Hylaea fasciara (Linnaeus, 1758)


Hylaea fasciara: Adult (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany, larva in May 2010) [S] Hylaea fasciara: Adult (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany, larva in October 2010) [S] Hylaea fasciara: Larva (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany, May 2010) [M] Hylaea fasciara: Larva (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany, May 2010) [M] Hylaea fasciara: Larva (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany, May 2010) [M]

Host plants:
The caterpillar lives on Pinaceae (conifers). The main host plant is the spruce (Picea abies). There are also records from Larix, Pinus and Abies.

Habitat:
Hylaea fasciara colonized (mixed) coniferous forests of all kinds.

Life cycle:
The caterpillar overwinters. I found them in May 2010 on the eastern Swabian Alb on spruce. The moths fly in a single generation or two (depending on the region) from May to September or even October.

Remarks:
Hylaea fasciara occurs in a green and a red-brown variant.

The distribution ranges from the British Isles to China. In the north even Northern Scandinavia is reached. Hylaea fasciara is largely absent from Southern Europe (southern Mediterranean).