Coscinia cribraria
White Grasbär, ( Coscinia cribraria )
The White Grasbär ( Coscinia cribraria ) is a butterfly (moth ) from the subfamily of the tiger moths ( Arctiinae ).
Features
The moths reach a wingspan of 30 to 40 millimeters. Their white forewings have a highly variable black spot drawing. It is these are either missing entirely or consist of dense rows of dots. The hind wings are also white and have on the front edge of a gray game, the different stages of spreading on the wing. In some cases, the entire hind wings are gray. The moths of the wetter areas are to those dyed much darker in contrast from dry and stronger lines. In the rest position, they roll their wings around the body.
The caterpillars are about 25 mm long. They are black and have a white line on the back. On the bottom and on the sides are light brown or reddish brown. You have distributed all over the body of hair, consisting of both a little shorter, black hair, as well as from long, white hair.
Occurrence
The animals come in all of Europe, except the UK and in the far north. They also lack in the foothills and mountains. They live in warm, dry and sandy terrain steppigem such as the heath, on sandy dry grassland, and forest glades. In Germany they are in northern and eastern often, to the south they are rare. They fly from mid-June to early August.
Way of life
They are nocturnal, but may be disturbed during the day from the vegetation. They live a year in a generation, south of the Alps, there are usually two.
The females lay about 40 eggs of their metallic gray shiny ring on blades of grass growing under four to five feet tall pines. The caterpillars preferred sit high on the plants and overwinter there. On mild winter days they are active. They pupate in June under rocks or at the root collar of grasses in a loose cocoon.
The caterpillars preferred eating wilted plant parts of grasses and other low plants, such as
- Fescue ( Festuca )
- Heather ( Calluna vulgaris)
- Plantain ( Plantago lanceolata)
- Dandelion (Taraxacum sect. Ruderalia )