Limacodidae
Big worm moth ( Apoda lima codes)
The screw spinner, spinner Assel or sign moths ( Limacodidae ) are a family of butterflies (Lepidoptera ). They are found worldwide with about 1,000 species. Their main area of distribution are the tropics.
Features
The moths reach a wingspan of 16 to 32 millimeters. You have moderate to sturdily built body whose form is strong stocky and squat. Their front wings are short and wide and are only 1.6 to 2.1 times longer than wide. They are colored created at rest like a roof to the body and usually one color brown, greenish or metallic luster. Their hind wings are similar to the fore-wings in their shape, but are strongly rounded. Their antennae are short and reach only about half the length of the forewing. In the males, there are both species with filamentous, as well as species with combed sensors. The Maxillarpalpen are well developed depending on the nature or are reduced or absent. For all species the proboscis is missing.
The forewings have 13 wing veins with two Analadern (1b and 1c ). The hind wings have 10 cores with three Analadern (1a, 1b and 1c).
Way of life
The moths are nocturnal. Since they can take no food, they have a very short life expectancy of about a week. During this time, they live solely to reproduce.
The crepuscular and nocturnal caterpillars instead of the abdominal pairs of legs, a creeping, like snail. So that they can move around, but also laid eyes on leaves. The sternum pairs are only weakly developed. Young caterpillars sometimes have peg- like projections on the body, older stages of development are slightly hairy. Their color varies from bright yellow to red and green to blue. Some species have stinging hairs that can cause skin irritation in humans. One finds the animals sitting on their food plants. Pupation takes place in a cocoon either on the leaves of plants or on the ground between leaves.
System
Across Europe, only five species are known of which are found two species in Central Europe.
- Big worm moth ( Apoda lima codes) ( Hufnagel, 1766 ), A, CH, D
- Little worm moth ( Heterogenea Asella ) ( Denis & Schiffer Müller, 1775), A, CH, D
- Hoyosia codeti ( Oberthuer, 1883)
- Hoyosia cretica ( Rebel, 1906)
- Parasa sinica Moore 1877