Furcula furcula
Book - tailed ( furcula furcula ) ♂
The Book - tailed or willow - tailed ( furcula furcula ) is a butterfly (moth ) from the family of the tooth Spinner ( Notodontidae ).
- 3.1 Flight times and caterpillars
- 3.2 food of the caterpillars
- 5.1 Notes and references
Features
The moths reach a wingspan from 27 to 35 millimeters. Their forewings have a light gray color. You carry around in the middle of the wing a dominant, broad dark gray napkin margins on both sides, but in front much stronger, black and orange. The rear edge of the binding is oblique wavy, so this is pointed out in the supervisory center of the body. At the close tie back to several jagged dark and a thin orange napkins. These run exactly opposite angle so as to form a light gray triangle between them and the rear edge of the gray tie, wearing a black spot in the middle. At the wing leading edge behind the jagged binding is located on both sides of a dark gray box. Along the outer edge of wing run black, round spots. Other spots can also be found near the wing approach. The thorax is the front white, patterned black and orange on the top. These black areas and the front edge of the gray bandage shimmer in addition metallic blue. The rest of the thorax and the black legs are strong and dense, light gray hairy.
The caterpillars are about 40 to 50 millimeters long. They are light green and have a brown, yellow border back drawing that runs in the middle of the body triangle on the body side. At the head and also on the abdomen end terminating pointed and long, found at the back of each a brown spot. Most of the front patch is connected to the large in the middle of the body.
Similar Species
- Birch -tailed ( furcula bicuspid ) ( Borkhausen, 1790)
- Little Forktail ( furcula bifida ) ( Brahm, 1787)
Occurrence
The animals are found in Europe and Asia Minor, the Mediterranean they are rare or absent. They live among others in moors, heathland, mixed forests and parks.
Way of life
Flight times and caterpillars
The moths fly in usually in one, sometimes in two generations from mid-May to late June. The caterpillars are found from July to September.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed on aspen (Populus tremula ), goat willow (Salix caprea ), ear - willow ( Salix aurita ), beech ( Fagus sylvatica) and birch (Betula spp.).
Development
The females lay their eggs in groups of two or three pieces on the top side of the leaves of their food plants. Hibernation takes place as a doll, this is found in a bark cocoon at the base of food plants or in cracks in the bark. The cocoons are made of zernagtem wood and very solid.