Drymonia ruficornis (Hufnagel, 1766)


Drymonia ruficornis: Adult (e.l. N-Greece, Siatista, larva in May 2013) [S] Drymonia ruficornis: Adult (S-Germany, Tübingen, Hirschauer Berg, mid-April 2018, photo: Gregor Markl) [M] Drymonia ruficornis: Adult (S-Germany, Tübingen, Hirschauer Berg, mid-April 2018, photo: Gregor Markl) [M] Drymonia ruficornis: Adult (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb) [S] Drymonia ruficornis: Young larva (S-Germany, eastern Swabian Alb, late May 2006) [M] Drymonia ruficornis: Half-grown larva (N-Greece, Siatista, May 2011) [M] Drymonia ruficornis: Half-grown larva (eastern Swabian Alb, June 2006) [M] Drymonia ruficornis: Half-grown larva (eastern Swabian Alb, June 2006) [M] Drymonia ruficornis: Larva (eastern Swabian Alb, June 2006) [M] Drymonia ruficornis: Larva (N-Greece, Siatista, May 2006) [S]

Host plants:
The larva feeds on Quercus species.

Habitat:
Drymonia ruficornis inhabits forests and groves with oak species.

Life cycle:
Drymonia ruficornis occurs in a single generation from late March to early June. I found larvae in late May and in June in grasslands interspersed with Quercus robur on the eastern Swabian Alb. The larvae rest on the petioles or mostly on the lower leaf surface and can be tapped. The pupa overwinters.

Endangerment factors:
Drymonia ruficornis is quite widespread and adaptable. But the moth is locally threatened by the decline of oak forests in favour of fast-growing species such as spruce, beech, maple and pine trees.

Remarks:
Drymonia ruficornis occurs from North Africa across Europe to the Middle East. In Europe it misses in Central and Northern Scandinavia and is highly local in the Mediterranean.



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