Eilema griseola (Hübner, 1803)


Eilema griseola: Male (Dettenheim, Upper Rhine, early September 2011) [M] Eilema griseola: Male (Dettenheim, Upper Rhine, early September 2011) [M] Eilema griseola: Adult (e.l. November 2011) [S] Eilema griseola: Adult (e.l. November 2011) [S] Eilema griseola: Adult (e.l. November 2011) [S] Eilema griseola: Portrait (e.l. November 2011) [S] Eilema griseola: Larva in the fourthlast instar (central Upper Rhine, 23/09/2011) [M] Eilema griseola: Larva in the fourthlast instar (central Upper Rhine, 23/09/2011) [M] Eilema griseola: Larva in the thirdlast instar [S] Eilema griseola: Larva at the beginning of the penultimate instar [S] Eilema griseola: Larva in penultimate instar Eilema griseola: Larva in penultimate instar [S] Eilema griseola: Larva in last instar [S] Eilema griseola: Larva in last instar [S] Eilema griseola: Larva in last instar [S] Eilema griseola: Larva in last instar [S] Eilema griseola: Larva in last instar [S] Eilema griseola: Pupa [S] Eilema griseola: Larval habitat at the central Upper Rhine (SW-Germany, 23/09/2011) [N] Eilema griseola: Habitat at the northern Upper Rhine near Dettenheim. I have beaten a quite fresh male from the oak (early September 2011) [N]

Host plants:
The caterpillar lives on algae, lichens and dead vegetation.

Habitat:
Eilema griseola inhabits more or less moist, warm deciduous and mixed forests in the lowlands, as especially riparian forests along the rivers. It also occurs in wetlands with only a few trees and a lot of gray willow (Upper Rhine at Dettenheim, 2011).

Life cycle:
The moths fly in one or two generations from June to September. The first generation of moths appear especially from mid-June to early August. The second, north of the Alps very partial generation appears in the August/September. I tapped such moths (very fresh male) for example in early September 2011 from an oak (northern Upper Rhine: Dettenheim). The caterpillars live from the summer hibernating until May/early June. They often live on tree trunks of the algae and lichen on the bark. On 23/09/2011 I tapped a half-grown caterpillar in the fourth last instar together with those of Xestia baja (resting place) and Trisateles emortualis (food place) from the semi-dry leaves of a weeks ago felled young oak in a light stock of the hardwood floodplain (middle upper Rhine valley near Offenburg).

Endangerment factors:
Eilema griseola has lost many sites through the large-scale destruction of riparian forests for the benefit of agricultural and settlement areas. Thanks to its overall not too high claims, it copes with the remaining wetland forests quite well, so that there is no greater threat provided that these sites are protected and not further destroyed.

Remarks:
Eilema griseola occurs in Europe (missing in the southern Mediterranean region and in Northern Scandinavia) and temperate Asia. But overall it remains confined to low-lying places and lacks many regions such as largely in the northern and central Alps and the Jura.



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