Dot Moth
Fleabane Owl ( Melanchra persicariae )
The Fleabane Owl ( Melanchra persicariae ) is a butterfly (moth ) from the family of cutworms ( Noctuidae ).
- 6.1 Literature
- 6.2 Notes and references
Features
Butterfly
The moth has a wingspan from 28 to 38 mm. The ground color of the forewings is dark brown with gray and ocher spots. The transverse lines and the ring stain are often unclear until extinguished. If the cross- lines are visible, they are darker than the ground color, the ring flaw, however, is bordered bright. The kidneys blemishes are almost always formed clearly, white filled. However, there is the formatter unicolor with almost black kidney blemish. The format accipitrina has brown stuffed kidney blemish. The wavy line is sometimes dissolved in yellow dots. The hind wings are pale brown.
Egg
The egg is spherical, flattened at the bottom. It is first greenish yellow, later it will gray-brown. The exterior is covered with longitudinal ribs.
Caterpillar
The caterpillar is either light green or light brown. It has a hump on 11 segment and a narrow, bright line of the back. On the 4th, 5th and 11th segment, it has lateral dark spots. The segments 6 to 10 carry angular, open forward spots. The head is greenish or brownish. The adult caterpillar is up to 45 mm long.
Doll
The pupa is dark brown with a short cremaster. This is staffed with two short but strong bristles.
Geographical distribution and habitat
The range extends from Spain in the west to Korea and Japan. The northern boundary runs from Scotland to the southern Fennoscandia, the middle Russia and southern Siberia to the Kamchatka Peninsula. The southern boundary runs through the north of Spain, Italy (except Sicily), Macedonia, Bulgaria, Asia Minor, the southern Caucasus, northern Iran, Central Asia and North China to Korea. The species inhabits moist mixed forests, birch forests, valleys with densely forested valley slopes, swampy forests. In the vertical, the species occurs from the lowlands in front up to the highest altitudes of the mountains; in the Alps to about 1000 m.
Way of life
The Fleabane Owl is a generation in years, flying the moth from late May to late August, in cooler regions until June. In favorable years and climatically favored areas, an incomplete second generation is formed, whose moth fly from late August to September. Some authors report that in favorable areas even a third generation is formed. In contrast, Hackers write et al., That the way in their area of distribution " univoltine " was. The moths suck flowers ( eg butterfly bush ( Buddleja davidii ) ). You are nachaktiv and come to artificial light sources.
The caterpillars are found from July until into September. They are extremely polyphagous and feed on many herbaceous plants and shrubs. Axel Steiner and Günther Ebert lists over 38 caterpillars food plants: bracken ( Pteridium aquilinum ), male fern ( Dryopteris filix- mas ), three-masted Flowers ( Tradescantia sp.), Basket willow ( Salix viminalis ), goat willow (Salix caprea ), common hazel ( Corylus avellana ), silver birch (Betula pendula), black alder ( Alnus glutinosa), beech ( Fagus sylvatica), field elm (Ulmus minor), stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), Ähriges Baneberry ( Actaea spicata ), raspberry ( idaeus Rubus ), blackberry ( Rubus fruticosus ), lupine (Lupinus sp.), Scotch broom ( Sarothamnus scoparius ), yellow sweet clover ( Melilotus officinalis), sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus), buckthorn ( Frangula alnus ), Purple Loosestrife ( Lythrum salicaria ) fireweed (Epilobium sp. ), various Umbelliferae ( Apiaceae ), Giersch ( Aegopodium podagraria ) Wiesensilge ( Silaum silaus ), Wild Angelica (Angelica sylvestris), hogweed ( Heracleum sphondylium ), bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), Forest woundwort ( Stachys sylvatica), Knotted figwort ( Scrophularia nodosa ), Black Elderberry (Sambucus nigra), Red Honeysuckle ( Lonicera xylosteum ), Fox cal ragwort ( Senecio ovatus ), cabbage thistle ( Cirsium oleraceum ), creeping thistle ( Cirsium arvense), dandelion ( Taraxacum sect. Ruderalia ) Mauerlattich ( Mycelis muralis ), Hasenlattich ( Prenanthes purpurea), Savoy hawkweed ( Hieracium sabaudium ). Hacker et al. also call the genera Vogelknöteriche ( Polygonum ), Sign ( Atriplex ), Rubus, broom ( Genista ) and Geißklee ( Cytisus ). They pupate in the fall; the doll wintered.
System
The species was in 1761 by Linnaeus as Phalaena Noctua persicariae first described scientifically. Johann Siegfried Hufnagel described the species in 1766 under the name Phalaena sambuci. Other names are Phalaena graphica Geoffroy, 1785 Phalaena Noctua accipitrina Esper, 1788, Mamestra unicolor Staudinger, 1871 Polia japonibia Bryk, 1942; they are persicariae junior synonyms of Melanchra. The type is the type species of the genus Melanchra Hübner, 1820.
Endangering
The species is regarded in Germany as not at risk.