Phytometra viridaria (Clerck, 1759)


Phytometra viridaria: Female (Lech valley in Tyrol, Forchach, August 2010) [N] Phytometra viridaria: Adult (W-Austria, Bregenzer Wald, Milrütte, August 2013) [N] Phytometra viridaria: Ovae [S] Phytometra viridaria: Young larva (e.o. Lechtal, Tyrol, 2010) [S] Phytometra viridaria: Half-grown larva (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany, Schwäbisch Gmünd) [N] Phytometra viridaria: Half-grown larva (e.o. Lechtal, Tyrol, 2010) [S] Phytometra viridaria: Larva (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [S] Phytometra viridaria: Larva, head [S] Phytometra viridaria: Habitat in W-Austria (Bregenzer Wald, Milrütte, August 2013) [N]

Host plants:
The caterpillar lives on Polygala species, particularly Polygala vulgaris and Polygala comosa.

Habitat:
Phytometra viridaria inhabits nutrient-poor sites with Polygala species such as limestone juniper grasslands, alternating wet grasslands, clearings and edges in Erica-Pinus forests and dams.

Life cycle:
The pupa hibernates and the moths fly from April or May to early September in two generations. The caterpillars live from late May to early October. I found them on the eastern Swabian Alb (parasitized) during the day clung to stems of Polygala comosa.

Endangerment: endangered

Endangerment factors:
Since nutrient-poor habitats are increasingly rare, Phytometra viridaria is now threatened.

Remarks:
Phytometra viridaria is distributed from Morocco across Europe to east Asia.


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