Euxoa nigrofusca
Euxoa ( Euxoa ) nigrofusca
Euxoa nigrofusca ( = Euxoa tritici auct., Not Euxoa tritici (Linnaeus, 1761 ) ), also Weizeneule, grain - owl or Reddish Gray called Erdeule is a butterfly (moth ) from the family of cutworms. She is one of three types of narrow E. tritici complex whose taxonomic status has been questioned as a bonae species and some still is.
- 6.1 Notes and references
- 6.2 Literature
Features
The moths have a wingspan of 26-42 millimeters. Coloring and drawing are extremely variable and hardly a moth has an identical coloring and drawing. The ground color varies from brownish gray to black-gray, the drawing emerges only a little. Ring and kidney brokering are often drawn little clear and bright margins. The males have relatively short comb-like probe, the female thread-like sensor.
The egg is yellowish, without superficial ribbing.
The caterpillars are yellowish to ocher -colored with a bright line on the back and dark side back lines that are edged with light downward. The side strips are greenish - brown.
The doll is colored brown yellowish. The obtuse cremaster is occupied by two sharp thorns.
Similar Species
The three types of narrow E. tritici complex, ie E. nigrofusca, E. tritici E. eruta are very similar and can usually be distinguished by genitalmorphologische investigations. The independence of these species is, however, doubted
- E. aquilina, the comb-like antennae of the males have longer combs than the sensor of male moths of E. nigrofusca.
- E. eruta, the moths are usually darker and have less brown tones as E. nigrofusca, the drawing is less pronounced, the caterpillars are slightly larger and darker than in E. nigrofusca
- E. tritici, smaller, with broader and more rounded front wings slightly darker tint
The three other types of E. tritici complex ( E. montivaga, E. and E. segnilis diaphora ) do not occur in Central Europe.
Geographical distribution and habitat
The distribution area extends across the whole of Europe with the exception of the northern Fennoscandian and parts of northern Russia and some Mediterranean islands (Balearic Islands, Crete, Greek islands ). In the east it extends across Siberia to the Russian Far East and Japan.
One finds the Euxoa nigrofusca in grain fields, on sandy heaths, fallow land and pastures. Its original habitat was the grass steppe. In the mountains you can find this kind only in the valleys.
Way of life
The Weizeneule is one generation per year, flying the moth from late June to late September. The moths are nocturnal, visit artificial light sources and come to the bait. The brown- black patterned butterflies are not easy to spot when they are sitting on a piece of dark wood. After mating, the female lays the eggs on the base of grass tufts or lower plants. The caterpillars are found from September to October. The caterpillars feed on the roots of polyphagous and ground-level areas of different grasses and herbaceous plants. Fibiger (1990 ) called Horn herbs ( Cerastium ), chickweed ( Stellaria ), Spark ( Spergula ) Labkräuter ( Galium ), Plantain ( Plantago ) and cabbage ( Brassica ). Most wintering caterpillars; however, had already been observed that individual caterpillars pupate in autumn.
The species was also observed as a pest of skipjack buckwheat ( Fagopyrum esculentum).
Systematics and Nomenclature
The species was carried out until 1993 and 1998 respectively in the literature as Euxoa tritici (Linnaeus, 1761 ). On examination of the type specimen ( lectotype ) of the established by Carl Linnaeus as Phalaena Noctua tritici type turned out that this copy is identical to Euxoa crypta Dadd, 1927. The oldest available name for this species, which previously erroneously in the literature as Euxoa tritici was called, is Phalaena Noctua nigrofusca Esper, 1788. Euxoa the name tritici but will not become invalid, but takes the place of Euxoa crypta Dadd, 1927. A third, much the same way, often only as formatted or subspecies Euxoa tritici auct. was held Euxoa is eruta ( Hübner, 1827). Fibiger (1997 ) regard it as a bona species that differ mainly by differences in the female genital organs. Marko Mutanen found, however, in quantitative morphometric studies of male and female genitalia, no significant differences and concluded that probably some, if not all kinds of other E. tritici complex ( ie E. nigrofusca, E. tritici E. eruta, E. montivaga, E. and E. segnilis diaphora ) must be synonymized.
Fibiger (1990 ) divided Euxoa nigrofusca into two subspecies:
- Euxoa nigrofusca reisseri Corti, 1932, Sierra Nevada (Spain). Ground color light gray to dark gray, wingspan on average slightly lower than at the Nominatunterart.
- Euxoa nigrofusca nigrofusca (Linnaeus, 1761 ), in the largest part of the range
Endangering
Due to the difficult situation of the taxonomy the potential danger of this kind is difficult to estimate. It can be stated in total basically just for the E. tritici complex. The ever-fluctuating population sizes of these kind (s ) have declined significantly in recent years. Nevertheless, is / are not classified as impaired.