Polychrysia moneta
Eisenhut Gold Owl ( Polychrysia moneta )
The Eisenhut Gold Owl ( Polychrysia moneta ) is a butterfly (moth ) from the family of cutworms ( Noctuidae ).
Features
The Eisenhut Gold Owl is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of 40 to 45 millimeters. The forewings are dull brass to golden yellow, yellowish brown mixed with distinctive dark veins. The ring and the pin flaw underlying are outlined in thick silvery and have approximately the shape of a "zero". The hind wings are brownish gray. The body of the butterfly is hairy furry, at the head there is a tuft of hair.
The egg is spherical, slightly flattened at the base with slightly wavy longitudinal ridges. It is first yellowish white, shortly before hatching of caterpillars but reddish yellow with a dark center spot.
The caterpillars reach a length of up to 35 millimeters and are dark green with black dots in the first stages. Adult they are light green colored with white dots. The topline is dark green, the side stripes. The pupa is green with a black back and extended proboscis sheath.
Geographical distribution and habitat
The southern limit of distribution of the species extends from northern Spain as well as an isolated occurrence in the Sierra Nevada, southern France, the Alpine region to the Balkans (Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania); from there across the Ukraine to the Central Ural and to Lake Baikal. Next, there are proved reserves in Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and northern Iran. In the north, the range extends from the British Isles, with a small presence in Northern Ireland, across Scandinavia ( with the exception of most coastal areas and the northern part ), northern Finland to the Arctic Circle via Northern Russia to the Urals Mountains. The deposits there have previously been researched only insufficient, since the type may sympatric lives there with the similar sister species Polychrysia esmeralda. On the Baikal sympatric occurrence of the two species has been demonstrated. Polychrysia esmeralda is however regarded by some authors only as a subspecies of Polychrysia moneta.
The type is preferably used in deciduous forests, parklands, gardens, on bushy slopes and in rocky valleys, isolated to rare. In the Alps, it rises to about 1,800 meters.
The Eisenhut Gold Owl has expanded their range from about 1870 far to the north. The northern boundary was originally approximately on a line of Normandy on the southern Harz to St. Petersburg. 1875 was already at home in Denmark, 1880 in the Netherlands and 1890 in England.
Way of life
The Eisenhut Gold Owl occurs each year in a generation, sometimes even in an incomplete second generation, the first from mid-May to early July, the second from August to September, the second generation is unlikely to occur in each year. The moths are nocturnal, but rarely come to artificial light sources. They can not lure with sugar water. They suck nectar; observed they were on butterfly bush ( Buddleja davidi ) and honeysuckle ( Lonicera ). The caterpillars feed on the leaves of various aconite species such as, Monkshood (Aconitum napellus ), Colorful monkshood ( Aconitum variegatum ), wolf (Aconitum lycoctonum ) and rarely also of larkspurs ( Delphinium ), field larkspurs ( Consolida ) and Trollblumen ( Trollius ).
The young caterpillars spin the leaves at the top Plants with each other, while the older nibble the leaves from the bottom so that they hang limp. Behind they hide during the day. The caterpillars hatch from the eggs laid in early summer, develop at different rates. While most remain small and overwinter as young caterpillars, a smaller part developed, if at all, very quickly and gives the moths of the second generation. Pupation takes place in an initially white, later yellow colored cocoon, usually right on the food plant or a neighboring plant.
Systematics and Nomenclature
The species was described by Johann Christian Fabricius in 1778 under the name Noctua moneta first time. Eugen Johann Christoph Esper described the way in 1787 under the name Phalaena Noctua argyritis. 1789, she was described by Charles Joseph de Villers as Phalaena napelli. The latter two names are therefore junior synonyms of Polychrysia moneta (Fabricius, 1778). It was later determined the type species of the genus Polychrysia Hübner, 1821. However, this genus was not accepted by all authors, and so is the kind to be found in combination with the following generic names in the literature; Chrysoptera moneta moneta and Plusia. The genus Polychrysia Hübner 1821 currently includes nine species that are native to the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere.
Endangering
The species is in Baden- Württemberg, Bavaria, Rhineland -Palatinate and Saxony- Anhalt as threatened, endangered in Brandenburg as a strong threat in Saxony than extinction. In contrast, the stocks in the Saarland seem to be less at risk. The species are not only classified in category 5, ie Risks can only be expected with further habitat destruction.