Butterfly building for kids. Types of butterflies: appearance, varieties, structure of the insect. Organs of smell and touch

Butterflies are arthropods - the most highly developed animals among invertebrates. They got their name for the presence of jointed tubular limbs. Another characteristic feature is the outer skeleton, formed by plates of a durable polysaccharide - quinine. In arthropods, as a result of the development of a strong outer shell and articulated limbs, a complex system of muscles appeared, attached from the inside to the integuments. All movements of their body parts and internal organs are connected with muscles.

1- abdomen
2- chest
3- head with antennae
4- proboscis
5, 8, 9 - front, middle and hind legs
6, 7 - the first and second pair of wings

Butterfly body consists of three sections: head, thorax and abdomen. With a webbed short and soft neck, the head is fastened to the chest, which consists of three segments that are motionlessly connected to each other. Connection points are not visible. Each of the segments bears a pair of jointed legs. Butterflies have three pairs of legs on their chests. The forelegs of male nymphalids, satyr pigeons are underdeveloped; in females, they are more developed, but they are also not used when walking and are always pressed to the chest. In sailfishes and fatheads, all legs are normally developed, and the lower legs of their front legs are equipped with lobe-like formations, which are believed to be used for cleaning eyes and antennae. In butterflies, the legs serve mainly for fixing in a certain place and only then - for movement. Some butterflies have legs taste buds: before such a butterfly touches the sweet solution with its limb, it will not unfold its proboscis and will not start eating.

On the head are the mouth apparatus, antennae and eyes. The oral apparatus of the sucking type is a non-segmented, at rest spirally curled, long tubular proboscis. The lower jaws and lower lip take part in its formation. Butterflies have no upper jaws. While eating, the butterfly spreads its long proboscis, plunging it deep into the flower, and sucks out the nectar. As the main source of food, adult Lepidoptera use nectar, therefore they are among the main pollinators of flowering plants. All insects, including butterflies, have a special organ called the Jones organ, designed to analyze shaking and sound vibrations. With the help of this organ, insects not only assess the state of the physical environment, but also communicate with each other.

Internal structure

Butterflies are perfect nervous system and sense organs, thanks to which they perfectly orient themselves in the environment, quickly respond to danger signals. Nervous system, like all arthropods, consists of a peripharyngeal ring and an abdominal nerve cord. In the head, as a result of the fusion of clusters of nerve cells, the brain is formed. This system controls all movements of the butterfly, except for such involuntary functions as blood circulation, digestion, respiration. Researchers believe that these functions are controlled by the sympathetic nervous system.

1- excretory organs
2- middle intestine
3- goiter
4- heart
5- anterior intestine
6- large intestine
7- sexual organs
8- nerve node
9- brain

Circulatory system , as in all arthropods, open. The blood washes directly internal organs and tissues, being in the body cavity, passing them nutrients and carrying away harmful waste products to the excretory organs. It does not participate in the transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide, that is, in respiration. Its movement is provided by the work of the heart - a longitudinal muscular tube located in the dorsal part above the intestines. The heart, pulsating rhythmically, drives blood to the head end of the body. The backflow of blood is prevented by the valves of the heart. When the heart expands, blood enters it from the back of the body through its side openings, which are equipped with valves that prevent backflow of blood. In the body cavity, unlike the heart, blood flows from the anterior end to the posterior end, and then, getting into the heart as a result of its pulsation, it again goes to the head.

Respiratory system It is a dense network of branched internal tubes - tracheas, through which air, entering through the external spiracles, is delivered directly to all internal organs and tissues.

excretory system - this is a bundle of thin tubes, the so-called malpighian vessels, located in the body cavity. They are closed at the tops, and open into the intestines at the bases. The metabolic products are filtered out by the entire surface of the Malpighian vessels, and then inside the vessels they turn into crystals. Then they enter the intestinal cavity and, together with undigested food residues, are excreted from the body. Some harmful substances, especially poisons, accumulate and isolate in the fat body.

reproductive system females consist of two ovaries in which the formation of eggs occurs. The ovaries, passing into tubular oviducts, merge with their bases into a single unpaired oviduct, through which mature eggs are brought out. In the female reproductive system there is a seminal receptacle - a reservoir where male spermatozoa enter. Mature eggs can be fertilized by these spermatozoa. The reproductive organs of the male are two testes that pass into the vas deferens, which are combined into an unpaired ejaculatory canal, which serves to remove sperm.

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The body of an adult butterfly consists of three sections: head, thorax and abdomen.

On head large, almost hemispherical compound eyes and a pair of long segmented antennae (antennae) extending from the frontal part between the eyes are clearly visible. The mouthparts are located on the underside of the head. In diurnal butterflies, this is a proboscis twisting into a spiral, formed by interconnected but not fused outer lobes of the lower jaws (its two halves can be easily separated with a pin). Through the proboscis, the butterfly sucks nectar with the help of a pharyngeal pump similar to blacksmith's bellows. Almost always on the sides of the proboscis are 3-segmented sensory organs densely covered with scales - the lower labial palps.

Breast consists of three segments: anterior, middle and metathorax. Each carries a pair of legs. Articular legs consist of five segments: coxa, trochanter, femur, tibia and tarsus. In butterflies, the legs serve mainly to fix in a certain place and only then - to move, therefore paws are equipped with a whole set of devices for fixing on different surfaces. Some butterflies have taste buds on their legs: before such a butterfly touches the sweet solution with its limb, it will not unfold its proboscis and will not start eating. The mesothorax and metathorax each have a pair of wings. Like other insects, they are reinforced by a system of tubular formations called veins. The veins perform a dual function: firstly, a frame, and secondly, tracheas and nerve fibers pass through the cavity of the tubes.According to the shape of the wings and the arrangement of the veins, species recognition and differentiation mainly occur.

Abdomen approximately cylindrical and consists of 10 segments, of which the last two or three are transformed into external genital appendages (genitals). The shape of the latter varies widely and is often used as a diagnostic feature in identifying butterfly species.

The butterfly's body and appendages are covered with hard protective layer(cuticle), which in turn consists of three layers. The first, thin and delicate, is the epicuticle, the second, the exocuticle, is harder and fused with the inner layer of the endo-cuticle. The last two layers consist of a dense tissue formed by chitin and polyprotein structures interconnected chemical compounds. Chitin is a unique invention of nature, with amazing lightness it is very strong, insoluble in organic solvents and even in alkalis. The entire body, with the exception of compound eyes, is entirely covered with hairs and setae.

Butterflies are one of the most delightful insects. It is not surprising that they have long fascinated people with their beauty and aroused the interest of researchers and collectors. This is probably why they belong to one of the most studied insects. The world of butterflies is many-sided and amazing, but of particular interest are the changes that occur during their life, when they hatch from eggs in the form of caterpillars, then transform into pupae and, finally, again become bright butterflies, living from several hours to several weeks.

What is the structure of a butterfly?

At first glance, it is noticeable that the body of a butterfly is clearly divided into three parts: the head, chest and abdomen. The body of the insect is covered with a chitinous shell, consisting of movable segments. The flexibility of the shell is given by membranous joints connecting the segments. Almost the entire surface of the butterfly's shell is dotted with small hairs and multi-colored scales. On the head are the sense organs - the eyes and antennae, as well as the receptors for smell and touch, located in the region of the oral apparatus. Its most distinguishable parts are a developed proboscis for sucking liquid food and a pair of labial palps.

The most beautiful butterfly in the world - Urania Madagascar

Butterfly sailboat maaka

Butterfly eyes consist of many simple ocelli, and the antennae of diurnal species have a characteristic club-like shape. 2 pairs of wings and 3 pairs of legs depart from the body, the first of which may be shortened or almost absent. The thin film of the wings stretched on the system of veins is completely transparent, and the color patterns are formed by bright scales densely covering the wings. In the world of butterflies, there are specimens with a wingspan in the range of 0.3-30 cm.

Interesting to know. The largest butterfly in the world is the night scoop Tizania Agrippina with a wingspan of about 25-30 cm, common in the tropical forests of South America. The largest diurnal butterflies in the world are the Ornithoptera (Birdwing) of Queen Alexandra and the Sailboat Antimachus from Africa with a wingspan of 25 cm. In Peacock-eye (Saturnia) Atlas and Hercules from Australia, this figure reaches 24 cm.

The largest butterfly in the world - Tizania agrippina with a wingspan of 28-30 cm

The segmented abdomen contains the main internal organs of the butterfly. In the last two segments of the abdomen, reproductive organs are located, which have a complex structure. The structural features of these organs in each species from the world of butterflies protect them from interbreeding with other species and are of decisive importance for the preservation of the diversity of the Lepidoptera genus.

Interesting to know. There are about 160 thousand species of butterflies from the Lepidoptera order in the world, while about 150 previously known species have become extinct.

Stages of reproduction and development of a butterfly

The female butterfly, for example, the swallowtail, looks for the plants that the caterpillar feeds on, the so-called feeder plants, and lays spherical, slightly flattened eggs on them. At the top of the egg is a tiny hole (micropyle) through which, even before the eggs are laid, during fertilization, the spermatozoon penetrates. The eggs are initially yellow-green, but shortly before the caterpillars emerge, they turn brownish.

The first food for the hatched caterpillar is the shell of its own egg. The caterpillar is completely different from the adult butterfly in structure and way of life. She has an oblong vermiform body, eight pairs of legs and a completely different structure of the head with gnawing jaws adapted to eating the greenery of plants, and silk glands. For the caterpillars of the swallowtail - one of the most beautiful butterflies in the world, the leaves of carrots, dill or related plants serve as food.

One of the largest butterflies in the world - Queen Alexandra's ornithopter

Caterpillar development can last from 20 to 40 days, depending on climatic conditions. When its body increases so much that the soft skin reaches the limit of elasticity, the caterpillar briefly interrupts its feeding and molts. Its skin at the top of its head diverges, and a new, larger and differently colored caterpillar is released from the old shell. This process lasts several hours and is repeated 4 times during the life of the caterpillar.

The most interesting transformation in the world is the transformation of a chrysalis into a butterfly

When the development of the caterpillar comes to an end, it finds a convenient place for pupation. Usually it is a stem or twig to which it is attached, as when molting: in an upright position, head up. First, she makes silk pads from the yarn, which serve as attachment points for the supporting thread, and then creates the thread itself and hangs in a loop that surrounds her back and sides. The caterpillar remains in this position for 3 days and then pupates. Its skin bursts in the same way as during molting, and slides, starting from the head to the end of the body, and a still soft chrysalis is gradually released from the shell.

On the chrysalis, the contours of the wings are already visible, and on the inside - the legs, antennae, proboscis of the future butterfly. At the very tip of the abdomen is the cremaster, an organ consisting of many small hooks that attach the pupa to the yarn. Pupa is one of the stages of hidden transformations, characteristic of the world of butterflies. During this period, the insect does not take any food - its duration is different, for example, for the swallowtail it lasts about 2 weeks if the pupa does not hibernate. Butterflies emerge from wintering pupae only in the spring of the next year, about six months after pupation.

Interesting to know. The imminent exit of the butterfly from the pupa can be judged by dark spots on its cover, which by that time becomes transparent. In the end, it bursts under the pressure of a butterfly, which leaves it in just one minute. She then spreads her wings, which takes a few more minutes, and waits until they are stiff enough to fly.

An adult butterfly quickly enters the phase of puberty - in just a few days it is ready for reproduction. Depending on how quickly the butterfly fulfills its main purpose, it lives from several hours to several weeks. The exception is wintering butterflies, which can live for about 10 months.

In contact with

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. That's why butterflies are called Lepidoptera. Scales are modified hairs. This is easy to verify if you carefully consider the scaly cover of the butterfly Apollo(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 inside pouch attached to the wing by means of a thin short stalk ( Fig. 318).

The scales are located on the wing in pranile rows across the wing: the ends of the scales face the lateral edge 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 there are no scales on the wings, and then the wings seem 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.

No less characteristic feature than the structure of the wings and the scales covering them are the mouth organs of butterflies (Fig. 320). 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, in Madagascar, one interesting orchid (Angraecum sesquipedale) grows with a corolla depth of 25-30 cm. It is pollinated long-proboscis hawk hawk(Macrosila morgani), which has a proboscis about 35 cm long. In some cases, the flowing sap of trees, liquid excrement of aphids and other sugary substances can serve as a source of liquid food for Lepidoptera. In some butterflies that do not feed, the proboscis may be underdeveloped or completely absent ( fine worms, some moths and etc.).

Flying from flower to flower, butterflies can carry pollen on themselves and thereby contribute to the cross-pollination of plants. A very peculiar relationship developed among the South American yucca moth(Pronuba juccasella), belonging to the Prodoxidae family, and yucca (Jucca filamentosa). Moth caterpillars feed on the ovaries of yucca flowers that develop after fertilization, which is unable to self-pollinate. The transfer of pollen is carried out by the female moth; with the help of tentacles, she collects wet pollen from the stamens of the yucca and flies to another flower. Here she lays an egg inside the pistil and then places a pollen ball on the stigma of this pistil. Thus, the setting of yucca seeds depends entirely on the female moth; at the same time, some of the developing seeds are destroyed by the caterpillars of this pollinator. Yuccas do not bloom every year; it is curious that butterflies may not fly out annually, since their pupae are capable of a long stay in a dormant state, sometimes lasting for several years.

Nectar is collected by various species of Lepidoptera in different time days. Some of them fly during the day, others at dusk or even at night.

The daily lifestyle is characteristic primarily for the so-called diurnal or club butterflies. This is the name of a complex (series) of Lepidoptera families, distinguished by club-shaped antennae ( sailboats, whites, nymphalids, heliconids, morphids, pigeons). They have a strong and long proboscis, with which they suck nectar from flowers. The wings are wide, raised up at rest (with rare exceptions), there is no hook on the hind wings.

The amazing colors of the wings of diurnal butterflies are admired; their upper side is usually colored brightly and variegated, while the colors of the lower side often imitate the color and pattern of bark, leaves, etc. The creator of the first scientific taxonomy of animals, the famous Swede Carl Linnaeus, was especially fond of diurnal butterflies. Giving names to the species he described, he looked for them in the myths of classical antiquity. This has become a tradition among lepidopterologists, that is, scientists who study butterflies. Therefore, so often among the names of diurnal butterflies there are names of ancient Greek gods and favorite heroes: Apollo, Cyprida, Io, Hector, Menelaus, Laertes. They seem to symbolize everything bright, strong and beautiful that pleases and delights a person.

The biological significance of bright, variegated colors the upper side of the wings, so often observed in club butterflies, especially in nymphalides. Their main significance is to recognize individuals of their own species at a great distance. Observations show that males and females of such motley-colored forms are attracted to each other from a distance by their coloration, and close by, the final recognition takes place by the smell emitted by androconia. To check, they cut off the wings of live mother-of-pearl and glued the wings of whites in their place. The operated specimens were exhibited on the lawn and whites, mostly males, soon flew to them. It was possible to lure male butterflies to artificial images of females of their species.

If the upper side of the wings of nymphalids is always brightly colored, then a different type of coloration is characteristic of their lower side: they are, as a rule, critical, i.e., protective. In this regard, two types of wing folding are of interest, the widespread unymphalids, as well as in other families of diurnal butterflies. In the first case, the butterfly, being in a resting position, pushes the front wings forward so that their lower surface, which has a protective color, is open almost throughout (Fig. 322, 1). Wings are folded according to this type, for example, corner wings C-white(Polygonia C-album). Her upper side is brown-yellow with dark spots and an outer border; the underside is grey-brown with a white "C" on the hindwings, which is how it got its name. A motionless butterfly is hardly noticeable also due to the irregular angular contour of the wings.

Other types such as admiral and burdock, hide the front wings between the hind wings so that only their tips are visible (Fig. 322, 2). In this case, two types of coloration are expressed on the lower surface of the wings: that part of the forewings, which is hidden at rest, is brightly colored, the rest of the lower surface of the wings is clearly cryptic in nature.

In many nymphalids, especially in tropical forms, there is imitative resemblance with leaves, when the characteristic color of dry or living leaves, their contours and specific venation are reproduced. A classic example in this respect is the Indo-Malay leafy butterflies of the genus Callima(Kallima). The upper side of the wings of the callima is colored brightly and variegated, and the lower side of its color and pattern resembles a dry leaf. The resemblance to a leaf in a sitting butterfly is enhanced by the fact that its upper wing is pointed at the top, and the lower wing has a small tail imitating the petiole of a leaf (Table 16, 4).

In all these cases, the variegation of coloration depends on the distribution of pigments in the scales covering the wing. Numerous experiments have shown that the deposition of pigments depends to a large extent on the temperature factor affecting the pupae. When raising pupae at low temperatures (from 0 to 10 ° C), adult forms can be obtained with a strong development of the dark melanin pigment. Yes, at mourners when exposed to low temperatures, its pupa darkens the general background of the wing, blue spots decrease, and melanin in the form of black dots is deposited along the entire yellow strip along the outer edge of the wings. It is very characteristic that similar changes are caused by keeping the pupae of the mourning woman and high temperature, about 35-37°C. This explains the different coloration of the same species in different climatic conditions. In this regard, the constant seasonal variability at changeable motley(Arasch nialevana), which develops in two generations, differing from each other in color. In the spring generation, the wings are rufous-red, with a complex black pattern and white spots at the top of the forewing; the summer generation has brownish-black wings with white or yellowish-white spots on the forewing and the same band on the hindwing.

Among tropical species are especially beautiful and peculiar morphides(Morphidae), represented by only one genus (Morpho). These are large butterflies, reaching a wingspan of 15-18 cm. The upper side of their wings is painted in blue or blue, strongly iridescent metallic colors. This coloration depends on the fact that the wing is covered with optic scales, and the lower part of the optic plates is pigmented; the pigment does not transmit light and thereby gives a greater brightness to the interference color of the ribs. In males, for example, in 45 Morpho cypris shown on the color table, the luster of the wing is extremely strong and gives the impression of polished metal. In combination with the large size of morphids, this leads to the fact that in bright sunlight each wing stroke is visible for a third of a kilometer. Morphids are among the most visible insects that inhabit the rainforests of the Amazon. Especially a lot of them on clearings and sunlit roads. They fly at high altitude; some of them do not descend to the ground closer than 6 m at all.

In some cases, diurnal butterflies have brightly colored upper and lower sides of the wings. Such a color is usually combined with the inedibility of the organism possessing it, which is why it was called warning. Warning coloration is characteristic, for example, of heliconids. Heliconides(Heliconidae) is a peculiar family of endemic mace butterflies, which includes about 150 species distributed in South America. Their wings are very variegated, mostly orange with a contrasting pattern of black and yellow stripes and spots (Table 17). Many of the heliconids have a nasty smell and unpleasant taste, and therefore they are not touched by birds. Butterflies abound under the shade of luxurious rainforest Amazons. By their behavior and habits, they seem to demonstrate their invulnerability. Their flight is slow, heavy; they always keep in swarms, and not only in the air during flight, but also at rest, when the swarm descends into the crown of a tree. The strong smell emanating from the accumulation of resting butterflies largely protects them from enemies.

The famous English scientist Bethe, studying the behavior of heliconids, discovered a curious phenomenon called mimicry. Mimicry refers to the similarities in color, shape, and behavior between two or more insect species. Characteristically, mimicking species always have a bright warning (demonstration) coloration.

In butterflies, mimicry is expressed in the fact that some of the mimic species are inedible, while others are devoid of protective properties and only “imitate” their protected models. Such imitators, for which heliconids serve as models, are white butterflies - dysmorphia(Dismorphia astynome) and perhybris(Reghybris pyrrha). They stay in flocks of flying and resting heliconids, imitating them in the shape and color of their wings, as well as in flight.

Later it turned out that mimicry is quite widespread among Lepidoptera, and the forms of its manifestation are different. So, in one of the African species sailboats(Papilio dardanus) sexual dimorphism is well expressed: males have tails on the hind wings, the general color of the wings is yellow with dark stripes; in females, the hindwings are rounded, without tails. At the same time, females are represented by several forms that are very different from each other (Fig. 323); each form reproduces a certain type of coloration inherent in certain kind inedible butterflies danaid(Danaidae). The form hippocoon has blue spots on both wings, like its model (Atauris niavius); the sepea form has blue spots only on the forewings, while the bases of the hindwings are yellow, as in another model (Amauris echeria).

Peculiar manifestation of mimicry in butterflies glassware(Aegeriidae), which in their appearance rather resemble Hymenoptera or large flies than Lepidoptera. This imitative similarity is achieved due to the characteristic structure of the wings and the general contours of the body. The wings of the glass-cases are almost devoid of a cover of scales and therefore transparent, vitreous; the hindwings are shorter than the forewings, and the scales on them are concentrated only on the veins. The body is rather slender, with a long belly protruding far behind the wings; antennae filiform or slightly thickened in middle.

Unlike butterflies that fly during the day, species that feed on nectar at dusk or at night have a different type of coloration. The upper side of their forewings is always colored to match the substrate they sit on during the day. At rest, the front wings are folded along the back in a roof-like manner or like a flat triangle, covering the lower wings and abdomen. A motionless butterfly becomes invisible.

The color of the hind wings is most often monophonic, soft. However, in some cases, for example, in scoops, tapeworms, bears and hawks, it can be bright, warning. Yes, at red ribbon(Catocala nupta, pl. 16, 11) hindwings are brick-red with black bands; yellow(S. fulminea, tab. 16, 10) - ocher-yellow with a black median band and the same outer edge, y blue(S. fraxini, pl. 16, 9) - blue with a black border and a median band. At common dipper(Arctia caja, pl. 16, 12) hind wings are red with large dark blue, almost black spots; abdomen with black spots.

In a calm state during the day, butterflies sit on tree trunks with their wings folded and therefore invisible; when threatened with an attack, they spread their front wings and display a deterrent signal in the form of brightly colored lower wings, and sometimes the abdomen.

A distinctive protective coloration silver hole(Phalerabucephala). Its front wings are silvery white with a large yellow spot in the outer corner; hind wings grey. During the day, the butterfly sits on a tree with folded roof-like wings. At this time, it can be mistaken for a piece of a branch. Wherein yellow spots on the slightly concave ends of the front wings they reproduce the appearance of bare wood (Tables 16, 14).

Lepidoptera are insects with complete metamorphosis. Their eggs are very diverse in shape, usually colored, the shell often has a complex structure. Butterfly larvae are called caterpillars (Table 46, 1-16).

In most cases they are worm-shaped; the body consists of a head, 3 thoracic and 10 abdominal rings. Unlike adult Lepidoptera, their caterpillars always have gnawing mouthparts. In addition to three pairs of thoracic legs, the caterpillars also have the so-called "false" or "abdominal" legs, which can be up to 5 pairs; they are usually placed on the third-sixth and ninth abdominal segments. The ventral legs are not dissected, and their soles are covered with chitinous hooks. A specific physiological feature of caterpillars is the presence of a pair of tubular spinning, or silk-secreting, glands, which open with a common channel on the lower lip. They are modified salivary glands, in which the main function of salivation is replaced by the production of silk. The secretions of these glands quickly harden in the air, forming a silk thread, with the help of which some caterpillars fasten leaves folded into a tube, others hang in the air, descending from a branch, others surround themselves and the branches on which they sit with cobwebs. Finally, in caterpillars, silk thread is used to build a cocoon, inside which pupation takes place.

According to the way of life of caterpillars can be divided into two groups:

1) free-living caterpillars that live more or less openly on plants;

2) caterpillars leading a hidden lifestyle. Free-living caterpillars live on both herbaceous and woody plants, feeding on leaves, flowers, and fruits.

The transition to a hidden lifestyle is living in portable cases, which the caterpillars weave from silky threads. Moving through the plant, the caterpillars carry their cover on themselves, hiding in it in case of danger. This is what caterpillars do, for example. butterflies. The same intermediate position between these two biological groups is occupied by sheeters. This is the name of caterpillars that build shelters from leaves, rolling them up and fastening the rolled parts with a silky thread. When building such a shelter, one or more leaves are used. Many caterpillars are characterized by rolling the leaf into a cigar-shaped tube.

Caterpillars living in "societies" usually arrange special, sometimes complex nests, braiding branches, leaves and other parts of plants with cobwebs. Large web nests form caterpillars apple ermine moth(Hyponomeuta malinellus), which are dangerous pests of gardens and forests. Large groups caterpillars live in web nests marching silkworms(family Eupterotidae), which are distinguished by their peculiar behavior: in search of food, they go “hiking” in orderly rows, following each other in single file. So behave, for example, caterpillars oak marching silkworm(Thaumetopoea processionea, pl. 46, 2), occasionally found in the forests of southwestern Ukraine.

A butterfly of this species flies in August and September and lays eggs on oak bark in a bunch of several straight rows, 100-200 pieces in a bunch. The eggs overwinter, protected by a dense transparent film formed from the secretions of the female. Caterpillars hatched from eggs in May stay in groups in a web nest. When the leaves on the tree are already heavily eaten, they descend from it and crawl along the ground in search of food, always in a certain order: one caterpillar crawls in front, another follows, touching it with its hairs. In the middle of the column, the number of caterpillars in a row increases, first by 2, then by 3-4 caterpillars crawl side by side. Towards the end, the column narrows again. In July - early August, pupation occurs right there in the nest, and each caterpillar weaves an oval cocoon for itself. Butterflies fly out after two or three weeks.

All caterpillars that live inside various plant organs lead a hidden lifestyle. These include miners, codling moths, borers and gall formers.

Miners are called caterpillars that live inside leaves and their petioles and lay internal passages inside chlorophyll-bearing tissues - mines. Some miners do not eat out the entire contents of the leaf, but are limited to either individual sections of the parenchyma, or the epidermis.

The shape of the mines is very different. In some cases, a mine is laid in the form of a rounded spot (spotted mine); sometimes such a spot gives lateral processes, resembling a star (star-shaped mines). In other cases, the mine has the form of a gallery, very narrow at the base, but then greatly expanding at the top (tube-shaped mine). There are also narrow long mines, but strongly winding (serpentine mines) or spirally twisted (spiral mines).

When mining caterpillars live in groups inside a leaf, so-called swollen mines can occur. Yes, caterpillars lilac moth(Caloptilia syringella), which belongs to a special moth family(Gracillariidae), at first live several pieces together in one common mine, which has the shape of a wide spot, which can occupy most of the leaf. These mines are strongly swollen from the gases accumulating in them. The epidermis covering the mine quickly turns yellow. Later, the caterpillars emerge from their mines and, skeletonizing the leaves, twist them into tubes. Before pupation, they go into the ground. There are two generations during the summer; the chrysalis hibernates at the lilac moth.

Caterpillars - codling moths live inside fruits various plants. Some of them damage the pulp of fruits, others feed exclusively on seeds. Caterpillars - drillers live in stems herbaceous plants or inside the branches and trunks of shrubs and trees. Among the drillers are especially characteristic glassware(family Aegeriidae) and woodworms(Cossidae).

Most types of glassware develop in trunks. woody plants causing serious damage to them. Among the widespread forest pests in Europe, it is necessary to include large poplar glass(Aegeria apiformis).

Females of this species lay their eggs on the lower part of tree trunks, mainly poplars. Caterpillars (Tables 46, 14) develop over the course of two years, feeding on wood in which they make passages. In the third year in spring, they pupate in a cradle under the bark in a special dense cocoon of sawdust and excrement. Before the butterfly emerges, the chrysalis 2/3 protrudes from the flight hole; even after the departure of the butterfly, the pupal skin continues to maintain this position.

Some types of wood borers are also dangerous for forestry, for example odoriferous woodworm(Cossus cossus) and corrosive woodweed(Zeuzera pyrina). The female of the fragrant wood borer lays her eggs in groups of 20-70 pieces in bark cracks on the trunks of willows, poplars, alders, elms and oaks. Development takes place over two years. Young caterpillars bite under the bark, where they make a general move irregular shape where they overwinter. The next year, the caterpillars disperse and each of them, delving into the wood, gnaws a wide, mostly longitudinal course in it. Caterpillars are 16-legged, with a dark brown head and a pinkish body, the shade of which changes during life; by the end of development they reach a length of 10-12 cm (Table 46, 15). The woodworm is called odorous because the caterpillar emits a sharp, unpleasant smell of wood alcohol; the wood damaged by it spreads the same smell. Although the odoriferous borer most often colonizes old and diseased trees, it can also be dangerous for healthy trees when it forms small but stable perennial foci.

Caterpillars of the corrosive woodworm (Tables 46, 16) are polyphagous: they damage more than 70 tree species, including ash, elm, apple, pear, and others. kidneys. After leaving the egg, the caterpillars bite into the young shoots and petioles of the leaves, causing the damaged leaves to dry out and fall off prematurely. By autumn, the caterpillars move to young branches, in the wood of which they gnaw out passages. Here they winter. The next year, after overwintering, the caterpillars resume their harmful activities and, as they grow, descend lower and lower along the tree. They spend the second wintering in the passages laid in the middle and lower parts of the tree. Pupation occurs in May-June, the caterpillar pupates without a cocoon in the upper part of the passage where it hibernated.

There are very few true gall formers among caterpillars. Most of them are known from leaf roller families(Tortricidae). The damage they cause most often consists in ugly swellings of those organs of the plant, inside which the development of caterpillars occurs. Laspeyresia servillana causes blisters in willow stems, and Epiblema lacteana develops in thickened stems of sagebrush.

The life of Lepidoptera is very peculiar, the caterpillars of which develop in aquatic environment. In the middle of summer, along the banks of reservoirs, the surface of which is covered with leaves of white lilies and yellow water lilies, you can often find a small butterfly with beautiful yellowish wings, the complex pattern of which consists of strongly curved brown lines and irregular whitish spots located between them (Fig. 324). This water lily, or swamp, moth(Hydrocampa nymphaeata). She lays her eggs on the leaves of various aquatic plants, from their bottom side. The greenish larvae hatching from the eggs first mine plant tissues. At this time, their spiracles are greatly reduced, so breathing occurs through the surface of the skin. After molting, the caterpillar leaves a mine and builds a special cover from cut pieces of pondweed and water lilies, while breathing remains the same. The caterpillar hibernates in this cap, and in the spring leaves it and builds a new cap. To do this, she gnaws two oval or round pieces from the sheet with her jaws, which she fastens on the sides with a cobweb. Such a case is always filled with air; at this stage, the caterpillar has fully developed stigmas and tracheae, and it now breathes atmospheric air. Crawling over aquatic plants, the caterpillar carries the sheath with it in the same way as caddisflies do. It feeds by scraping the skin and pulp from the leaves of aquatic plants with its jaws. Pupation takes place in the cap.

A gray caterpillar also lives in covers under water. duckweed moth(Cataclysta lemnata), but building material in this case, duckweed serves, the individual plates of which are fastened with a cobweb. Before pupation, the caterpillar usually leaves its case and crawls into some kind of reed or reed tube.

The greenish caterpillar is even more adapted to aquatic life. body-cut moth(Ragaropukh stratiotata), found on the leaves of telorez, pondweed, hornwort and other plants. She lives exclusively under water in the wrong cases or without cases at all. It breathes with tracheal gills, which, in the form of long soft branched outgrowths, are located in 5 pairs almost on each segment.

At underwater moth(Acentropus niveus) females are found in two forms - winged and almost wingless, in which only small rudiments of wings are preserved. Wingless females lay their eggs underwater. The olive-green caterpillar, living on the surface of the leaves of pondweed and other plants, makes itself a small tire from a bit that has been bitten off. Pupation occurs in a cocoon attached to the stems or the lower surface of the leaf (Fig. 326).

In close connection with the way of life of caterpillars are the shape and color of their body. Caterpillars that lead an open lifestyle often have a cryptic coloration that harmonizes well with the surrounding background. The effectiveness of protective coloring can be increased due to the features of the pattern. So, in hawk caterpillars, oblique stripes pass along a common green or gray background, which divide the body into segments, making it even less conspicuous. Protective coloration, combined with characteristic form, often results in a patronizing resemblance to the plant parts on which the caterpillar lives. At moths, for example, caterpillars are similar to dry knots.

Along with the cryptic coloration, caterpillars that lead an open lifestyle also have a bright demonstration coloration, indicating their inedibility. The effect of this coloration depends not only on the color of the outer integument, but also on the color of the hairline. An example is a caterpillar antique wave(Orgyia antiqua), which has a very bizarre appearance; she is gray or yellowish with black and red spots and with tufts of black hair of various lengths; on the dorsal side, the yellow hairs are collected in four dense brushes (Pl. 46, 9). Some caterpillars at the moment of danger take a threatening posture. These include the caterpillar of a large harpy (Cerura vinula), which has a very peculiar shape: it has a large flat head, a body wide in the front part, strongly tapering towards the posterior end, at the top of which there is a “fork”, consisting of two strongly odorous threads. It is worth disturbing the caterpillar, as it immediately assumes a threatening posture, lifting up the front part of the body and the tip of the abdomen with a “fork” (Table 46, 1).

Caterpillars that lead a hidden lifestyle are of a different type: they do not have bright color combinations. Most often, they are characterized by monotonous pale colors: whitish, light yellowish or pinkish.

The pupa in Lepidoptera has an ovoid, elongated shape, with a pointed posterior end (Fig. 327). Its dense outer covers form a hard shell; all appendages and limbs are soldered to the body, as a result of which the surface of the pupa becomes continuous, the legs and wings cannot be separated from the body without violating the integrity of the integuments. Such a chrysalis is called an open chrysalis. She cannot move, but she retains some mobility of the last segments of the abdomen. The pupae of diurnal butterflies are very bizarre: usually angular, often with a metallic sheen, without a cocoon. They are attached to various objects, and either hang head down (hanging chrysalis), or are girded with a thread, and then their head is turned upwards (belted chrysalis).

In many Lepidoptera, caterpillars weave a silky cocoon before pupation, in which the pupa develops. In some species, the amount of silk in the cocoon is so great that it is of great practical interest. Since ancient times, sericulture has been a very important industry.

The main producer of natural silk in the USSR is silkworm (bombyx mori), related to family of true silkworms(Bombycidae). Currently, this species does not exist in nature in the wild. Its homeland, apparently, is the Himalayas, from where it was brought to China, where sericulture began to develop in 2500 BC. e. In Europe, this branch of production arises around the 8th century; more than three hundred years ago, it penetrated into Russia.

In appearance, the silkworm is a nondescript butterfly with a thick, strongly hairy body and white wings, reaching 4-6 cm in span (Table 47, 2). Males differ from females in having a thinner abdomen and feathery antennae. Despite the presence of wings, butterflies have lost the ability to fly as a result of domestication.

Although the silkworm normally reproduces by mating males and females, in some cases it exhibits parthenogenesis. In 1886, the Russian zoologist A. A. Tikhomirov proved the possibility of artificially obtaining parthenogenesis in silkworm as a result of stimulation of unfertilized eggs by various mechanical, thermal, chemical stimuli. This was the first case of obtaining artificial parthenogenesis. At the present time, artificial parthenogenesis has been obtained in many invertebrates (insects, echinoderms) and P03V.9H0CH animals (amphibians).

The silkworm caterpillar is known as the silkworm. It is large, up to 8 cm long, fleshy, whitish in color, with a horn-like appendage at the end of the abdomen. Crawls relatively slowly. When pupating, the caterpillar secretes one whole thread, up to 1000 m long, which it wraps around itself in the form of a silky cocoon.

Our main sericulture centers are located in Central Asia and in the Caucasus.

Their position is determined by the distribution of the host plant, which is the mulberry tree (mulberry). The advancement of sericulture further north is hampered by the absence of cold-resistant mulberry varieties.

In production, grena (eggs) of the silkworm is kept at a low temperature, and in the spring it is revived in special apparatus, where a temperature of about 25 ° C is maintained. Mulberry leaves are laid out on them to feed the caterpillars; as needed, the leaves are replaced with fresh ones. The development of the caterpillar takes 40-80 days, during which time four molts pass. By the time of pupation, bundles of rods are placed on the whatnots, onto which the caterpillars crawl. Ready cocoons are collected, brewed with hot steam, and then unwound on special machines. One kilogram of raw cocoons can produce over 90 g of raw silk. As a result of selection, many breeds of silkworms have been created, differing in productivity, quality of silk thread and color of cocoons. The color of the cocoon can be white, pink, greenish and bluish.

The use of the latest methods of radiation selection made it possible to artificially increase the yield of silk. It has been found that caterpillar cocoons from which males develop always contain more silk. B. L. Astaurov showed that at a certain dose of X-ray irradiation of silkworm eggs, it is possible to kill the egg nucleus without violating the viability of the plasma. Such eggs are normally fertilized by sperm, and the caterpillars that develop from them later turn into males. This makes it possible to increase the yield of silk by 30%.

In addition to the silkworm, other types of butterflies are also used in sericulture, for example Chinese oak peacock(Antheraea pernyi), which has been bred in China for over 250 years. The silk obtained from its cocoons is used to make chesuchi. In the Soviet Union, work on the acclimatization of this butterfly has been carried out since 1924. We have favorable conditions for its cultivation in the Polissya regions of the Ukrainian and Byelorussian SSRs, where in the floodplains of the rivers there are natural massifs of undersized oak shoots.

Chinese oak peacock-eye (Table 47, 1) - large butterfly(wingspan 12-15 cm); females are larger, reddish-fawn in color, males are grayish-fawn with a slight olive tint. A light stripe runs along the outer edge of the wings; on each wing there is a large eye with a transparent window. The oak peacock eye usually has two generations per year. Pupae of the second generation hibernate. After mating, which takes place at night, females lay eggs (gren); the average number of eggs laid is 160-170, in the summer generation it reaches 250. After 15 days, small black caterpillars appear from the eggs, which after the first molt change their color to green with a yellowish or bluish tinge. Caterpillars develop on oak leaves; they can also feed on the leaves of willows, birch, hornbeam and hazel. Within 35-40 days they go through four molts and, reaching a length of 9 cm, begin to curl cocoons. Cocoon curling lasts from three to five days; after that, the caterpillar becomes immobile, and then molts and turns into a pupa, the development of which lasts 25-29 days. The pupae of the first generation are formed in mid-June; wintering pupae of the second generation - in mid-September.

The economic importance of Lepidoptera as pests of agriculture and forestry is very great. In the territory Soviet Union over 1000 species of Lepidoptera have been recorded, the caterpillars of which damage field, garden or forest crops. In the vast majority of cases, the pest complex is formed by representatives of the local fauna, moving to cultivated fields from wild plants. In this regard, the history of the settlement of the sunflower is very curious. sunflower moth(Homoeosoma nebulella). This plant is native to North America; it came to Russia only in the 18th century and for a long time considered decorative. Only since the 60s of the last century, sunflower has become an industrial oilseed crop in our country. For many years, its crops suffered from sunflower moth, which passed to it from wild plants, mainly from thistles. Butterflies of this pest lay their eggs on the inner walls of the anthers; caterpillars emerging from the eggs bite into the achenes and eat out the embryos in them. Modern armored varieties of sunflower, bred by Soviet breeders, are almost not damaged by moth due to the presence of a special shell layer in the achene peel, which the caterpillar cannot gnaw through.

The facts of importation of harmful Lepidoptera from other countries are known. More recently, in Europe, it has gained wide popularity american white butterfly(Hyphantria cunea), native to North America. On the European continent, it was first discovered in 1940 in Hungary, after a few years it quickly spread to Austria, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia. The butterfly has snow-white wings (span-2.5-3.5 cm), some individuals have small black dots on the abdomen and on the wings. The antennae of the female are filiform, those of the male are feathery, black with a white coating.

Caterpillars are polyphagous, can feed on more than 200 plant species. It is characteristic that in Europe they prefer mulberry, which is hardly touched in America. Caterpillars are velvety brown above with black warts bearing long hairs; lemon-yellow stripes with orange warts on the sides; length 3.5 cm. Pupae hibernate, which are under the bark of trees, in the forks of branches and nodes with fallen LEAVES. The butterfly lays its eggs on the underside of leaves, placing 300 to 800 eggs in a clutch. Caterpillars develop within 35-45 days. Young caterpillars live in nests woven from silk.

In the distribution of these butterflies, winds play an important role, contributing to their flights. New foci of this pest are found along railway lines and highways. The American white butterfly is an important quarantine object of national importance.

Among other insects, Lepidoptera represent a relatively "young" group: fossil butterflies are known only from Tertiary deposits. At the same time, this is the second order of insects in terms of the number of species, which includes about 140,000 species and is inferior in diversity of forms only to the order of beetles. Lepidoptera are distributed throughout the world; especially a lot of them in the tropics, where the most beautiful and most large forms, reaching in some cases a wingspan of almost 30 cm, as is the case with one of the largest butterflies in the world - agrippa scoops(Thysania agrippina), common in the forests of Brazil (Fig. 328). - a group of families of the order of butterflies, or Lepidoptera, the second largest number of species in the class of insects. Most, as the name suggests, are crepuscular or nocturnal. In addition, nocturnal butterflies are different from daytime and ... ... Collier Encyclopedia

- (Lepidoptera, see Table Butterflies I IV) form a large order of insects, comprising up to 22,000 species, including up to 3,500 species in Russian Empire(in European and Asian Russia). These are insects with sucking mouth organs, ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary F. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Lepidoptera (Lepidoptera, from Greek lepis scales and pteron wing), an extensive (more than 140 thousand species) squad of insects with complete transformation. Two pairs of wings, covered with scales. The oral apparatus is sucking, in the form of a proboscis (See Proboscis) (at rest ... ... Big soviet encyclopedia

- (lepidoptera), a detachment of insects. Wings (2 pairs) covered with differently colored scales. In large individuals, the wingspan is up to 30 cm, in small ones about 3 mm. Adults (imagoes) live from several hours to several weeks (wintering several ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

This term has other meanings, see Detachment (meanings). Contents 1 History of the concept 1.1 Botany ... Wikipedia

Contents 1 History of the concept 1.1 Botany 1.2 Zoology 2 Names ... Wikipedia

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