees, such as from goat willow (Salix caprea ), nettles (Urtica ), Stumpfblättrigem dock ( Rumex obtusifolius ), blackberry ( Rubus fruticosus ), cypress spurge (Euphorbia cyparissias ), heather ( Calluna vulgaris), plantain ( Plantago lanceolata), meadow knapweed (Centaurea jacea ) or the ordinary dandelion (Taraxacum sect. Ruderalia ). Ebert et al. (1997) lists nearly 40 caterpillars food plant species of the genera Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga), larch ( Larix), rushes ( Juncus ), willow ( Salix), Hornbeam (Carpinus ), birch (Betula ), sorrel ( Rumex ), rhubarb ( Rheum ), Vogelknöteriche ( Polygonum ), Bergenien ( Bergenia ), roses (Rosa), Rubus, Prunus, Hauhecheln ( ononis ) geraniums (Pelargonium ), spurge ( Euphorbia ), mallow ( Malva ), blood pasture Riche ( Lythrum ), blueberries (Vaccinium ), heather ( Calluna ), loosestrife ( Lysimachia ), basil (Ocimum ), Plantain ( Plantago ), cardoons ( Dipsacus ), Knapweed (Centaurea ), dandelion (Taraxacum ), " thistles " and burnet ( Sanguisorba ).
The caterpillars are diurnal and nocturnal and sit at night and during the day free on the vegetation. They pupate in the soil or in the vegetation in a parchment-like, gray-brown cocoon. The pupa overwinters.
Endangering
The species is not endangered in Germany.
System
Acronicta rumicis is of Fibiger et al. (2009) placed in the subgenus Viminia Chapman, 1890 together with together with A. auricoma, A. orientalis, A. menyanthidis, A. euphorbiae and A. cinerea. Other species of the genus are found in the Far East. Fibiger, et al. (2009) ruled out no subspecies.