Important information about butterflies briefly. Interesting facts about butterflies. Butterfly: description and photo. The structure and appearance of butterflies

Butterflies are beautiful creatures. I think everyone knows what a butterfly looks like and have probably met this terrible beast =)

These unique creations They are the second most numerous pollinators after bees.

The science that studies butterflies is called lepidopterology. An entomologist who studies butterflies is called a lepidopterologist (from Latin name order of butterflies - Lepidoptera, which translates as "lepidoptera"). A lepidopterist is a person who is simply interested in butterflies.

The largest moth in the world is This is the Atlas peacock eye (Attacus Atlas). Its wingspan is more than 30 cm, and it is often mistaken for a bird.

Basically, most butterflies have short life- just a few days. However, there are specimens with quite long life cycle: The Brixton butterfly is a long-lived butterfly, its cycle lasts up to 10 months.

During her short life, a female butterfly can lay more than 1000 eggs

Butterflies literally work wonders. The species Parnassius arcticus lives in Siberia near the Arctic Circle. It reaches places where snow and ice never melt. Its close relative Parnassius bannyngtoni from the Himalayas is the highest mountain butterfly in the world. It can be found rising even 6000 meters above sea level.

The blueberry butterfly (Zizula hylax), which lives in Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius, Arabia and tropical zone Asia and Australia, the length of the front wing is 6 mm. This is the smallest butterfly in the world.

In addition to the usual ones for us tropical butterflies, 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. Several species of butterflies that live on the Canadian Queen Elizabeth Island, 750 kilometers from North Pole.

Maximum speed The speed this little creature can reach is 12 mph, but there are species that reach 50 km/h (31 mph). The fastest flight is in butterflies of the hawkmoth family.

The most amazing fact about these creatures is that butterflies need solar heat in order to fly.

The most common butterfly in Russia and Siberia is the Peacock's eye. Thanks 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 an eye-shaped spot characteristic of this species, while the lower part is completely black-brown.

The life cycle of these creatures consists of four phases: egg, caterpillar, pupa and adult (butterfly).

The butterfly lays its offspring in one place for many years in a row.

Butterflies never sleep.

The most complex organ of these amazing creatures- eyes. They are made up of 6,000 tiny parts called lenses.

Butterflies are ancient creatures. Their images are present on Egyptian frescoes, which are more than 2.5 thousand years old.

Butterflies are one of the most common collectibles.

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 sailing ship - largest butterfly planets.

It is possible to detect it only on the territory Papua New Guinea and thanks to collectors, this species is on the verge of complete extinction.

There are several species of these beautiful creatures that, during the entire adult cycle ( last stage life) do not eat at all. Such individuals live off the energy accumulated during the period when the butterfly was still a caterpillar.

The smallest butterfly in the world is rightfully considered the “Blue Dwarf”, whose wingspan is only 1.4 cm.

IN tropical forests There is a species of butterfly in the New and Old Worlds, the males of which feed on animal tears.

U Brazilian butterflycalligo another way of protection. Seeing the bird, it turns over, showing the enemy the underside of its wings.

The enemy has no choice but to hastily retreat.

It's all about the pattern on the wings. This is an image of an owl with a sharp beak and big eyes.

Well, and the owl - worst enemy birds.

Female butterflies typically live longer and longer than male butterflies. It's a bit like people ;-)

Butterflies are excellent stress relievers. Doctors in Stockholm are convinced of this. Clinics in this city have greenhouses with butterflies and flowers, where patients successfully undergo treatment for stress.

Butterflies are nearsighted!

It turns out that the secret of the butterfly is hidden precisely in its scales on its wings. They support temperature balance, and also increase airworthiness.

But with blood circulation everything is simple for them. There is no heart, no veins and arteries. All this is replaced by a vessel located in the abdomen, which passes into the head in the form of a tube.

The pattern on a butterfly's wings is unique, just like a person's fingerprints.

Only the Death's Head Hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos) has a special “speech” organ located in the pharynx. This butterfly can squeak when alarmed or feeling danger.

Butterflies weigh about the same as two rose petals.

Butterfly migration

Among African butterflies, the species Catopsilia florella makes the longest migrations. Every year, from December to February, its representatives, inhabiting the arid regions of the Sahel, fly south in the tens of millions. The destination is Zaire, several thousand kilometers from the start.

Unlike migratory species temperate latitudes migration is caused not by the onset of spring, but by the beginning of the rainy season in the south: at this time many flowers will bloom there, which will provide butterflies with food. They fly in whole clouds up to 20 kilometers long and up to 5 kilometers wide.

If such a flock descends to the ground, it is quite capable of turning off car engines! With the return of the dry season, butterflies head back to the Sahel. Other populations of this species migrate in a similar way, but they fly from southern Africa (Cape Province of South Africa) and head to the northwest.

Migratory behavior is uncommon in butterflies; it is known in only 200 out of 18,000 diurnal species, and only two dozen of them are comparable in length and regularity of their migrations to Catopsilia florella.

P.S. Interesting fact: In winter in Southern California, tourists are shown butterfly trees covered in monarch butterflies resting after a long flight from North America. The branches of these trees bend under the weight of a huge number of butterflies! It is forbidden to disturb monarchs; this will result in a hefty fine.

The butterfly belongs to the class insects, phylum arthropods, order Lepidoptera (Lepidoptera).

The Russian name “butterfly” comes from the Old Slavonic word “babъka”, which denoted the concept of “old woman” or “grandmother”. In the beliefs of the ancient Slavs, it was believed that these were the souls of the dead, so people treated them with respect.

Butterfly: description and photo. The structure and appearance of butterflies

The structure of the butterfly has two main sections: the body, protected by a hard chitinous shell, and the wings.

A butterfly is an insect whose body consists of:

• Head, inactively connected to the chest. The butterfly's head has o round shape with a slightly flattened occipital part. The round or oval convex eyes of the butterfly in the form of hemispheres, occupying most of the lateral surface of the head, have a complex facet structure. Butterflies have color vision and perceive moving objects better than stationary ones. In many species, additional simple parietal eyes are located behind the antennae. The structure of the oral apparatus depends on the species and can be of the sucking or gnawing type.

• Breasts with a three-segment structure. The front part is significantly smaller than the middle and back part, where three pairs of legs are located, which have a structure characteristic of insects. On the shins of the butterfly's front legs there are spurs designed to maintain the hygiene of the antennae.
• The abdomen has the shape of an elongated cylinder, consisting of ten ring-shaped segments with spiracles located on them.

Butterfly structure

The antennae of the butterfly are located on the border of the parietal and frontal parts of the head. They help butterflies navigate their surroundings by sensing air vibrations and various odors.

The length and structure of the antennae depend on the species.

Two pairs of butterfly wings, covered with flat scales of different shapes, have a membranous structure and are penetrated by transverse and longitudinal veins. The size of the hind wings can be the same as the front wings or significantly smaller than them. The pattern of butterfly wings varies from species to species and captivates with its beauty.

In macro photography, the scales on the wings of butterflies are very clearly visible - they can have completely different shapes and color.

Butterfly wings - macro photography

The appearance and color of the butterfly’s wings serve not only for intraspecific sexual recognition, but also act as protective camouflage, allowing it to blend into its surroundings. Therefore, colors can be either monochrome or variegated with a complex pattern.

The size of a butterfly, or better said, the wingspan of a butterfly, can range from 2 mm to 31 cm.

Classification and types of butterflies

The large order of Lepidoptera includes more than 158 thousand representatives. There are several classification systems for butterflies, quite complex and confusing, with constant changes occurring in them. The most successful scheme is considered to be one that divides this detachment into four suborders:

1) Primary toothed moths. These are small butterflies, the wingspan of which ranges from 4 to 15 mm, with a gnawing type mouthparts and antennae that reach a length of up to 75% of the size of the front wings. The family consists of 160 species of butterflies.

Typical representatives are:

• golden smallwing ( Micropteryx calthella);
• marigold smallwing ( Micropteryx calthella).

2) Proboscis butterflies. The wingspan of these insects, covered with dark small scales with cream or black spots, does not exceed 25 mm. Until 1967, they were classified as primary toothed moths, with which this family has much in common.

The most famous butterflies from this suborder:

• flour moth ( Asopia farinalis L.),
• moth fir cones (Dioryctrica abieteila).

3) Heterobathmyas, represented by one family Heterobathmiidae.

4) Proboscis butterflies, which make up the largest suborder, consisting of several dozen families, which include more than 150 thousand species of butterflies. Appearance and the sizes of representatives of this suborder are very diverse. Below are several families demonstrating the diversity of proboscis butterflies.

• Family Sailboats, represented by medium and large butterflies with a wingspan from 50 to 280 mm. The pattern on the wings of butterflies consists of black, red or blue spots of various shapes, clearly visible on white or yellow background. The most famous of them are:
  1. Swallowtail butterfly;
  2. Sailboat "Glory of Bhutan";
  3. Queen Alexandra's Birdwing and others.

Swallowtail butterfly

• Family Nymphalidae, characteristic feature which is the absence of thickened veins on wide angular wings with variegated colors and various patterns. The wingspan of butterflies varies from 50 to 130 mm. Representatives of this family are:
  1. Butterfly ;
  2. Day peacock butterfly;
  3. Butterfly hives;
  4. Mourning butterfly, etc.

Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta)

Day peacock butterfly

Urticaria butterfly (Aglais urticae)

There are species of butterflies that do not have a mouthparts: to maintain life, they use up those reserves nutrients, which were accumulated in the stage.

Such butterflies include the Madagascar comet, whose wingspan is 14-16 cm. The lifespan of this butterfly is 2-3 days.

There are also “vampires” among butterflies. For example, males of some cutworm species maintain their strength thanks to the blood and tear fluid of animals.

This is the vampire butterfly (lat. Calyptra).

Stages of butterfly reproduction. Transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly

Most butterflies have complex forms of courtship during mating season, expressed in flying and dancing. The mating process, during which the female receives from the male, in addition to sperm, a supply of necessary microelements and proteins, sometimes drags on for several hours.

Caterpillar turns into butterfly

The life cycle of a butterfly consists of 4 phases (stages):

• Eggs

The life of a butterfly begins with an egg. Depending on the species and tribal affiliation the butterfly lays eggs on leaves or branches of plants. This can be up to 1000 fertilized eggs that are round, cylindrical or egg-shaped. The color of the eggs can be white, greenish, yellow, red, sometimes with a pattern. This stage of the butterfly’s life lasts between 8-15 days.

Butterfly eggs

• Caterpillar (larva)

At this stage, the insect has a worm-like shape. Mouthparts of gnawing type caterpillars. A special feature of the caterpillar is the presence of special glands that produce a substance that quickly hardens upon contact with air and forms something like a strong silk thread. Butterfly caterpillars feed mainly plant foods: fruits, flowers and leaves of plants. However, there are caterpillars whose diet consists of wool, horny substances and even wax.

Caterpillar

• Doll

Depending on the species, the pupa may have an elongated cylindrical or even round shape. A plain cocoon sometimes has a pattern formed by stripes, dots and spots. At this stage of development, the butterfly already has rudimentary wings, a proboscis and legs.

• Imago (adult, butterfly)

Depending on the species, the lifespan of a butterfly can range from several hours to 10 months. The adult is already capable of reproduction and dispersal, which are its main functions.

What do butterflies do in winter?

It is noteworthy that butterflies winter in different ways. There are species of butterflies that, having left the pupa, live only during the summer and die with the onset of cold weather. Some wait out the winter in the egg stage, but most do so as pupa. There are species that meet the cold as adult insects and hide from them in tree hollows or deep cracks in the bark. These are urticaria, burdock and lemongrass.

Lemongrass butterfly

But there are also exceptions to the rules.

Some representatives of lepidoptera prefer to leave their habitats without waiting for the onset of unfavorable conditions. They simply fly to warmer climes. The most famous "travelers" are the oleander hawk moth and the monarch.

The benefits and harms of butterflies

It is noteworthy that butterflies bring both great benefit and harm to Agriculture. In the caterpillar stage, they destroy leaves on fruit trees, which leads to crop loss. At the same time, adult butterflies help cross pollination and self-pollination of plants. Both caterpillars and adults serve as food for many birds. And about the benefits silkworm and there is no need to say - this is the manufacturer natural silk.

• The Saturnia butterfly's caterpillar is so poisonous that the toxins it produces can kill humans.
• The migratory monarch butterfly is capable of covering up to 1000 km in one flight without stopping to rest.
• Butterflies do not sleep at night because they do not need sleep.
• When flying over short distances, hawk moths can reach speeds of up to 60 km/h.
• The baby moth is the smallest butterfly with wings measuring 2 mm.
• Madagascar hawkmoths have the longest proboscis, which is 28 cm long.
• The size of the wings of the butterfly Tisania agrippina reaches 31 cm.
• The peacock butterfly's sense of smell is very developed: it can smell it at a distance of 10 km.

The butterfly belongs to the class insects, phylum arthropods, order Lepidoptera (Lepidoptera).

The Russian name “butterfly” comes from the Old Slavonic word “babъka”, which denoted the concept of “old woman” or “grandmother”. In the beliefs of the ancient Slavs, it was believed that these were the souls of the dead, so people treated them with respect.

Butterfly: description and photo. The structure and appearance of butterflies

The structure of the butterfly has two main sections: the body, protected by a hard chitinous shell, and the wings.

A butterfly is an insect whose body consists of:

• Head, inactively connected to the chest. The butterfly's head has a round shape with a slightly flattened occipital part. The round or oval convex eyes of the butterfly in the form of hemispheres, occupying most of the lateral surface of the head, have a complex facet structure. Butterflies have color vision and perceive moving objects better than stationary ones. In many species, additional simple parietal eyes are located behind the antennae. The structure of the oral apparatus depends on the species and can be of the sucking or gnawing type.

• Breasts with a three-segment structure. The front part is significantly smaller than the middle and back part, where three pairs of legs are located, which have a structure characteristic of insects. On the shins of the butterfly's front legs there are spurs designed to maintain the hygiene of the antennae.
• The abdomen has the shape of an elongated cylinder, consisting of ten ring-shaped segments with spiracles located on them.

Butterfly structure

The antennae of the butterfly are located on the border of the parietal and frontal parts of the head. They help butterflies navigate their surroundings by sensing air vibrations and various odors.

The length and structure of the antennae depend on the species.

Two pairs of butterfly wings, covered with flat scales of different shapes, have a membranous structure and are penetrated by transverse and longitudinal veins. The size of the hind wings can be the same as the front wings or significantly smaller than them. The pattern of butterfly wings varies from species to species and captivates with its beauty.

In macro photography, the scales on the wings of butterflies are very clearly visible - they can have completely different shapes and colors.

Butterfly wings - macro photography

The appearance and color of the butterfly’s wings serve not only for intraspecific sexual recognition, but also act as protective camouflage, allowing it to blend into its surroundings. Therefore, colors can be either monochrome or variegated with a complex pattern.

The size of a butterfly, or better said, the wingspan of a butterfly, can range from 2 mm to 31 cm.

Classification and types of butterflies

The large order of Lepidoptera includes more than 158 thousand representatives. There are several classification systems for butterflies, quite complex and confusing, with constant changes occurring in them. The most successful scheme is considered to be one that divides this detachment into four suborders:

1) Primary toothed moths. These are small butterflies, the wingspan of which ranges from 4 to 15 mm, with a gnawing type mouthparts and antennae that reach a length of up to 75% of the size of the front wings. The family consists of 160 species of butterflies.

Typical representatives are:

• golden smallwing ( Micropteryx calthella);
• marigold smallwing ( Micropteryx calthella).

2) Proboscis butterflies. The wingspan of these insects, covered with dark small scales with cream or black spots, does not exceed 25 mm. Until 1967, they were classified as primary toothed moths, with which this family has much in common.

The most famous butterflies from this suborder:

• flour moth ( Asopia farinalis L.),
• spruce cone moth ( Dioryctrica abieteila).

3) Heterobathmyas, represented by one family Heterobathmiidae.

4) Proboscis butterflies, which make up the largest suborder, consisting of several dozen families, which include more than 150 thousand species of butterflies. The appearance and size of representatives of this suborder are very diverse. Below are several families demonstrating the diversity of proboscis butterflies.

• Family Sailboats, represented by medium and large butterflies with a wingspan from 50 to 280 mm. The pattern on the wings of butterflies consists of black, red or blue spots of various shapes, clearly visible on a white or yellow background. The most famous of them are:
  1. Swallowtail butterfly;
  2. Sailboat "Glory of Bhutan";
  3. Queen Alexandra's Birdwing and others.

Swallowtail butterfly

• Family Nymphalidae, a characteristic feature of which is the absence of thickened veins on wide, angular wings with variegated colors and various patterns. The wingspan of butterflies varies from 50 to 130 mm. Representatives of this family are:
  1. Butterfly Admiral;
  2. Day peacock butterfly;
  3. Butterfly hives;
  4. Mourning butterfly, etc.

Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta)

Day peacock butterfly

Urticaria butterfly (Aglais urticae)

There are species of butterflies that do not have a mouthparts: to maintain life, they use up the reserves of nutrients that were accumulated in the caterpillar stage.

Such butterflies include the Madagascar comet, whose wingspan is 14-16 cm. The lifespan of this butterfly is 2-3 days.

There are also “vampires” among butterflies. For example, males of some cutworm species maintain their strength thanks to the blood and tear fluid of animals.

This is the vampire butterfly (lat. Calyptra).

Stages of butterfly reproduction. Transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly

Most butterflies have complex forms of courtship during the mating season, expressed in flights and dances. The mating process, during which the female receives from the male, in addition to sperm, a supply of necessary microelements and proteins, sometimes drags on for several hours.

Caterpillar turns into butterfly

The life cycle of a butterfly consists of 4 phases (stages):

• Eggs

The life of a butterfly begins with an egg. Depending on the species and genus, the butterfly lays eggs on the leaves or branches of plants. This can be up to 1000 fertilized eggs that are round, cylindrical or egg-shaped. The color of the eggs can be white, greenish, yellow, red, sometimes with a pattern. This stage of the butterfly’s life lasts between 8-15 days.

Butterfly eggs

• Caterpillar (larva)

At this stage, the insect has a worm-like shape. Mouthparts of gnawing type caterpillars. A special feature of the caterpillar is the presence of special glands that produce a substance that quickly hardens upon contact with air and forms something like a strong silk thread. Butterfly caterpillars feed mainly on plant foods: fruits, flowers and leaves of plants. However, there are caterpillars whose diet consists of wool, horny substances and even wax.

Caterpillar

• Doll

Depending on the species, the pupa may have an elongated cylindrical or even round shape. A plain cocoon sometimes has a pattern formed by stripes, dots and spots. At this stage of development, the butterfly already has rudimentary wings, a proboscis and legs.

• Imago (adult, butterfly)

Depending on the species, the lifespan of a butterfly can range from several hours to 10 months. The adult is already capable of reproduction and dispersal, which are its main functions.

What do butterflies do in winter?

It is noteworthy that butterflies winter in different ways. There are species of butterflies that, having left the pupa, live only during the summer and die with the onset of cold weather. Some wait out the winter in the egg stage, but most do so as pupa. There are species that meet the cold as adult insects and hide from them in tree hollows or deep cracks in the bark. These are urticaria, burdock and lemongrass.

Lemongrass butterfly

But there are also exceptions to the rules.

Some representatives of lepidoptera prefer to leave their habitats without waiting for unfavorable conditions to occur. They simply fly to warmer climes. The most famous "travelers" are the oleander hawk moth and the monarch.

The benefits and harms of butterflies

It is noteworthy that butterflies bring both great benefit and harm to agriculture. In the caterpillar stage, they destroy leaves on fruit trees, which leads to loss of harvest. At the same time, adult butterflies help cross-pollinate and self-pollinate plants. Both caterpillars and adults serve as food for many birds. And there is no need to talk about the benefits of the silkworm - it is a producer of natural silk.

• The Saturnia butterfly's caterpillar is so poisonous that the toxins it produces can kill humans.
• The migratory monarch butterfly is capable of covering up to 1000 km in one flight without stopping to rest.
• Butterflies do not sleep at night because they do not need sleep.
• When flying over short distances, hawk moths can reach speeds of up to 60 km/h.
• The baby moth is the smallest butterfly with wings measuring 2 mm.
• Madagascar hawkmoths have the longest proboscis, which is 28 cm long.
• The size of the wings of the butterfly Tisania agrippina reaches 31 cm.
• The peacock butterfly's sense of smell is very developed: it can smell it at a distance of 10 km.

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

Butterflies are creatures of incredible beauty, quite fragile and light. They impress not only with their appearance, but also with 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 winged beauty, but, unfortunately, short-lived. We have collected interesting facts about butterflies, because they are capable of surprising not only with their color.

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

2. An interesting fact about butterflies for kids is that, like elephants, these insects take in food through their trunk. Of course they have it minimum sizes and spruce is noticeable.

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

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

5. Unusual ability possessed by hawk moths - exclusively nocturnal moths. They can create a howl that vaguely resembles that of an animal. In fact, this buzzing allows them to pretend for a while queen bee and, having entered 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. They, of course, 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 located less than one thousand kilometers from the North Pole.

8. Despite their very 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 - 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 moths are afraid of water, because once they fall into it, they will not be able to get out. The voluminous wings get wet and do not allow them to take off again, but this does not apply to the lilac moth. Even having plunged completely, she is able to emerge and continue her flight.

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

12. Monarch butterflies stand out from the rest because of their ability to identify medicinal properties plants. Then they use this 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 the calyptra eustrigata has this feature; it is enough rare view and besides, only males are vampires; females still prefer a plant-based diet.

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