See also
All about Cyprus - Όλα για την Κύπρο
List of Moths of Cyprus you will find in this blog (Lepidoptera)
Ηostplant
Tree tobacco, wild tobacco - Nicotiana glauca Graham - Αρκοκαπνός, Γιατρός - Cyprus
Η Acherontia atropos (Linnaeus, 1758) γνωστή και ως Death's-head hawkmoth είναι μια νυχτοπεταλούδα της οικογένειας Sphingidae που απαντάται σε Ευρώπη, Μέση Ανατολή και Αφρική.
Με άνοιγμα φτερών 90-135 χιλ., η Acherontia atropos πετά σε ανοικτές εκτάσεις και αγροτικές περιοχές, από τον Μάιο ως τον Νοέμβριο. Η κάμπια της εντοπίζεται σε ελαιόδεντρα (Olea europaea), αλλά και σε άλλα φυτά όπως π.χ. σε φυτά της οικογένειας Solanaceae.
Συχνά το ενήλικο άτομο που τρέφεται με νέκταρ και μελιτώδεις εκκρίσεις εντοπίζεται και σε μελισσόκηπους, αφού έλκεται από τη μυρωδιά του μελιού, το οποίο τρώει αν καταφέρει να εισχωρήσει μέσα στην κυψέλη.
Η μεγάλη αυτή νυχτοπεταλούδα φέρει ένα σχέδιο νεκροκεφαλής στο θώρακά της. Είναι μάλιστα η νυχτοπεταλούδα που έγινε γνωστή και από την ταινία "Η σιωπή των αμνών".
Η διωνυμική ονομασία του είδους σχετίζεται με το θάνατο και συγκεκριμένα:
-Το όνομα του είδους Αtropos προέρχεται από την Άτροπος που ήταν μια από τις τρεις Μοίρες, θεές της μοίρας και του πεπρωμένου.
-Το όνομα του γένους Acherontia προέρχεται από τον Αχέροντα, ποταμό της Ηπείρου, ο οποίος κατά τη μυθολογία θεωρήθηκε ως το μονοπάτι που οδηγούσε στον Κάτω Κόσμο λόγω των μεγάλων, σκοτεινών φαραγγιών που διέτρεχε..
Πηγή Popi Bormpoudaki
Family, Sphingidae
Acherontia atropos is the most widely known of the three species of Death's-head Hawk moth. Acherontia species are notorious mainly for a vaguely skull-shaped pattern on the thorax.
Acherontia atropos is a large hawk moth with a wingspan of 90–130 mm (about 3.5 to 5 inches), being the largest moth in some of the regions in which it occurs. The adult has the typical streamlined wings and body of the hawk moth family, Sphingidae. The upper wings are brown with slight yellow wavy lines; the lower wings are yellow with some wide brown waves. It rests during the day on trees or in the litter, holding the wings like a tent over the body.
The moth also has numerous other unusual features. It has the ability to emit a loud squeak if irritated. The sound is produced by expelling air from its proboscis. It often accompanies this sound with flashing its brightly marked abdomen in a further attempt to deter its predators. It is commonly observed raiding beehives for honey at night. Unlike the other species of Acherontia, it only attacks colonies of the well-known Western honey bee, Apis mellifera. It is attacked by guard bees at the entrance, but the thick cuticle and resistance to venom allow it to enter the hive. It is able to move about in hives unmolested because it mimics the scent of the bees
Acherontia atropos occurs throughout the Middle East and the Mediterranean region, much of Africa down to the southern tip, and increasingly as far north as southern Great Britain due to recently mild British winters. It occurs as far east as India and western Saudi Arabia, and as far west as the Canary Islands and Azores. It invades western Eurasia frequently, although few individuals successfully overwinter
There are several generations of Acherontia atropos per year, with continuous broods in Africa. In the northern parts of its range the species overwinters in the pupal stage. Eggs are laid singly under old leaves of Solanaceae: potato especially, but also Physalis and other nightshades. However it also has been recorded on members of the Verbenaceae, e.g. Lantana, and on members of the families Cannabaceae, Oleaceae, Pedaliaceae and others. The larvae are stout with a posterior horn, as is typical of larvae of the Sphingidae. Most sphingid larvae however, have fairly smooth posterior horns, possibly with a simple curve, either upward or downward. In contrast, Acherontia species and certain relatives bear a posterior horn embossed with round projections about the thicker part. The horn itself bends downwards near the base, but curls upwards towards the tip.
Tachinid fly (Drino (Zygobothria) atropivora)
(Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830)
Acherontia atropos is the most widely known of the three species of Death's-head Hawk moth. Acherontia species are notorious mainly for a vaguely skull-shaped pattern on the thorax.
Acherontia atropos is a large hawk moth with a wingspan of 90–130 mm (about 3.5 to 5 inches), being the largest moth in some of the regions in which it occurs. The adult has the typical streamlined wings and body of the hawk moth family, Sphingidae. The upper wings are brown with slight yellow wavy lines; the lower wings are yellow with some wide brown waves. It rests during the day on trees or in the litter, holding the wings like a tent over the body.
The moth also has numerous other unusual features. It has the ability to emit a loud squeak if irritated. The sound is produced by expelling air from its proboscis. It often accompanies this sound with flashing its brightly marked abdomen in a further attempt to deter its predators. It is commonly observed raiding beehives for honey at night. Unlike the other species of Acherontia, it only attacks colonies of the well-known Western honey bee, Apis mellifera. It is attacked by guard bees at the entrance, but the thick cuticle and resistance to venom allow it to enter the hive. It is able to move about in hives unmolested because it mimics the scent of the bees
Acherontia atropos occurs throughout the Middle East and the Mediterranean region, much of Africa down to the southern tip, and increasingly as far north as southern Great Britain due to recently mild British winters. It occurs as far east as India and western Saudi Arabia, and as far west as the Canary Islands and Azores. It invades western Eurasia frequently, although few individuals successfully overwinter
There are several generations of Acherontia atropos per year, with continuous broods in Africa. In the northern parts of its range the species overwinters in the pupal stage. Eggs are laid singly under old leaves of Solanaceae: potato especially, but also Physalis and other nightshades. However it also has been recorded on members of the Verbenaceae, e.g. Lantana, and on members of the families Cannabaceae, Oleaceae, Pedaliaceae and others. The larvae are stout with a posterior horn, as is typical of larvae of the Sphingidae. Most sphingid larvae however, have fairly smooth posterior horns, possibly with a simple curve, either upward or downward. In contrast, Acherontia species and certain relatives bear a posterior horn embossed with round projections about the thicker part. The horn itself bends downwards near the base, but curls upwards towards the tip.
The newly hatched larva starts out a light shade of green but darkens after feeding, with yellow stripes diagonally on the sides. In the second instar, it has thorn-like horns on the back. In the third instar, purple or blue edging develops on the yellow stripes and the tail horn turns from black to yellow. In the final instar, the thorns disappear and the larva may adopt one of three color morphs: green, brown, or yellow. Larvae do not move much, and will click their mandibles or even bite if threatened, though the bite is effectively harmless to the human skin. The larva grows to about 120–130 mm, and pupates in an underground chamber. The pupa is smooth and glossy with the proboscis fused to the body, as in most Lepidoptera. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Two tachinid fly species parasitise the larvae: Drino (Zygobothria) atropivora and D.ciliata. Trichogramma spp. are known to parasitise the eggs.
Acherontia atropos - Larvrae parasites
Tachinid fly (Drino (Zygobothria) atropivora)
(Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830)
See also .JPG)
Tachinid fly (Drino (Zygobothria) atropivora) (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830) - Cyprus
Photos Nicosia, Potamia 13/9/2014 by George Konstantinou
.JPG)
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