Description, name and photo of various types of tracks

Insects are the most diverse and numerous class of living creatures living on the planet. Among them, butterflies are of particular beauty. They attract people's attention with their unusual wings, which have an intricate pattern. Caterpillars are one of the stages of butterfly formation. Some species of caterpillars have an unusual appearance.

Butterfly larva

Butterflies have several stages of development. An adult lays eggs on the back of the leaf, on the fruits of fruit trees or garden crops, or in another secluded place. After some time, larvae emerge from the eggs - small worms that must consume a lot of food for their development and transition to another stage.

Butterfly larvae are called caterpillars. At this stage, the insect can be from several days to several years. During this period, the caterpillar actively eats and often becomes a pest of a plant, eating its fruits, leaves or bark. Then the larva forms a cocoon around itself and turns into a chrysalis. After a certain time, an adult individual emerges from it - an imago, known to everyone as a butterfly.

Interesting!

Butterflies and their caterpillars have a direct aspect ratio. Large caterpillars are the larvae of large butterflies, and vice versa.

Species of caterpillars differ in size, appearance, habitat, but have a common body structure. The trunk of a butterfly larva consists of several segments:

• a well-defined rounded head with an oral apparatus, organs of vision, horn-like antennae;
• chest;
• abdominal
• several pairs of limbs.

The eye of the caterpillars is several, usually 5-6 pairs, located next to each other. The mouth opening is equipped with small teeth for nibbling the plants. The body is covered with small hairs, outgrowths, similar to spikes. The caterpillar itself is very mobile and able to quickly move around the surface, catching on hooks and paws.

Types of Caterpillars

Each type of butterfly has its own caterpillar. And the color of the larva does not always coincide with the color scheme of an adult. Caterpillars are mostly herbivorous, but predators are also found. There are four species, which are caterpillars according to their preference in plant food:

• polyphages - those that eat any plants indiscriminately, usually the offspring of nocturnal butterflies (wine shred, ocular hawthorn, blind hawthorn, Kaya Bearpeacock-eye, moths);
• monophages - caterpillars that feed on one particular type of plant (cabbage, mulberry silkworm, apple moth);
• oligophages - eat plants belonging to the same family or type (swallow, pine scoop, polyxene);
• xylophages - larvae that prefer to eat wood, bark (subcrustal leafworm, apple glass-case, woodworm).

Various species of caterpillars in Russia can inhabit both the subtropical regions of the Caucasus and the Krasnodar Territory, and in the northern regions of Siberia. On the territory of the country there are hundreds of species of these insects.The names of species of caterpillars are of nonrandom origin. Usually they are associated with the main power source pests. Some caterpillars received a name designating a drawing on the wings of a butterfly.

There are also valuable rare caterpillars such as silkworms in Russia. Silk is a property inherent in all larvae. During movement through the plant, the caterpillar selects a thin thread using a special spinning tube. This thread is insurance for an insect in case of accidental fall from a plant.

Interesting!

Silkworm - a valuable insect. Silk threads are obtained from butterflies' cocoons, from which silk fabric is produced on an industrial scale.

Small caterpillars, 1 mm in size, as well as giant caterpillars reaching a length of 12 cm live on the territory of Russia. There are beautiful caterpillars, nondescript species come across, shaggy, poisonous, and even changing their color and size during the stage.

The most common and well-known representatives living in Russia include:

• cabbage or white cabbage;
• peacock eye;
• moth (surveyor);
• clothes moth;
• redtail
• hawk;
• Admiral
• swallowtail.

Cabbage butterfly

Cabbage Butterfly Caterpillar is one of the most common in the European part of Russia. The green caterpillar has a body 3-4 cm long, covered with black growths and hairs. The name was given to her in honor of her favorite dish - cabbage leaves. In addition to cabbage, the pest of the garden loves to feast on other vegetable crops:

• radish;
• turnip;
• turnip;
• horseradish and others.

The length of time an insect stays in the caterpillar stage depends on weather conditions. This period can be from 2 to 5 weeks. However, even such a short period of time is enough for the whit to cause serious damage to the crop.

Moth

This caterpillar for an unusual way of movement is called a surveyor. Her thin body is pulled out by a loop up, pulling the back part forward, then the front part is extended along the surface. The brown color allows it to disguise itself as the color of the bark. The moth eats the needles of trees, foliage of currants, hazel.

Redtail

The caterpillar is found in the forest-steppe zone of the entire continent, preferring to eat the leaves of different shrubs. Fluffy caterpillars are covered with brown or gray hairs, and the end of their body is painted in a bright scarlet color, the presence of which caused this name of insects.

On a note!

Red tails with their bright tails still signal that they are poisonous. When this small five-centimeter caterpillar comes in contact with human skin, an allergic reaction occurs.

Swallowtail

A fairly large caterpillar lives on the territory of Europe, Asia, North America, in northern Africa. Her color is not inferior in beauty to the appearance of an adult. Photos of the caterpillar demonstrate color changes. At the first stage of its development, the caterpillar is black with spikes of bright red color. Then it becomes striped - green with black stripes, decorated with red spots. Bright swallowtail caterpillar Eats various crops:

• carrot;
• parsley;
• celery;
• sagebrush;
• alder.

Blind Hog

The caterpillar of the hawthorn is found in central Russia, in Siberia, in the Far East. She eats foliage of birch, poplar, willow. A green caterpillar with a horn on its tail perfectly disguises itself as a folded leaf of a tree. Diagonal thin stripes on the body of the larva resemble leaf veins. This coloring helps the hawk to hide from its enemies.

Peacock eye

The caterpillar of a beautiful nocturnal butterfly is known for its large size - some specimens exceed 10 cm in length. Large Green Peacock Eye Caterpillar lives in the western part of Russia, in the Caucasus, in the Crimea.The main food is fruit trees:

• Apple tree;
• pear;
• Walnut;
• plum;
• cherry.

On a note!

An interesting feature of peacock-eye is the color change during the development of the larva. Before pupation, yellow coloring replaces green. And the doll itself becomes brown.

Clothes moth

The larvae of the moth do great damage to people's personal belongings. White with a brown head caterpillar feeds on wool, fur products, cotton fabric. A female moth lays eggs in closets, pantries, warehouses where outerwear made from natural materials is stored.

On a note!

The larval stage of the butterfly can last from one month to two years. The caterpillar can do without food for several days and withstand significant temperature changes.

Caterpillars of the moth are recognized as the smallest - the length of their translucent body varies from 1 to 12 mm. The more food they absorb, the longer and thicker they become. The pest lives everywhere in Eurasia, North America, Australia, some African countries.

Admiral

Large shaggy black-orange butterfly is widespread in Russia. She is a migratory species of insects. Arriving in the more northern regions, it lays eggs on the leaves of nettles or hops. Admiral winters in the southern regions.

On a note!

Nettles also resemble admiral larvae, caterpillars of urticaria.

A small black caterpillar with yellow stripes on its sides appears in May and within a few days creates around itself a certain canopy from the leaves of the fodder plant. Throughout the summer, it eats inside its shelter, remaining hidden from predators. In late August, the black caterpillar turns into a chrysalis.