The most amazing facts about butterflies. General information The most amazing facts about butterflies

The report on butterflies presented in this article will tell you about insects that were revered in the old days, as they were believed to be the souls of the dead.

Message about butterflies

Appearance and structure of butterflies

In the structure of this insect, 2 main sections are distinguished: the body, which is protected by a chitinous hard shell and wings.

In turn, the body consists of:

• heads. It is inactive and connected to the chest. Butterflies have a head round shape, and the occiput is slightly flattened. Oval or round convex eyes look like hemispheres and occupy almost the entire lateral part of the head surface. The eyes are characterized by a complex faceted structure. It is worth noting that these insects have color vision, moreover, they perceive moving objects better than stationary ones. Some species have additional parietal simple eyes that are located behind the antennae. The oral apparatus in its structure can be of a gnawing sucking type, it all depends on the species.
• breasts. They have a three-segment structure. The front chest is smaller than the middle and back. It contains 3 pairs of legs with characteristic structure: There are spurs on the shins that help maintain the hygiene of the antennae.
• Abdomen. They consist of 10 ring-shaped segments with spiracles. Butterfly bellies themselves are in the shape of a long cylinder.
• Usikov. In butterflies, they are located on the border of the frontal and parietal parts of the head. Antennae allow insects to navigate natural environment, perceiving various smells and air vibrations. The structure and their length depend on which species the butterflies belong to.
• wings. These Lepidoptera animals have 2 pairs of wings, which are covered with flat scales, and are also characterized by a membranous structure with longitudinal and transverse veins. It is distinctive that butterflies have beautiful patterns on their wings.

Types and classification of butterflies

There are more than 158,000 representatives in the Lepidoptera order. There are several qualifications, but the following is considered the most successful (it divides the detachment into 4 suborders):

• Primary tooth moths. These include small butterflies. Their wingspan ranges from 4 to 15 mm. Mouth apparatus gnawing type. This family includes 160 species. The most common representatives: marigold small-winged and golden small-winged.
• Tailless butterflies. The wingspan is no more than 25 mm and they are covered with small dark scales with black or cream spots. The most common representatives: moth fir cones and flour fire.
• Heterobathmy. They are represented by only one family - Heterobathmiidae.
• Proboscis butterflies. This large family includes more than 150,000 species of butterflies. The most famous proboscis butterflies are: swallowtail, "Glory of Bhutan", Queen Alexandra's birdwing, admiral, urticaria, peacock eye

Where do butterflies live?

Butterflies are all over the place the globe except for Antarctica. Most large cluster insects in India and Peru.

What do butterflies eat?

They mainly feed on pollen and nectar. flowering plants. Most species consume tree sap, rotting and overripe fruit. But some species, for example, nymphalids, need various trace elements and additional moisture. To do this, they drink the urine, sweat and tears of crocodiles.

Reproduction and life cycle of butterflies

Butterflies during the courtship period express their intentions for mating through flights and dances. From the male, in addition to sperm, the female also receives a supply of proteins and trace elements. The life cycle of insects includes 4 stages:

• Egg. The stage lasts 8-15 days.
• Caterpillar. The butterfly at this stage is worm-shaped.
• Pupa. It is cylindrical or round in shape.
• Transformation into a butterfly. The life expectancy of an insect ranges from a couple of hours to 10 months.

With the advent of winter, some butterflies die, while other species survive the cold in the egg stage. But there are insects that hibernate in hollows or cracks in the bark.

• Butterfly Saturnia, which is in the caterpillar stage, can kill a person with its poison.
• They don't sleep.
• The peacock-eye butterfly can smell at a distance of up to 10 km.
• The smallest butterfly is a baby moth. Its wingspan is 2 mm.
• The Madagascar hawk hawk has the longest proboscis. Its length is 28 cm.

We hope that the presentation about butterflies helped you learn a lot. interesting information about these insects. And you can leave your message about butterflies through the comment form below.

Order BUTTERFLY (Lepidoptera) or Lepidoptera. Of all insects, butterflies are the most famous. There is hardly a person in the world who would not admire them in the same way that they admire beautiful flowers. No wonder in ancient rome It was believed that butterflies originated from flowers detached from plants. In all corners of the world, there are amateurs who collect butterflies with as much passion as other collectors collect works of art. The beauty of a butterfly is in its wings, in their various colors. At the same time, the wings are the most important systematic feature of the detachment: they are covered with scales, the structure and location of which determine the bizarre coloration. Therefore, butterflies are called Lepidoptera. Scales are modified hairs. This is easy to see if you carefully examine the scaly cover of the Apollo butterfly (Parnassius apollo). Along the edge of the wing there are very narrow scales, almost hairs, closer to the middle they are expanded, but their ends are sharp, and, finally, even closer to the base of the wing, there are wide scales in the form of a flattened, hollow pouch attached to the wing by means of a thin short stalk. The scales are arranged on the wing in regular rows across the wing: the ends of the scales face the lateral margin of the wing, and their bases are covered in a tiled manner by the ends of the previous row. The color of the scale depends on the pigment grains in it; its outer surface is ribbed. In addition to these pigment scales, many species, especially tropical ones, whose wings are distinguished by iridescent metallic coloration, have scales of a different type - optical. There is no pigment in such flakes, and the characteristic metallic coloration arises due to the decomposition of the white sunbeam into separate colored rays of the spectrum when it passes through optical flakes. This decomposition of the rays is achieved by their refraction in the sculpture of the scales, which causes a change in color when the direction in which the rays fall is changed. Of particular interest are odorous scales, or androconia, found predominantly in males of some species of butterflies. These are modified scales or hairs associated with special glands that secrete an odorous secret. Androconia are located on different parts bodies - on the legs, wings, on the abdomen. The smell they spread serves as a bait for the female, thus ensuring the convergence of the sexes; often it is pleasant, reminiscent in some cases of the aroma of vanilla, mignonette, strawberry, etc., but sometimes it can also be unpleasant, for example, like the smell of mold. It should be emphasized that for each species of butterflies, both the shape and the optical and Chemical properties scales on the wings. In rare cases, the scales on the wings are absent, and then the wings appear completely transparent, as is the case with glass cases.

Usually, all four wings are developed in Lepidoptera; however, in females of some species, wings may be underdeveloped or absent altogether. Front fenders always large sizes than the rear ones. In many species, both pairs of wings are linked to each other with a special hook, or "bridle", which is a chitinous bristle or a bundle of hairs, one end attached to the upper side of the anterior edge of the hind wing, and the other end included in a pocket-like appendage on the underside of the anterior wing. wing. There may be other forms of scoring mechanisms connecting the front and rear fenders. Not less than hallmark than the structure of the wings and the scales covering them are the mouth organs of butterflies. In the vast majority of cases, they are represented by a soft proboscis that can coil and unfold like a clock spring. The basis of this oral apparatus is made up of strongly elongated inner lobes of the lower jaws, which form the flaps of the proboscis. The upper jaws are absent or represented by small tubercles; The lower lip also underwent a strong reduction, although its palps are well developed and consist of 3 segments. The proboscis of a butterfly is very elastic and mobile; it is perfectly adapted to feeding on liquid food, which in most cases is the nectar of flowers. The length of the proboscis of one or another species usually corresponds to the depth of the nectar in those flowers that the butterflies visit. So, one interesting orchid (Angraecum sesquipedale) grows in Madagascar with a corolla depth of 25-30 cm. aphid excrement and other sugary substances. In some butterflies that do not feed, the proboscis may be underdeveloped or completely absent (fineworms, some moths, etc.).

The science of butterflies is called lepidopterology.

Butterflies have long attracted the attention of man. Not only that, without a doubt, they can be considered the most beautiful insects, so they also go through the stage of transformation, turning from a caterpillar into a charming winged creature. IN ancient world many treatises have been written on this subject, bordering on mysticism, but modern science defines everything much drier. Butterflies are classified as the genus Arthropoda, class Insecta (insects), order Lepidoptera (lepidoptera). True butterflies form the superfamily Papilionoidea, and fatheads form the superfamily Hesperoidae,” we can read in the encyclopedia.

Butterflies are a large group of insects that can be found everywhere in any region of the world. Together with moths, they make up the order Lepidoptera (Scaly-winged). There are about 12 families of butterflies. Many adult moths and butterflies feed on the nectar they suck from flowers. In the process of feeding, they can transfer pollen from one flower to another - thus, many plants depend on moths and butterflies for pollination. Like moths, butterflies have elongated sucking mouths and two pairs of wings that function as one pair. Their wings are covered with scales, which are shaken off in the form of dust if the butterfly is touched.

Butterflies are an evolutionary branch of moths. Their origin can be dated Cretaceous period, which ended 65 million years ago. The earliest evidence of the possible existence of butterflies (most likely fatheads) dates back to a period of 57 million years ago, and was found in modern Denmark. Natural flowers. Fragile and beautiful creatures, personifying the boundless fantasy of nature - butterflies. A riot of colors or a stingy, almost monochrome aesthetic with small strokes of the master, very tiny and larger palms of an adult are different. The perfection and uniqueness of wildlife, our world is reflected in the drawings of butterfly wings.

Butterflies are large group insects that can be found anywhere in the world. Together with moths, they make up the order Lepidoptera (Scaly-winged). In total, there are about 12 families of butterflies. Many adult moths and butterflies feed on the nectar they collect from flowers. In the process of feeding, they can transfer pollen from one flower to another - thus, many plants depend on moths and butterflies for pollination. Like moths, butterflies have elongated sucking mouths and two pairs of wings that function as one pair. Their wings are covered with scales, which are shaken off in the form of dust if the butterfly is touched.

Butterflies can be distinguished from moths in several ways: the antennae of butterflies are bent at the tips, while the antennae of moths almost never have significant bends, but are almost always fluffy. The body of butterflies is usually thinner and more slender than that of a moth. Butterflies are active mainly during the day, and moths are nocturnal insects. While resting, most butterflies hold their wings upright, most moths, on the contrary, lay them out on the surface where they decide to stop. The boundary position between these two types of insects is held by fatheads, but they are also called butterflies. Some butterflies migrate, usually moving towards the equator in spring and away from it in autumn. Monarch butterflies in general can migrate thousands of kilometers from their place of residence.

Lepidoptera, especially butterflies, are well known for their beautiful coloration and wing patterns. Red, yellow, black and white pigments are found in their scales. Blue, green and metallic and iridescent hues are found in tropical species - this is mainly due to refraction. The fact is that the first group of pigments is contained directly in miniature scales, and the second forms ... human vision. You can often notice that the shade, and even the color of the wings of a butterfly depends on the angle at which we look at it. Here blue, green and iridescent shades are nothing more than a special arrangement of scales on the wing. Some butterflies are camouflaged to match environment and easy to hide in. Many brightly colored butterflies are inedible to birds, which in turn avoid them, and other butterflies are saved by trying to appear inedible. Among the most beautiful butterflies Definitely a peacock eye. You can see it all over the world, as well as monarchs, swallowtails and vanessas.
Butterflies are an evolutionary branch of moths. Their origin can be dated back to the Cretaceous period, which ended 65 million years ago. The earliest evidence for the possible existence of butterflies (most likely fatheads) dates back to a period of 57 million years ago, and was found in modern Denmark

Since time immemorial, butterflies have been associated with spring, beauty, and eternity. They were a symbol of immortality, happiness, fidelity, love, and some newlyweds in modern times release butterflies at the wedding instead of doves. These mysterious and undeniably beautiful creatures are the source poetic inspiration and became the heroes of many myths and legends.

Butterflies are creatures of incredible beauty, rather fragile and light. They impress not only with their appearance, but also by the way they are born, proving the amazingness of the world around us. Being at first caterpillars, rather unpleasant in appearance, they then wrap themselves in a cocoon and are reborn into a winged beauty, but, unfortunately, short-lived. We have collected Interesting Facts about butterflies, because they are able to surprise not only with their color.

1. The smallest butterfly, called acetosia, has a wingspan of no more than 2 millimeters, and the largest, agrippina, is known for a span of 30 centimeters.

2. An interesting fact about butterflies for children is that, like elephants, these insects take food through the trunk. They have it of course minimum dimensions and ate noticeable.

3. Thanks to selection and the wonders of nature, there are at least 165,000 different species of these insects on the planet.

4. An interesting fact about the swallowtail butterfly. Among all others, she is the strongest and fastest, although now very rare. Machaon was once met even in Tibet at an altitude of 4.5 kilometers.

5. Unusual ability have hawk moths - exclusively nocturnal moths. They can create a howl, vaguely reminiscent of an animal. In fact, this buzzing allows them to pretend for a while to be a queen bee and, having penetrated the hive, enjoy honey, which is their favorite food.

6. Butterflies sit on top of their food, because their main taste receptors are on their paws.

7. Among the most interesting facts about butterflies is their habitat. Of course, they do not live in Antarctica, because the conditions there are too harsh, but at the same time they somehow endure the harsh climate of the Canadian Queen Elizabeth Island, which is less than one thousand kilometers from North Pole.

8. Despite their short life, from a couple of days to several weeks, moths sometimes manage to lay up to one thousand eggs, from which caterpillars will subsequently be born, and then moths again.

9. An interesting fact about the Apollo butterfly is that it is the only one that can live in places where the snow sometimes does not melt. all year round and at the same time feel comfortable.

10. Most of the moths are afraid of water, because once they get into it, they will not be able to get out. Volumetric wings get wet and do not allow to take off again, but this does not apply to the lilac moth. Even having plunged entirely, she is able to emerge and continue her flight.

11. Special species of these insects can successfully accelerate in flight to a speed of 60 km / h.

12. Monarch butterflies stand out from the rest with their ability to identify medicinal properties plants. After they use it in life if their family needs help.

13. An interesting fact from the life of butterflies - some of them, like mosquitoes, can drink blood. Only eustrigate calyptra has this feature, it is enough rare view and besides, only males are vampires in it, females still prefer a plant-based diet.

14. Moths have a kind of skeleton. It is called an exoskeleton and is not located inside the body, as in the predominant part of living beings, but outside. All organs of the insect are inside it.

15. Butterflies do not have a heart, but the structure of their eyes allows them to see and distinguish three key colors - red, green and yellow.

2. Peru and one Indian state, Sikkim, are considered the richest in the diversity of Lepidoptera species.

3. Lepidoptera were not found only in Antarctica.

4. Currently, about 165 thousand species of butterflies are isolated. And most of them prefer to lead night image life. Every year, entomologists discover their unknown species.

5. Butterflies are small and large, colorful and dull, day and night, but they are all beautiful.

Butterfly "Monarch".

6. The most hardy butterfly in the world - "Monarch". She can cover a distance of a thousand kilometers without stopping.

7. Butterflies are ancient creatures. Their images are present on the Egyptian frescoes in Thebes, which are supposedly more than 3.5 thousand years old.

8. In 1985, in England, on the coast of Dorset, the most ancient butterfly, the Archeolepis moth, was discovered, presumably its age is 180 million years.

9. The usual habitat of butterflies is the tropics, but there are also arctic butterflies. They are inconspicuous in appearance, their wings are not bright, but whitish or almost transparent, as if made of glass.

10. Real polar explorers can be called butterflies that live on Queen Elizabeth Island - Canada - 750 kilometers from the North Pole.

Butterfly Peacock eye

11. The most common butterfly in Russia and Siberia is the Peacock eye. Due to its original pattern, it is difficult to confuse it with any other: the upper part of the wing has a cherry-brown color and a spot in the form of an eye, which is characteristic of this species, while the bottom is completely black-brown.

12. Butterflies are twilight creatures. Only some members of this group of insects are diurnal.

13. Butterflies are second only to bees in pollinating the plant world.

14. These small creatures have an excellent appetite, some butterflies are able to drink a sugar solution twice their own weight.

15. Butterflies are one of the most common objects for collecting among the most famous people in the world, such as: Nabokov, Rothschild, Bulgakov, Mavrodi.

16. Vladimir Nabokov became the discoverer of 20 species of butterflies. His collection consisted of 4324 butterflies. Nabokov donated this collection to the Zoological Museum of the University of Lausanne.

17. Kim Il Sung received an interesting gift for his 80th birthday. His soldiers and officers donated the painting "Soldier's Selfless Faith", which was made from 4.5 million butterfly wings.

18. Butterflies try food by standing on it. This is because their taste sensors are in their feet.

19. Butterflies weigh about as much as two rose petals.

20. Butterflies can't hear, but they can feel vibration, which works best when they need to hide from predators.

Moth hawk moth Dead head

21. The hawk moth Dead Head has an unusual “speech” organ located in the throat. If the hawk hawk is in danger, or he is in an excited state, then he can squeak.

22. Hawk moths, nocturnal moths, know how to howl in a wolf manner. This howling buzz mimics that of queen bee, which allows the hawk moth to freely get into the beehive and enjoy honey, which makes up a fair share of its diet.

23. In the Paleolithic era, the butterfly was one of the insects representing the goddess "Great Mother".

24. Butterfly cabbage - a frequent guest of vegetable gardens. Butterfly cabbage is very prolific. If all the offspring of at least one cabbage survived, so many of its descendants would be born in a season that they would weigh three times more than all the people on Earth combined.

25. The life cycle of these creatures consists of four phases: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and imago (butterfly).

The largest moth in the world - Attacus Altas

26. The largest night moth in the world is Attacus Altas. Its wingspan is over 30 cm, so it is often mistaken for a bird.

27. In the tropical forests of the New and Old Worlds, there is a species of butterflies whose males feed on the tears of animals. But mostly butterflies feed on nectar and other plant secretions containing sugar.

Butterfly Queen Alexandra's Sailboat

28. There is more than one species of these insects in the world, which can rightfully be considered the rarest. One of them is Queen Alexandra's sailboat, the largest butterfly on the planet. It is possible to find it only on the territory of Papua New Guinea and thanks to collectors, this species is on the verge of complete extinction.

29. Butterflies are myopic. Although the most complex organ of these amazing creatures is the eyes. They are made up of 6,000 tiny pieces called lenses.

30. Butterflies can see red, green and yellow.

Yucca moth

31. Yucca is a night moth that lives in the desert. This butterfly is the only insect that pollinates the yucca cactus.

32. Yucca butterfly has the longest diapause. Adult yucca butterflies from Nevada formed from larvae only after 19 years, during all this time scientists observed them in the laboratory.

33. There are clinics in Stockholm that provide stress therapy with butterflies.

34. The most amazing thing about these creatures is that butterflies need the warmth of the sun in order to fly.

35. Most butterflies have quite beautiful and varied patterns on their wings. These patterns are designed for camouflage so that predators such as birds cannot figure out where the butterflies are hiding.

36. Female butterflies usually live longer than male butterflies.

37. Basically, most butterflies have a short life - only a few days. However, there are specimens with a rather long life cycle: the Brixton butterfly is a long-liver, its cycle lasts up to 10 months.

38. Some butterflies communicate with each other using sound, but most female butterflies release pheromones into the air.

39. The imperial moth has the most acute sense of smell, the males of which can smell the female at a distance of more than 11 km against the wind (!) Scientists have found that the smell emits a special substance - an attractate, which the female releases in a very small amount = 0.0001 mg.

40. Butterflies breathe through a complex structure of tubes (called tracheae and tracheoles) and air sacs. Oxygen is drawn into the body through holes in their abdomen - spiracles.

Butterfly "Blue Dwarf"

41. The smallest butterfly in the world is the Blue Dwarf, whose wingspan is only 1.4 centimeters.

42. Some butterflies never eat because they don't have a mouth. They live on the energy they have accumulated in the form of caterpillars.

brazilian butterfly calligo

43. The Brazilian calligo butterfly has developed a very original way protection from numerous enemies - birds and insects. If she is in danger, she turns over and shows the enemy the wrong side of her wings, when she sees them, the birds immediately fly away, because the wings depict a portrait of the most terrible enemy - an owl with a sharp beak and huge eyes.

44. Butterflies lay their offspring in one place for many years in a row.

45. Buddhists treat butterflies with respect, because it was to the butterfly that the Buddha addressed his sermon.

Butterfly Red Admiral

46. ​​Some types of butterflies, like the Red Admiral, prefer to feed on rotting fruit and manure.

47. Insects and butterflies have a skeleton on the outside of the body called the exoskeleton. It protects the butterfly and does not allow moisture to escape from the body so that the insect does not dry out.

Butterfly Lilac Moth

48. Most butterflies are afraid of water, but, for example, the lilac moth can easily emerge if it accidentally falls into the water, shake itself off and fly further.

49. Monarch butterflies understand medicinal plants and know how to use them for medical purposes if their offspring need help.

50. In Japan, they believe that meeting a butterfly at home is fortunate. At the wedding ceremony of the Japanese, two paper butterflies are obligatory participants, it is believed that they will bring happiness to the newlyweds.