''Zygaena exulans'', the mountain burnet or Scotch burnet, is a
moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
of the family
Zygaenidae
The Zygaenidae moths are a family of Lepidoptera. The majority of zygaenids are tropical, but they are nevertheless quite well represented in temperate regions. Some of the 1000 or so species are commonly known as burnet or forester moths, oft ...
.
Subspecies
Subspecies include:
*''Zygaena exulans exulans'' (European Alps)
*''Zygaena exulans abruzzina''
Burgeff, 1926
*''Zygaena exulans apfelbecki''
Rebel, 1910
*''Zygaena exulans pyrenaica''
Burgeff, 1926
*''Zygaena exulans subochracea''
White, 1872
*''Zygaena exulans vanadis''
Dalman, 1816
Distribution and habitat
This species exist in mountainous areas in southern Europe (
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
,
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...
,
Apennines,
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
), at an elevation of above sea level. It is also present in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
and in northern
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
.
[Funet - Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and some other life forms'']
/ref> These moths inhabit mountain lawns and northern moors.
Description
''Zygaena exulans'' has a wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan o ...
of .[UK Moths]
/ref> The body is densely haired. The forewings are black-gray in males, matt gray in the females, almost translucent and with a metallic sheen. They have four distinct red dots and a red basal elongated stain. The spot on the wing root is wedge-shaped, the others are oval or round. The hindwings are red with a gray outer edge and black fringes. The antennae are club-shaped.
These moths have an aposemantic coloration. In the event of an attack by predators such as birds and lizards they emit a liquid containing cyanide
Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms.
In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...
.
This species is rather similar to '' Zygaena lonicerae'', '' Zygaena loti'' and ''Zygaena purpuralis
''Zygaena purpuralis'', the transparent burnet, is a moth of the family Zygaenidae.
Description
''Zygaena purpuralis'' is a medium-sized moth with a wingspan reaching . Usually the forewings show three bright red longitudinal streaks quite va ...
''.
The eggs are pale yellow, relatively large and oval. The caterpillars can reach a length of about . They are velvety black, with yellowish markings on each segment and short white hair. The pupa is brown-black and lies in a gray-white, thin cocoon.
Biology
Adults usually fly in sunshine from late May to September, depending on the location. Larvae feed on crowberry (''Empetrum nigrum
''Empetrum nigrum'', crowberry, black crowberry, or, in western Alaska, blackberry, is a flowering plant species in the heather family Ericaceae with a near circumboreal distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. It is usually dioecious, but th ...
'') in northern Europe. Elsewhere they are polyphagous, mainly feeding on ''Helianthemum nummularium
''Helianthemum nummularium'' (known as common rock-rose) is a species of rock-rose (Cistaceae), native to most of Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical si ...
'', ''Anthyllis vulneraria
''Anthyllis vulneraria'', the common kidneyvetch, kidney vetch or woundwort is a medicinal plant native to Europe. The name ''vulneraria'' means "wound healer".
Description
''Anthyllis vulneraria'' reaches of height. The stem is simple or more ...
'', ''Dryas octopetala
''Dryas octopetala'', the mountain avens, eightpetal mountain-avens, white dryas or white dryad, is an Arctic–alpine flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It is a small prostrate evergreen subshrub forming large colonies. The specific epithe ...
'', ''Silene acaulis
''Silene acaulis'', known as moss campion or cushion pink, is a small mountain-dwelling wildflower that is common all over the high arctic and tundra and in high mountains of Eurasia and North America (Alps, Carpathians, southern Siberia, Pyrenee ...
'', ''Astragalus alpinus
''Astragalus alpinus'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name alpine milkvetch. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring throughout the upper latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.
Distribution
It is ...
'', ''Carex
''Carex'' is a vast genus of more than 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of genus ''Carex'' ...
'', '' Polygonum viviparum'', ''Salix
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
'', ''Thymus
The thymus is a specialized primary lymphoid organ of the immune system. Within the thymus, thymus cell lymphocytes or ''T cells'' mature. T cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts to specific foreign invaders. ...
'', ''Vaccinium uliginosum
''Vaccinium uliginosum'' (bog bilberry, bog blueberry, northern bilberry or western blueberry) is a Eurasian and North American flowering plant in the genus ''Vaccinium'' within the heath family.
Distribution
''Vaccinium uliginosum'' is native ...
'', '' Chamorchis alpina'', ''Betula nana
''Betula nana'', the dwarf birch, is a species of birch in the family Betulaceae, found mainly in the tundra of the Arctic region.
Description
It is a monoecious, deciduous shrub growing up to high. The bark is non-peeling and shiny red-copp ...
'', '' Viscaria alpina'', '' Thalictrum alpinum'', ''Cassiope tetragona
''Cassiope tetragona'' (common names include Arctic bell-heather, white Arctic mountain heather and Arctic white heather) is a plant native to the high Arctic and northern Norway, where it is found widely.
Growing to 10–20 cm in height ...
'', ''Bartsia alpina
''Bartsia alpina'' is a species of perennial flowering plant, known by the common name alpine bartsia or velvetbells. It is found in the mountainous regions of Europe and also occurs in Iceland, Greenland and north‐eastern Canada.
Description
...
'' and ''Saxifraga aizoides
''Saxifraga aizoides'', yellow mountain saxifrage or yellow saxifrage, is a flowering alpine plant of the genus ''Saxifraga''.
Description
''Saxifraga aizoides'' is an evergreen perennial which branches at or below ground level, and grows to . ...
''.[Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfil]
Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
/ref> This species hibernates in the form of a larva.
Gallery
File: Zygaena exulans Raupe.jpg, Caterpillar
File:Zygaena exulans RF.jpg, Caterpillar and pupa
File: ZygaenaExulansSoemna.jpg, Moth
File: Zygaena (Zygaena) exulans-M-Salzburg, Hohe Tauern, Sportgastein-E-MK-21399a.jpg, Mounted specimen
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q729816
Zygaena
Moths of Europe
Moths described in 1792