Sphingonaepiopsis gorgoniades
Sphingonaepiopsis gorgoniades is a butterfly (moth ) from the family of moth ( Sphingidae ). The species is widespread in south-eastern Europe and the Near and Middle East.
- 5.1 Notes and references
- 5.2 Literature
Features
The moths have a wingspan of 25-32 millimeters. Their forewings are whitish - gray patterned. The animals are only slightly variable, only the yellow-brown or pale orange speckles vary on the hind wings in intensity and extent. In some individuals the rear wings have a very pronounced pattern of pale orange spots. In moths from drier habitats, this pattern sometimes occurs on the fore wings paler and brownish animals. The species can be confused in their area of distribution only with Sphingonaepiopsis kuldjaensis.
The small, nearly spherical eggs are 1.0 times 1.1 millimeters long. They are pale green; shortly before hatching they turn bright yellow. The caterpillars reach a body length of 30 to 40 millimeters and occur ( gray-green, reddish or whitish ) in three color variations. All forms are wearing white stripes. The caterpillars are dyed after hatching, about 2.5 mm long and pale yellow. Her head is proportionally very large. By feeding on the food plants they turn gray green, with many fine white dots, thereby acting grayish. From pale orange head to the small, black, upwardly curved Analhorn a pale longitudinal line extending laterally of the back. Each segment is framed with a row of black hairs, the entire body surface is covered with fine white hairs. From the second larval instar caterpillars have their final coloration and patterning. You lose the black hair, but are on the whole body bright hairy. Full grown animals wearing white vertical stripes along the body, even on the head. On the back there are two narrow strips, side of the back runs ever, a broad and strong colored and just such a below the spiracles. All strips can be edged with red in some individuals. The head is rounded and wears short bristles. The narrow and short, straight or slightly curved upwards Analhorn is pink or orange. Often its tip is black. The spiracles are white and are below another, but very weakly developed longitudinal strip. The doll is 18 to 20 millimeters long. It is shiny black-brown colored, with orange-brown Intersegmentalhäuten on the abdomen. The surface of the head and thorax is slightly wrinkled, the abdomen is heavily textured punctiform. The proboscis is slightly forward. The triangular cremaster is elongated, dorsoventrally flattened and has a double peak.
System
The sub-species of this type so far described are untenable according to Pittaway, since they are apparently only by different habitats related color variations. Individuals from moist habitats are colored usually somewhat larger and darker and have a more distinct pattern. Specimens from dry areas are smaller, paler and have a less pronounced pattern. The forms described are generally not clearly delineated. You seem to have during the ice age in the Pleistocene in different, mutually isolated refugia formed, is not mingle now genetically again, similar as with the little wine -moth ( Deilephila porcellus ).
Occurrence and habitat
The species is widespread in south-eastern Europe and the Near and Middle East. The moth comes in Croatia, Albania, Macedonia, in central and southern Greece, in the east of Bulgaria and Romania on the south of Ukraine and Crimea, the Russian south north to Kazan, to the southern Urals and the East Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan. Furthermore, there are finds from the central and southern Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, the West Jordan, the Caucasus, east to northern Iraq, and Iran from the north and the south of Turkmenistan before. The distribution of the species is disjunct, but so far little explored. As this moth is easily overlooked due to its small size, it is possible that it also occurs in other areas.
Unlike previously thought Sphingonaepiopsis gorgoniades missing in southern Siberia, the Altai and the Amur region. This error was at least partly due to an incorrect labeling of preparations of captured moths from Uzbekistan.
Sphingonaepiopsis gorgoniades colonized open bushland and hilly steppes in local, but individual- rich populations. In the Caucasus, one finds the type 2000-2500 meters above sea level. In Iran, the type of 2400 meters is demonstrated in Lebanon at 1700 meters. In Jordan, the kind inhabited loose old oak forests with dense herbaceous layer between 500 and 1000 meters above sea level.
Way of life
Very little is known about the life of the adult bees. The night-active moths are strongly attracted at dusk of flowers. The caterpillars are primarily nocturnal. Many caterpillars live together in a small space. The caterpillars are easily startled and can be at the slightest disturbance of the food crops fall. Pupation takes place in a loosely woven cocoon of silk between the material on the ground. The pupa overwinters. Parasitoids of the species are not known.
Flight times and caterpillars
The moths fly in two generations mainly from late May to early June and late July / August. In the southern Urals, the animals fly from late May to mid-July with an incomplete second generation in late July / early August. In the southern portions of their range occur sporadically copies already in April and in September / October. The caterpillars can be found especially in June, July and September.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed mainly on Labkräutern ( Galium ), especially skipjack bedstraw ( Galium verum). More rarely they are also found in other types of Madder ( Rubiaceae ). The flowers are preferably eaten.