Diloba caeruleocephala (Linnaeus, 1758)


Diloba caeruleocephala: Male (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Male (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Male (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Male (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Male (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Male (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Male (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Female (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Female (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Female (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Female (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Female (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Female (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Female (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Female (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Female (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Female (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Female (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Female (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Female (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Female (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Ovipositing female (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Ovipositing female (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Ovipositing female (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Adult (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Batch of eggs (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Batch of eggs (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Batch of eggs (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Batch of eggs (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Batch of eggs (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Batch of eggs, hair artificially removed (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Egg, accidentally deposited singly and without hair (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Larva in the first instar (breeding photo, e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Larva in the first instar (breeding photo, e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Young larva (breeding photo, e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Half-grown larva (Provence, France, April 2011) [N] Diloba caeruleocephala: Half-grown larva (Provence, France, April 2011) [N] Diloba caeruleocephala: Larva (Col de Vence, Alpes-maritimes, late April 2012) [N] Diloba caeruleocephala: Larva (Valais, Switzerland) [N] Diloba caeruleocephala: The larva sometimes rests on the trunk (Abruzzes, L'Aquila, May 2013) [N] Diloba caeruleocephala: Larva (Abruzzes, L'Aquila, May 2013) [N] Diloba caeruleocephala: Larva (Abruzzes, L'Aquila, May 2013) [N] Diloba caeruleocephala: Larva (Provence, Rians, May 2013) [N] Diloba caeruleocephala: Larva (eastern Swabian Alb) [M] Diloba caeruleocephala: Larva (Greece, Lesbos Island, May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Larva (Greece, Lesbos Island, May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Larva (Greece, Lesbos Island, May 2019) [N] Diloba caeruleocephala: Larva (Greece, Lesbos Island, May 2019) [N] Diloba caeruleocephala: Larva (Greece, Lesbos Island, May 2019) [N] Diloba caeruleocephala: Larva (Abruzzes, L'Aquila, May 2013) [N] Diloba caeruleocephala: Cocoon (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Pupa (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Pupa (e.l. rearing, Greece, Lesbos Island, larva in May 2019) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Pupa [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Pupa (e.l. Abruzzes, L'Aquila 2013) [S] Diloba caeruleocephala: Typical larval habitat in a blackthorn rich grassland area in the Tauberland (northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany) [N] Diloba caeruleocephala: Larval habitat with Pyrus spinosa (Greece, Lesbos Island, May 2019) [N]

Host plants:
The caterpillar lives on woody Rosaceae such as Prunus and sometimes also Pyrus, Amelanchier and Crataegus species. In Central Europe Prunus spinosa is the most important host plant.

Habitat:
Diloba caeruleocephala inhabits warm, open forests (coppice forests, riparian forests, white oak forests), hedgerows, bushy grasslands, scrub and similar locations.

Life cycle:
The egg overwinters. The caterpillar is found from late April to June. The moths fly in the autumn (September/October).

Endangerment factors:
The is in decline in many places, so especially north of the Alps, by the uniformization of the landscape (removal of bushes and hedges, modern agriculture) and the dark forest management without clearings and bushy edges.

Remarks:
Diloba caeruleocephala has a western Palaearctic distribution and is found in many parts of Europe. OIt is still common in the Mediterranean area.


German version / deutsche Version