Aporophyla lueneburgensis (Freyer, 1848)

Host plants:
The caterpillar lives very polyphagous on herbs. I found e.g. on Sanguisorba officinalis (Böblingen, southern Germany).

Habitat:
Aporophyla lueneburgensis inhabits warm, dry to moderately moist and only extensively managed open land habitats. It also settles often in Calluna heathland (both at the coast and in the interior.

Life cycle:
The young caterpillar overwinters and is mature mainly in April and May (early June). The prepupa rests for a long period and the moths fly in the autumn (September/October).

Endangerment: endangered

Endangerment factors:
Presumably, this species is currently spreading as a result of global warming. Nevertheless, it is at risk north of the Alps, because it requires extensive habitats and these represent only a trace element in todays over-fertilized and over-exploited landscape.

Remarks:
Aporophyla lueneburgensis is distributed locally in southwestern, western and central Europe (up to S-Scandinavia, Germany and the western two thirds of Austria). In central Europe it is only found in warm, low areas. Here it is, however, currently spreading a bit, probably due to global warming. It is also more and more found in human settlements (gardens, parks).

Originally Aporophyla lueneburgensis has been described from the Calluna heaths of N-Germany and S-Scandinavia. Nowadays all populations of SW-Europe up to S-Scandinavia are regarded as conspecific. The vicariant species A. lutulenta shows genetic differences and is found in an ponto-Mediterranean distribution in the east, westwards about to lower Austria and Vienna. The exact borders are unknown so far.