Cosmia affinis (Linnaeus, 1767)


Cosmia affinis: Adult (e.l. rearing, N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, larva in May 2020) [S] Cosmia affinis: Adult (e.l. rearing, N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, larva in May 2020) [S] Cosmia affinis: Adult (e.l. rearing, N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, larva in May 2020) [S] Cosmia affinis: Adult (e.l. rearing, S-Germany, Stuttgart-Hofen, larva in late April 2020) [S] Cosmia affinis: Adult (e.l. rearing, S-Germany, Stuttgart-Hofen, larva in late April 2020) [S] Cosmia affinis: Adult [S] Cosmia affinis: Adult [S] Cosmia affinis: Adult [S] Cosmia affinis: Adult [S] Cosmia affinis: Young larva (Upper Rhine Valley, April 2009) [M] Cosmia affinis: Half-grown larva (S-Germany, Stuttgart-Hofen, late April 2017) [M] Cosmia affinis: Half-grown larva Cosmia affinis: Larva in the penultimate instar (N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, mid-May 2020) [M] Cosmia affinis: Larva in the penultimate instar (N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, mid-May 2020) [M] Cosmia affinis: Larva in the penultimate instar (N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, mid-May 2020) [M] Cosmia affinis: Larva in the penultimate instar (N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, mid-May 2020) [S] Cosmia affinis: Larva in the penultimate instar (N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, mid-May 2020) [M] Cosmia affinis: Larva in the penultimate instar (N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, mid-May 2020) [M] Cosmia affinis: Larva (e.l. rearing, N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, larva in May 2020) [S] Cosmia affinis: Larva (e.l. rearing, N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, larva in May 2020) [S] Cosmia affinis: Larva (e.l. rearing, N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, larva in May 2020) [S] Cosmia affinis: Larva (e.l. rearing, N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, larva in May 2020) [S] Cosmia affinis: Larva (e.l. rearing, N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, larva in May 2020) [S] Cosmia affinis: Larva (e.l. rearing, N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, larva in May 2020) [S] Cosmia affinis: Larva (e.l. rearing, N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, larva in May 2020) [S] Cosmia affinis: Larva (e.l. rearing, S-Germany, Stuttgart-Hofen, larva in late April 2020) [S] Cosmia affinis: Larva (e.l. rearing, S-Germany, Stuttgart-Hofen, larva in late April 2020) [S] Cosmia affinis: Larva [S] Cosmia affinis: Larva [S] Cosmia affinis: Larva [S] Cosmia affinis: Larva (e.l. rearing, N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, larva in May 2020) [S] Cosmia affinis: Larva (e.l. rearing, S-Germany, Stuttgart-Hofen, larva in late April 2020) [S] Cosmia affinis: Pupa [S] Cosmia affinis: Young larval shelter [N] Cosmia affinis: Habitat (many young larvae) in late April 2009 (Upper Rhine) [N] Cosmia affinis: Shelter of an half-grown larva (S-Germany, Stuttgart-Hofen, late April 2017) [M] Cosmia affinis: Larval habitat (N-Germany, Lower Saxony, Elbe valley, Gartow, mid-May 2020) [N]

Host plants:
Usually, the caterpillars live on elm (Ulmus), but according to literature rarely also on other hardwoods.

Habitat:
Cosmia affinis inhabits elm-rich forests (hardwood floodplains) and other elm stocks. I found larvae together with those of Satyrium w-album on the eastern Swabian Alb at an elm-rich, semi-shady spot on a dry limestone slope. I also observed many young caterpillars on Ulmus minor in webbed leaf tips in fully shaded areas in the Upper Rhine Valley in April 2009.

Life cycle:
The eggs overwinter and the caterpillars are found from mid-April to mid-June. The flight time is from late June to September.

Endangerment factors:
Cosmia affinis is threatened by the decline of elm (destruction of riparian forests, elm disease, monocultures). But this species is still much more recorded than the more demanding C. diffinis.

Remarks:
The distribution extends from Morocco across Southern and Central Europe and large parts of temperate Asia to Japan.



Cosmia confinis | Cosmia diffinis | Cosmia pyralina | Cosmia trapezina 
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