Utetheisa pulchella
Harlekinbär ( Utetheisa pulchella )
The Harlekinbär or Punktbär ( Utetheisa pulchella ) is a moth of the subfamily of the tiger moths ( Arctiinae ).
Features
The moths reach a wingspan of 29-42 millimeters. They are colored very noticeable. The forewings are white with numerous red and black spots. The hind wings are bright blue and unevenly dyed gray at the edges. Individual gray dots are found next to the gray areas. Also around the head they are white with red and black dots. The abdomen is pure white.
The caterpillars are gray and wearing white lines on the back and on the side. In addition, each segment has a cross- orange line. The body is covered with numerous black warts that make your hair turn gray.
Occurrence
The animals are mainly found in Africa, the Mediterranean, Central and Southeast Asia, but found also in Central Europe north of the Alps as a migrant butterfly. In the UK they are sometimes found, but where only about 100 copies were sighted.
Way of life
They live depending on the occurrence in one or two generations in the tropics caused this but continuously. The nocturnal animals come into Central Europe in the fall and fly in some cases a day.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed on forget-me -not (Myosotis spp.), Borage ( Borago spp.), Solstices ( Heliotropium sp. ) And other rauhblättrigen plants.
Course of development
The caterpillars pupate in a cocoon between leaves on the ground.