Micropterix aruncella
Micropterix aruncella
Micropterix aruncella is a butterfly of the family of Urmotten ( Micropterigidae ).
Features
The male moths have a forewing length 2.6 to 3.6 mm, the females have a 2.6 to 4.0 millimeters. The wingspan is given as 6 to 8 millimeters. The head is black brown. The hair -like scales of the head are dirty white to reddish yellow. In the form atricapilla Wocke they are golden brown to black. The antennae are dark brown and shining gold reddish. These ranges in color with the males up to 4 /5 of the forewing length and the females up to just over half the forewing length. The thorax is bronze gold to copper colored and purple behind frequently. The tegulae are purple to bluish. The front wings are golden to bronze - more rarely bright gold - and tinted more or less reddish. The reddish tint is missing occasionally. Specimens from the northern and central Apennines often have a reddish golden bronze to copper-colored staining. The basal region is surrounded on the Costa loader clear purple and with a few bluish scales. The Costa loader is colored purple in the first quarter, sometimes the violet coloration can also almost completely absent. The Apex is a bit more red than the ground color in most copies. The females are usually without markings and have the leading edge of the wing base a purple, shiny spot. Females from the northern and central Apennines are similar to the males. The drawing of the male is silvery white and often diffuse. Male from the northern and central Apennines have a very distinct pattern in the form nuraghella Blackbird missing. A small bandage is located at about 1 /4 of the forewing length. It extends beyond the half leaf width, but not enough to Costa loader. It is strongly curved inwards and sometimes reduced to a small spot. A narrow, nearly straight binding is located in the wing center. It extends mostly over the entire leaf width. At 3 /4 of the forewing length sometimes a small round spot located in the front part of the wing (Form sepp ella Fabricius ), this is clearly marked in specimens from the northern and central Apennines. The size and extent of the silvery Binding is slightly variable. The fringe scales are bright gold and usually somewhat toned purple. The hind wings are golden to bronze and - especially at the apex - more or less purple. The fringe scales are light tinted golden and reddish. Legs and abdomen are golden brown and shiny.
In the male the uncus is long and narrow and at the top somewhat enlarged. The Tegumen is narrow and has a ventral long, wide, beilförmigen extension. It is especially weak sclerotized at the front edge. The beilförmige extension is provided with a few short bristles. The accessory claspers are small and slipper -shaped. They are located between the above-mentioned projections and ventrally behind their base. The accessory claspers have distally on the dorsal margin of four or five short, slightly curved bristles. You are spike- like and divided several times at the top. At the bottom are ten long, straight spine- like bristles with a curved tip. In the middle of the accessory claspers are short bristles. The Valven are strongly constricted vigorously and behind the center. The distal ends are spoon-shaped and slightly curved dorsad. On the inner surface of an elongated bristle stain is postbasal created. At the distal end is a row of longer bristles and two or three irregular rows of short, straight, spike- shaped bristles.
The eggs are oval and 400-430 micrometers long and 310-350 microns wide. You are provided with up to 60 microns long, rod-like structures. Immediately before hatching they turn from a translucent white to gray.
The caterpillars are elongate, oval and on abdominal segments 2-4 thickest. The crawler body tapers slightly at both ends. It is equipped with eight, sometimes even with twice as many longitudinal rows of different shaped, modified hairs. They are club-shaped, flattened, ribbed and tapered at the base. The hair of the 8th abdominal segment are thinner and longer. In the last stage they reach a length of 4.0 to 4.5 millimeters. The stigma can be easily overlooked. The head capsule can be fully retracted into the thorax. The probes are the same length as the head capsule, and consist of three units. The first sensing segment is short and about as long as wide. The second segment is long, seven times as long as wide, and the base slightly thickened. The third segment is long and thin. It is about 20 times as long as wide, but shorter than the second segment. The terminal bristle is shorter. The mandibles are slightly asymmetrical and about 0.13 mm long and 0.09 mm wide. You are strongly sclerotized and provided with three teeth. The latter are separated by deep grooves. The cutting edges of the teeth are partially slightly notched. Silk glands are not formed. The Abdominalbeine are tapered and have no check mark.
Similar Species
The females of M. aruncella have on the front edge of the wing base a purple shiny spot. This extends in the females of Micropterix calthella over the whole wing base. In the females of Micropterix isobasella he is missing, it may be just some purple shiny scales on the Costa loader is present.
Dissemination
The species is widespread in Europe. You lack in Portugal, Sicily, Malta, Iceland, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, Crete and in the European part of Turkey.
The moths are found on dry, extensively used meadows and grassy forest edges. In the Alps you will find the type in the coppice.
Biology
The caterpillars have been found of clusters grasses ( Dactylis ), where they probably feed on detritus. The dolls are in a tight cocoon. The moths feed on pollen of herbaceous plants and pollen from Hawthorn. The moths are diurnal and fly from May to August. They are sociable and can be observed on the flowers of various perennials, shrubs and trees, for example on hawthorns (Crataegus ), elderberry (Sambucus ), nettles (Urtica ), Geißklee ( Cytisus ), Ragged Robin ( Lychnis flos- cuculi ), germander speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys ) and Middle plantain ( Plantago media ). In the Alps you will find the butterfly in the coppice also on the flowers of the mountain rose (Rosa pendulina ) and the mountain pine (Pinus mugo mugo ).
System
There are known the following synonyms:
- Phalaena aruncella Scopoli, 1763
- Tinea sepp ella Fabricius, 1777
- Tinea podevinella Hübner, 1813
- Lampronia concinnella Stephens, 1834
- Micropteryx eximiella Zeller, 1850
- Eriocephala atricapilla Wocke, 1877
- Micropteryx nuraghella Amsel, 1936