Lythria
Dock Purple tensioner ( Lythria cruentaria ), male
The genus Lythria is the only genus of the tribe of the subfamily Lythriini Sterrhinae that the moth family of the tensioner ( Geometridae ) is expected. Currently, the genus Lythria or the tribe Lythriini comprises five species that are all native to the Palaearctic region.
Features
The five species of the genus Lythria (or tribe ) are all relatively small species, with a wingspan of about 30 mm, most of the species are smaller. Summer generation in some species also significantly greater than the spring generation, in other species, it is vice versa. The basic color is usually yellow, light brown, to pale olive green. The drawing consists of extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of wing pads, which usually purple or pink, but are also colored gray-brown. In some specimens, the transverse bands hardly lift off from the base color. You can be almost extinguished or be indicated only by rows of dots. In L. sanguinaria the Central and Saumfeld can also be spotted loose red or a series of dots in Saumfeld available.
Geographical distribution and habitat
The distribution of the genus Lythria (or the tribe Lythriini ) is Palaearctic. It extends from the Iberian Peninsula, Western Europe ( with the exception of the British Isles ), central and southern Europe to Kazakhstan.
The species of the genus prefer dry warm habitats, such as dry meadows, fallow land, sand and heathland, especially on sandy and rocky soils. In Kazakhstan Lythria venusta rises to over 1000 m. In Central Europe Lythria purpuraria occurs in warm summers, at least regionally on quite frequently.
Way of life
The species are at least bivoltin in Central Europe, ie there are formed two generations per year. The moths are diurnal and nocturnal. The caterpillars are monophagous or oligophagous to herbaceous plants. However, little is known about the crawler food plants before. The pupa overwinters.
System
The genus Lythria or the tribe currently includes Lythriini after Sihvonen (2008) and Vasilenko (2009) only five types:
- Tribus Lythriini Herbulot, 1962 Genus Lythria Duponchel, 1845 Dock Purple tensioner ( Lythria cruentaria ( Hufnagel, 1767) )
- Lythria plumularia ( Freyer, 1831)
- Knotweed Purple tensioner ( Lythria purpuraria ( Linnaeus, 1758) )
- Lythria sanguinaria ( Duponchel, 1842)
- Lythria venus tata (Staudinger, 1882)
In the literature many synonyms exist for this species. The website lists ZipCodeZoo.com alone 87 species and subspecies of the genus Lythria. This is due to the large intra-specific variability of the species. A reliable distinction is z.T. only through an examination of the genital apparatus, usually only the male, is possible.
Phylogeny
The Lythriini are likely to form within the Sterrhinae the sister group of the Rhodometrini ( by Pasi Sihvonen )
Cosymbiini
Rhodometrini
Lythriini
Timandrini
Rhodostrophiini
Uncertain
Cyllopodini
Uncertain
Sterrhini
Cladogram of Sterrhinae after Sihvonen & Kaila (2004) and modifications of Õunap, Viidalepp & Saarma (2008)
Within the genus Lythria (or the tribe Lythriini ) form Lythria sanguinaria and Lythria purpuraria a sister group, in turn, form the sister group of Lythria cruentaria. The types Lythria plumularia and Lythria venusta could not yet be included in the phylogenetic studies with.