Smerinthus ocellatus
Evening Pfauenauge ( Smerinthus ocellata )
The evening Pfauenauge ( Smerinthus ocellata ) is a butterfly (moth ) from the family of moth ( Sphingidae ).
- 5.1 Notes and references
- 5.2 Literature
Features
The moths reach a wingspan of 70 to 80 millimeters. Their front wings are drawn in light and dark brown tones and see the dyeing of similar rind. At the outer edge, they are slightly bulged and truncated. The hind wings are colored pink on the approach that to the outside ocher flows into a. The hind wings are each dominated by a large, blue, dark cored and black-rimmed eye-spot. The thorax side is light brown, hairy dark brown in the middle.
The caterpillars are about 80 mm long and are mostly blue-green, rarely yellow colored green. Her whole body is covered with fine white dots. Note the yellow side stripes that run from below obliquely backwards and upwards. The Analhorn on the abdomen end is light blue. The backs of the animals is much brighter than the rest of the body. Thus they appear on the underside of branches sitting by its shadow over the whole body equally bright This causes confusion with a hand because you can no longer recognize the spatial dimensions. The caterpillars see where the poplar hawkmoth ( Laothoe populi ) are very similar, but they have a yellow Analhorn.
Occurrence
The animals come in North Africa and all of Europe, except the far north and the south of the Iberian Peninsula. East extending their range as far as Siberia. They live in moist forests and waters banks, sometimes in gardens. They are widespread and common.
Way of life
The nocturnal Imagines sit during the day well camouflaged on tree trunks. If they are disturbed, they spread their wings jerkily, so you get to see the eye-spots on the hind wings. The body is also teetering moved back and forth. This combination should pretend a much larger animal and thereby deter predators.
Flight times and caterpillars
The moths fly in one generation from mid- May to July, the caterpillars are found from July to September. Sometimes you can find butterflies a partial second generation in August. In the warm south develop in August and April / May, June / July and August / September, two or three generations.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed mainly on narrow-leaved willow such as on basket willow ( Salix viminalis ), crack willow (Salix fragilis ), ear - willow ( Salix aurita ), Ash- willow ( Salix cinerea) and goat willow (Salix caprea ). But they are also found in poplars (Populus ), rarely also on birch trees, apple trees and other fruit trees.
Development
The females lay their ellipsoid, shiny pale green eggs on the underside of leaves of fodder plants. The animals spend the winter as a pupa, about 20 inches deep in the soil. You dig a much deeper than, say, the poplar or the Lime Hawk so often located close to shores dolls can not be washed away by floods. The 35 to 41 millimeters long black brown oily shiny dolls are greased to repel water.