Arctia festiva
English Bear ( Arctia festiva )
The English Bear ( Arctia festiva ) is a butterfly (moth ) from the subfamily of the tiger moths ( Arctiinae ).
Description
The moths reach a wingspan of 45 to 60 millimeters. They have white, brown yellow fringed forewings, on which several partially broken black cross bands are visible. The hind wings are bright red and have black spots. The antennae of the males are combed, while the females are slightly serrated. The females are also thicker and fly more cumbersome than the males.
The caterpillars are up to 50 millimeters long. They are dark gray and light gray and have a long bright yellow hair. At the lower sides of the hair is chestnut.
Habitat
They come in places in southern and central Europe in sunny and warm climates on sandy or chalky soils. They fly from the end of April to July.
In Germany they have not been spotted since the 1970s.
Way of life
The animals are nocturnal and occur with one generation per year. The female is very slow due to the burden of their eggs and begin to fly until it has stored a part of them.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed on a variety of low herbs such as:
- Dandelion ( Taraxacum ) ( Taraxacum sp. )
- Field thyme (Thymus pulegioides )
- Yarrow (Achillea millefolium )
- Spurge ( Euphorbia spp.)
- Plantain ( Plantago spp.)
Development
The female lays her eggs multilayered as yellow on the underside of leaves. The caterpillars have not only in winter but also in summer, as an adaptation to the hot habitats, a feeding or rest break. You need after hibernation often only a short time to be mature and pupate in part already in March on the floor in a white-gray, soft cocoon.