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Big John's wort - tensioner ( Aplocera Plagiata )
The Great St. John's wort tensioner ( Aplocera Plagiata ) is a butterfly (moth ) from the family of the tensioner ( Butterfly) ( Geometridae ).
- 3.1 Flight times and caterpillars
- 4.1 Notes and references
Features
With a wingspan from 27 to 40 millimeters, the Great St. John's release is one of the major representatives of the family of tensioner. The forewings have a gray to blue-gray staining. A consisting of transverse lines band which is filled only black on the front edge, is located in the Basalfeld, in midfield and behind the center. The outer cross band forms at the leading edge of the wing two prongs. The moths see the sandy heaths - hypericum tensioner ( Aplocera efformata ) are very similar, which was recognized in 1923 as an independent species. From this the Great St. John's wort - tensioner can be distinguished by the shape and length of the last abdominal segment. It is at A. Plagiata one-third to one-fourth as long as the entire abdomen, with A. efformata but much shorter. In the females of A. Plagiata the abdomen ends pointed, while he is blunt shaped in A. efformata. The males can be distinguished by their Valven that protrude when resting butterflies under the wings.
Similar Species
- Sand heaths - hypericum tensioner ( Aplocera efformata ( Guenee, 1857) )
- Mountain heath - hypericum tensioner ( Aplocera praeformata ( Hübner, 1826) )
Subspecies
- Aplocera Plagiata hausmanni Exposito Hermosa, 1998
- Aplocera Plagiata Plagiata (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Aplocera Plagiata scotica Richardson, 1952. Blue-gray coloration.
Molding
- Aplocera efformata f tangent Fritsch. Bands before and behind the middle collide in midfield
- Aplocera efformata f fasciata Garbsk. How d tangent; Ribbons, form a wide band are joined to the inner edge.
- Aplocera efformata f suffusa Prout. Both bands form a single blackish band in midfield.
- Aplocera efformata f ruberata rbl. The midfield is darkened brownish between the bands.
Synonyms
- Anaitis Plagiata
Occurrence
The distribution area of the Great St. John's wort tensioner extends from the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and the Middle East to Kashmir. Furthermore, the species occurs in Western and Central Europe including the British Isles, to southern Fennoscandia and throughout Eastern Europe, to the south of Russia. It is also found in North America.
Way of life
The Great St. John's release can be found on warm slopes, grassy slopes, dry forest edges, plantations, lean meadows and mountain heaths. The moths suck at night at various flowers such Ex. Common Goldenrod (Solidago virgaureae ), heather ( Calluna vulgaris), bladder campion ( Silene vulgaris), Viper's bugloss ( Echium vulgare), butterfly bush ( Buddleia davidii ), Knapweed (Centaurea spec. ), thistles ( Cirsium spp.). The butterfly can also be observed on artificial light sources.
The females lay eggs in rows of three to eight pieces onto the underside of leaves below the flower corolla.
As a caterpillar food plant oil spot Hartheu (Hypericum perforatum ) is called. The half-grown caterpillars are usually found in the fruits, while the adult caterpillars are curled up on the ground.
Flight times and caterpillars
The Great St. John's release forms two generations a year, flying from mid-May to mid-July and from late July to early October. The caterpillars of the first generation can be observed in September and after overwintering in the following year in April. The caterpillars of the second generation occur from July to August in appearance. In the north of its range only one generation is produced.