Eriogaster lanestris (Linnaeus, 1758) Species
Last modified: April 24, 2024, 12:31 p.m.
A very rare and very local species in Belgium, only known from some localities in the southern provinces.
Adults are not often seen, but larvae in their communal webs are frequently found.
Details
- Classification
- Family: Lasiocampidae > Subfamily: Lasiocampinae > Tribus: Eriogastrini > Genus: Eriogaster > Subgenus: Eriogaster > Species: Eriogaster lanestris
- Vernacular names
- Wolspinner (NL), Small Eggar (EN), La Laineuse du Cerisier (FR), Frühlings-Wollafter (DE)
- First mention in Belgium
- De Sélys-Longchamps E. 1837. Catalogue des Lépidoptères ou Papillons de la Belgique, précédé du tableau des Libellulines de ce pays. — — : 1–29. On page 25 (as Bombyx Lanestris). view page
- Status
-
Native
Distribution
Imago
Museum specimens
Specimens in nature
Egg
Caterpillar
Bionomics
The eggs are deposited in a group at a terminal shoot of the foodplant, often on thin branches and covered with a spinning in which the hairs of the abdominal last segment of the female are used. The nests can be found both on low bushes and high in the trees. The caterpillars live gregariously in a tough, white, silken web from where they feed on the adjacent leaves. The species hibernates in the pupal stages and sometimes the pupa hibernates several times.
The adults are active at night and come sparsely to light.
Flight periods
One generation a year from late February till early April.
Habitat
Xerothermic slopes, roadsides, poor bushy grasslands, meadows lined with Prunus spinosa and Crataegus and other deciduous trees and bushes.
