Lasiocampa trifolii
Clover Spinner ( Lasiocampa trifolii )
- 3.1 Flight times and caterpillars
- 3.2 food of the caterpillars
- 5.1 Notes and references
- 5.2 Literature
Features
The moths reach a wingspan of 34-67 millimeters. The males have a reddish - gray or brown wings staining. On the front wings, a white, dark margined Diskoidalfleck and a slightly S-shaped curved yellowish band is visible, which runs approximately between the second and third wing third. The females have the same basic wing color, its yellowish band, however, is usually weak or dark colored.
The caterpillars are about 75 mm long. They have a dark gray color, from which one can see but because of its very dense and long, white and ocher or orange hair only slightly. Between the segments, the rings are clearly dark colored, there being three longitudinal rows of bluish white dots are drawn. There are also very dark caterpillars with only white hair or almost completely gray animals. Her head is rust brown and has front a black and yellow drawing.
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Subspecies
- Lasiocampa trifolii cocles ( Geyer, 1831)
- Lasiocampa trifolii trifolii ( Denis & Schiffer Müller, 1775)
Similar Species
- Oak moth ( Lasiocampa quercus )
Occurrence
The animals come in all of Europe except for the far north and the north of Britain, east to Iran before. They live in dry, grassy areas, such as on dry grasslands and pastures. Rarely do you find them on wet meadows. They are widespread and sometimes common, but declining in most areas in the populations.
Way of life
Flight times and caterpillars
The moths fly in one generation in late July to early September, the caterpillars can be found in May and June, or even from the end of October and beginning of November.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed on many different low-growing plants, but prefer Fabaceae ( Faboideae ) such as Spiny rest-harrow ( Ononis spinosa), white clover (Trifolium repens ) seed sainfoin ( Onobrychis viciifolia ), meadow grass pea ( Lathyrus pratensis ), sickle - alfalfa (Medicago falcata) and Scotch broom ( Sarothamnus scoparius ), but also feed on heather ( Calluna vulgaris ) and many grasses such as purple moor grass ( Molinia caerulea).
Development
The females shed their brown or gray, speckled eggs in flight over meadows. The caterpillars hatch in part in the fall, and after a winter in the next spring. The caterpillars are solitary and live well hidden in the dense marsh vegetation. But one can occasionally observe how basking high on blades of grass, where they rest with the head down. They are very shy and let go immediately curled up when disturbed. At first they only feed on grasses, later they also eat the other plants mentioned above. They carry stinging hairs, whose touch can be painful. They pupate in a robust, parchment-like, yellow-brown, tönnchenförmigen cocoon near the ground.