Sphingonaepiopsis kuldjaensis
Sphingonaepiopsis kuldjaensis is a butterfly (moth ) from the family of moth ( Sphingidae ).
- 5.1 Notes and references
Features
The moths have a wingspan of 30-34 millimeters. You see Sphingonaepiopsis gorgoniades chloroptera similar, but have bright orange hind wings that are edged with brown on the outer edge. The first generation moths have a gray color on the forewings, which are the second generation of lighter colored and have not gray, but reddish- brown forewings.
The small, 1.0 x 1.0 millimeters in size eggs are initially light green and have a strong nacreous sheen, later they are greenish - yellow.
The caterpillars are 40 mm long. They are 3.5 millimeters long after hatching and have a grayish - yellow-green color. After about an hour, the color darkens to a gray-green with a weak, pale longitudinal line on either side of the back. The body is covered with black setae and hairs. The Analhorn measures 0.8 millimeters. In the second stage, the caterpillars are similar to those of the genus Hemaris and have a gray-green body, a green head and a straight, black Analhorn. Now wear from head to Nachschieber ever a wide, white ventrolateral binding and from head to Analhorn ever a less strong line side of the back. The black hair is replaced by pale tubercles, which are distributed in regular rows over the body. In the last larval instar caterpillars are bluish - green, with white tubercles and a violet- blue Analhorn. The strong band at the side can be white or white with red trim or pink. In addition to the blue-green described here also occurs a color variant with yellow-green color. Before pupation, all caterpillars become discolored reddish - purple.
The doll is 18 to 23 millimeters long. It is glossy black and has the abdomen orange-brown Intersegmentalhäute. The surface of the head and thorax is slightly wrinkled and the abdomen is strongly punctured. The proboscis makes a slight forward bow. The triangular cremaster is elongated. He is flattened dorso-ventrally and ends in a double peak.
Occurrence and habitat
The species is so far known from the eastern Kazakhstan, western Mongolia, the western Chinese province of Xinjiang, eastern Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and eastern Afghanistan.
They settled bushy, overgrown with numerous herbaceous plants steppes between 400 meters above sea level in the Altai and up to 1250 meters above sea level in Uzbekistan.
Way of life
The male moths are from sunset about four to five hours active, females from sunset to midnight.
Flight times and caterpillars
The moths fly from late April to early July and in a partial second generation from early July to late August. Focus of occurrence is May. The caterpillars can be found in Uzbekistan are below the May to September.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed on Labkräutern ( Galium ).
Development
The females lay their eggs singly or in pairs at the tips of Labkrautsprossen from. After about seven days, the caterpillars hatch. Initially, the caterpillars are very mobile and eat only at long intervals on the flower buds or young leaves. Pupation takes place in a loosely woven web between plant parts on the ground. The pupa overwinters. Parasitoids of the species are not known.