Apatura iris
Great Purple Emperor ( Apatura iris )
The Great Purple Emperor ( Apatura iris ) is a butterfly ( butterfly ) of the family Nymphalidae ( Nymphalidae ). The Great Purple Emperor was in Germany in 2011 butterfly of the year.
- 3.1 Flight and caterpillar time
- 3.2 food of the caterpillars
- 5.1 Notes and references
- 5.2 Literature
Description
Characteristics of the adult bees
The moth reaches a wingspan of 55 to 65 millimeters. The black-brown upper wing surface has on the fore wings white patches in a row in the Diskalregion and in an incomplete row in the Postdiskalregion. In addition, he has the typical Schillerfalter blue Schiller, is missing the females and is caused by tiny air chambers in the shed. One recognizes the type easily on their jagged lobes of the hind wings, which give it a slightly exotic look. The lower wing is maroon with olivgrauen spots in the Diskalregion the forewings are white spots and is in cell 2 an orange eye with a dark core. The hind wings have a white Diskalband on the top and bottom. The Great Purple Emperor has, in contrast to the Little Purple Emperor ( Apatura ilia ) only two orange eyes rounded spots on the rear wings. On the front wing upper surface, he has only one dark spot, which is not always immediately recognizable in cell 2.
Features of the crawler
The caterpillars are about 42 mm long. You are strongly colored green and have yellow lines running diagonally to the rear. Striking are its two head horns and a pointed end of the body, which makes them look like slugs.
Similar Species
- Little Purple Emperor ( Apatura ilia ) ( Denis & Schiffer Müller, 1775)
- Apatura metis Freyer, 1829 TL: Hungary
Occurrence
The animals come in all of Central Europe in the north to the 60th degree of latitude, to the east across central Asia to the north-east of China and Korea before. They are found up to an altitude of 1,500 meters. You are lacking in central and northern England, Ireland, Scandinavia and Southern Europe. They are found in sparse lowland forests and mixed deciduous forests. The most important claim of the biotope is the presence of pastures.
Way of life
The moth is only very rarely found on flowers, on the other hand, he often visited damp patches on the floor and will attracted to carrion, feces, sweat, but also of tar and gasoline. The moths usually rest on oak sitting several feet above the ground, where the females like to fly in the crown area and therefore are rarely visible on the ground.
Flight and caterpillar time
The Great Purple Emperor flies from mid-June to mid-August, especially in the hot midday hours. On a cool morning, the animals remain motionless on their beds. The green caterpillars are found from August and, after their camouflaged winter, then to June. There is only one generation per year.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars of this moth Schiller feed primarily on broad-leaved willow species, the goat willow (Salix caprea ) is strongly preferred. In addition, they are also found in white willow (Salix alba) and gray willow (Salix cinerea).
Development
The females lay their eggs singly, usually on the upper side of the leaf tips of the forage from. The caterpillars have from the second stage of their typical head horns. They feed on the tip of the blade sitting a broad strip of the sheet and leave only the central leaf vein intact. The result is the typical food of the mirrored image " crescents ". These are particularly evident in the rounded leaf of willow and always an indication of the presence of this species. Even when they are resting, they sit on the remaining blade tip. Hibernation takes place on a web pad onto branches, especially on crotches. You have here a darker, olive-green or brown color. When the caterpillars in the spring become active again, they turn quickly to a strong green. They pupate on the underside of leaves in a laterally flattened, light green Stürzpuppe that looks very similar to its core drawing a leaf.