Actornis l-nigrum (Müller, 1764)
![Actornis l-nigrum: Adult (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S]](bilder1/lymantriidae/l-nigrum_f2011.jpg "Actornis l-nigrum: Adult (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S]")
![Actornis l-nigrum: Adult (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S]](bilder1/lymantriidae/l-nigrum_2f2011.jpg "Actornis l-nigrum: Adult (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S]")
![Actornis l-nigrum: Adult [S]](bilder1/lymantriidae/lnigrum_f.jpg "Actornis l-nigrum: Adult [S]")
![Actornis l-nigrum: Half-grown larva (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany, September 2010) [S]](bilder1/lymantriidae/l-nigrum_rpe2011.jpg "Actornis l-nigrum: Half-grown larva (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany, September 2010) [S]")
![Actornis l-nigrum: Larva (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S]](bilder1/lymantriidae/l-nigrum_3rpe2011.jpg "Actornis l-nigrum: Larva (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S]")
![Actornis l-nigrum: Larva (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S]](bilder1/lymantriidae/l-nigrum_4rpe2011.jpg "Actornis l-nigrum: Larva (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S]")
![Actornis l-nigrum: Larva (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S]](bilder1/lymantriidae/l-nigrum_5rpe2011.jpg "Actornis l-nigrum: Larva (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S]")
![Actornis l-nigrum: Larva [M]](bilder1/lymantriidae/lnigrum_rpe.jpg "Actornis l-nigrum: Larva [M]")
![Actornis l-nigrum: Pupa (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [S]](bilder1/lymantriidae/l-nigrum_ppe2011.jpg "Actornis l-nigrum: Pupa (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [S]")
![Actornis l-nigrum: Pupa dorsal (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [S]](bilder1/lymantriidae/l-nigrum_2ppe2011.jpg "Actornis l-nigrum: Pupa dorsal (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [S]")
![Actornis l-nigrum: Larval habitat in a beech forest. Young larvae can be found on the lower branches. [N]](bilder1/lymantriidae/l-nigrum_h2011.jpg "Actornis l-nigrum: Larval habitat in a beech forest. Young larvae can be found on the lower branches. [N]")
![Actornis l-nigrum: Further larval habitat: young oaks at the path edge (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany, September 2010) [N]](bilder1/lymantriidae/l-nigrum_2h2011.jpg "Actornis l-nigrum: Further larval habitat: young oaks at the path edge (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany, September 2010) [N]")
Host plants:
The caterpillars live on beech (Fagus sylvatica), but also oak (Quercus), lime (Tilia) and some other hardwoods.
Habitat:
Actornis l-nigrum colonizes beech forests, mixed forests, coppice forests and other woodland types. On the eastern Swabian Alb, I found young caterpillars in September 2010 on oaks at the edge of a 15-year old afforestation.
Life cycle:
Actornis l-nigrum hibernates as an half-grown caterpillar. I found young caterpillars on the top of beech leaves in small, humid mixed forest clearings near Memmingen (Germany, in oak afforestations on the Swabian Alb and mature larvae in early June in a coppice forest (Steigerwald, N-Bavaria). At least the young caterpillar snaps away from its resting place at any disturbance and escapes so often enemies (and interested entomologists).
The moths are on the wing between mid-June and August. In the southe, there can be a partial second generation between August and early october.
Endangerment factors:
Actornis l-nigrum is not threatened. The moth occurs usually in rather low density.
Remarks:
Actornis l-nigrum occurs from the north of the Iberian Peninsula across large parts of Europe to East Asia.
