Harpyia milhauseri (Fabricius, 1775)


Harpyia milhauseri: Adult (breeding photo ex W-Austria, 2014/2015) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Adult (breeding photo ex W-Austria, 2014/2015) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Adult (breeding photo ex W-Austria, 2014/2015) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Adult (breeding photo ex W-Austria, 2014/2015) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Male (breeding photo ex W-Austria, 2014/2015) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Female (breeding photo ex W-Austria, 2014/2015) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Egg (breeding photo ex W-Austria, 2014/2015) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Young larva (e.o. rearing Vorarlberg, W-Austria, 2014) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Half-grown larva (e.o. rearing Vorarlberg, W-Austria, 2014) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Half-grown larva (e.o. rearing Vorarlberg, W-Austria, 2014) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Half-grown larva (e.o. rearing Vorarlberg, W-Austria, 2014) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Larva (N-Greece, Siatista, late June 2013) [M] Harpyia milhauseri: Larva (N-Greece, Siatista, late June 2013) [M] Harpyia milhauseri: Larva (e.o. rearing Vorarlberg, W-Austria, 2014) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Larva (e.o. rearing Vorarlberg, W-Austria, 2014) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Larva (e.o. rearing Vorarlberg, W-Austria, 2014) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Larva (e.o. rearing Vorarlberg, W-Austria, 2014) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Larva (e.o. rearing Vorarlberg, W-Austria, 2014) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Larva (e.o. rearing Vorarlberg, W-Austria, 2014) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Pupa (e.l. N-Greece 2013) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Pupa (e.l. N-Greece 2013) [S] Harpyia milhauseri: Cocoon, opened by a bird (eastern Swabian Alb) [N] Harpyia milhauseri: Larval habitat in N-Greece near Siatista: white oak scrub (Quercus pubescens) [N]

Host plants:
The larva feeds on Quercus species.

Habitat:
Harpyia milhauseri inhabits mostly warm oak forests, old oaks and oak bush forests.

Life cycle:
Harpyia milhauseri occurs almost always in a single generation with adults from April to June. Caterpillars are observed from June to August. I found the bizarre caterpillar in the Provence on white oak shrubs in grasslands in mid-July. Pupation takes usually place on bark, where the cocoon is very well camouflaged.

Endangerment: regionally endangered or decreasing

Endangerment factors:
Due to the decline of oaks, Harpyia milhauseri is becoming rarer in Central Europein in the long term.

Remarks:
Harpyia milhauseri occurs in Europe and parts of Western Asia. In Europe it misses from the British Isles, most parts of Scandinavia and most Mediterranean Islands.