- Lifespan
And this is true; in the amazingly diverse world of insects, butterflies are the most beautiful creatures. In addition, butterflies are not only beautiful, some rare tropical butterflies can cost thousands of dollars, and there are even special people who professionally search for and capture such butterflies, which are then sold to wealthy collectors. In our article we will tell you all the most interesting things about these amazing creatures - the butterfly.
Description, structure, characteristics
According to the zoological classification, butterflies belong to arthropod insects, the order Lepidoptera. The name “butterfly” itself comes from the Old Slavonic word “grandmother”, meaning grandmother, old woman. Why is the butterfly associated with older people? The fact is that, according to the beliefs of the ancient Slavs, the souls of deceased ancestors turn into butterflies and therefore they must be treated with the utmost respect.
The external structure of the butterfly consists of two parts: the body, which is protected by a durable chitinous shell, and wings. The body of the butterfly, in turn, consists of the head, thorax and abdomen. Let's look at them in detail below.
The butterfly's head is round in shape with a flattened occipital part and is connected to the chest. The bulging eyes of the butterfly are round or oval in shape and occupy most of the surface of the head. The eyes themselves have a complex facet structure, thanks to which butterflies have color vision. But there is a nuance regarding the vision of butterflies: they perfectly distinguish moving objects, but they perceive stationary objects worse. Also, some species of butterflies have additional parietal eyes behind the antennae. The mouthparts of a butterfly, depending on its species, can be of the sucking or gnawing type.
The butterfly's breasts have a three-segment structure. Their front part is smaller than the middle and back. On the back of the butterfly's breasts there are three pairs of legs (or paws), which have a structure characteristic of insects. The front legs of the butterfly have spurs on the legs, which are designed to maintain the hygiene of the antennae.
The butterfly's abdomen is shaped like an elongated cylinder and consists of ten ring-shaped segments.
This is a schematic view of the internal structure of a butterfly.
At the border of the frontal and parietal parts of the head, the butterfly has antennae. Thanks to them, butterflies can navigate the surrounding space, perceiving both various odors and the slightest vibrations in the air. The length and structure of the antennae of a butterfly depend on its species.
The wings of a butterfly consist of two pairs; they are covered with flat scales of different shapes, penetrated by longitudinal and transverse veins and have a membranous structure. Moreover, the size of the hind wings can be either the same as the front wings or significantly smaller than them. It is the pattern of butterfly wings, which can have a wide variety of color combinations, that makes butterflies so beautiful. But it is worth noting that the coloring of butterflies serves not only for beauty, but also as a protective camouflage, which sometimes allows the butterfly to blend into its surroundings.
The size of the butterfly, or more precisely, its wingspan, depending on the species, can range from 2 mm to 31 cm.
Top 10 most beautiful butterflies in the world
Zizula hylax . The most beautiful butterfly among the small representatives of the class is Zizula hylax - the length of the wings of adult individuals is only six millimeters.
Parnassius (Parnassius bannyngtoni). If you ever want to see all the beautiful butterflies on this list, Parnassius bannyngtoni will give you problems. The fact is that this butterfly lives in the Himalayas at an altitude of six thousand meters.
Urania (Chrysiridia rhipheus). Beautiful butterflies are usually beautiful in themselves, but Urania was also recognized as such by the international scientific congress. Despite the fact that the main color of the insect is black, the wings are decorated with bright vertical stripes that shimmer in the sunlight.
Greta morgane . A small beauty with transparent wings - Americans call this butterfly Glasswing, which literally means “glass wing”. The species lives mainly in South America, feeds on pollen of plants and flowers, and also rightfully takes first place in the top of the most unusual butterflies.
Birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae). Unfortunately, the most beautiful butterflies in the world are also the rarest. The Birdwing or Queen Alexandra's Swallowtail is no exception - a giant insect with a wingspan of 32 centimeters.
Admiral (Vanessa atalanta). Butterflies that travel enormous distances to procreate – this is precisely the case with the species Vanessa atalanta. This most beautiful butterfly is somewhat reminiscent of Urania in appearance - black and dark cherry colors dominate in color, and vertical stripes of warm orange and milky white colors run along the wings.
Death's head (Acherontia atropos). How did an insect with such an unsightly name appear on the list of the most beautiful butterflies in the world? Once you see Acherontia atropos, you wouldn't question it because this moth is truly very beautiful. The name of the species comes from the unusual color of the body, in the upper part of which the contours of a human skull are clearly visible.
Thistle grass (Pyrameis cardui). The simple beauty of the Burdock has ensured her “lifetime” membership among the most beautiful butterflies. In addition, to get acquainted with this species, you don’t have to travel far away – the moth lives in all parts of the world.
Peacock's eye (Saturnia pyri). The peacock attracts attention with its luxurious tail, and Saturnia pyri with its wings. In addition to color, the Peacock's eye is also known for its sense of smell - during the rutting period, the male is able to “smell” the female’s pheromones at a distance of 10 kilometers or more.
Atlas or Prince of Darkness (Attacus atlas). The species lives in the humid climate of evergreen forests in Asia, China, Thailand, India, and the islands of Borneo and Java are considered the “native” habitat of Attacus atlas. This huge representative of the genus Saturniaceae received its name from the ancient Greek titan Atlas - the appearance of the butterfly is truly titanic - it is also on the list of the largest living moths.
Lifespan
How long do butterflies live in nature and at home? The lifespan of a butterfly depends greatly on its species and the climate in which it lives. Usually the life of a butterfly is short, lasting from several days to several weeks. However, there are so-called long-lived butterflies that can live up to two years. But they can only live to such a respectable lifespan by the standards of a butterfly at home, since in nature butterflies have many enemies, few of them survive to old age.
Hearing organs
Butterflies hear through their abdomen, since their “ears” are located in the dimples on the sides of the third segment of the chest or the first segment of the abdomen.
The “ears” of butterflies are formed by a thin leathery membrane, which is stretched over a ring. Beneath the membrane are bubble-like tracheas, and nerves connect to them. When the sound wave reaches the butterfly, the membranes begin to vibrate. The tracheal vesicles pick up this vibration and transmit it along the nerves to the brain, which decides what to do.
Habitats
Where do butterflies live? Butterflies live almost everywhere, with the exception of the northern Arctic latitudes. Of course, they are not there in the cold either.
Antarctica. In general, butterflies love warmth, so they are especially abundant in warm tropical latitudes.
Nutrition
What do butterflies eat? Pollen and nectar from flowering plants are the main diet of butterflies. Some species of butterflies are not averse to feasting on tree sap and rotten fruit. There is also such an interesting butterfly as the dead-headed hawk moth, it is notable for the fact that it likes to fly into the hive to
bees feast on their honey.
Sometimes among butterflies there are real gourmets, for example, some tropical butterflies drink tears
turtles crocodiles.
Interesting fact: among butterflies, there are also those that completely lack mouthparts. How do they eat?! But in no way, the fact is that in order to maintain life, they use up the reserves of nutrients that they accumulated when they were still caterpillars. One such unusual butterfly is the Madagascar comet. Of course, life expectancy with such nutrition (or rather the complete absence of it) is only 2-3 days.
Among the numerous kingdom of butterflies, there is also a real vampire butterfly, which, like
The mosquito feeds on the blood of other animals.
Total number
The order Lepidoptera undoubtedly stands out among taxa of a similar rank in terms of species diversity. Lepidoptera are one of the largest groups of insects, including, as of August 2013, 158,570 species, including 147 fossil taxa. It is estimated that up to 100,000 species remain still unknown to science and, thus, the total number of lepidopteran species existing on the planet can be estimated at approximately 200,000 - 225,000 species. There are 2,166 genera and 8,879 species found in Russia.
Lepidoptera are very diverse, and most of their species are poorly studied. Some of the described species are known from finds from a single locality or even from a single specimen. A true estimate of the total number of species in existence will never be known because many species became extinct before they were discovered. The taxonomy of butterflies presented in various works reflects the different views of their authors and is, without a doubt, debatable.
There are disputes regarding the systematic position or the need to maintain the status of certain subspecies or species. DNA studies suggest that some of the currently known species must be separated. A well-known example is where the seemingly identical Colias alfacariensis and Colias hyale , previously thought to be one species, were split into two after significant differences in the structure of their caterpillars and pupae were discovered.
Wintering
What do butterflies do in winter? Butterflies living in tropical latitudes have it easier in this regard, but our butterflies living in a temperate climate zone have to survive the winter cold, how do they do it? Some butterflies do not survive the winter, they live only in the summer, during which time they leave offspring that survive the winter in the form of pupae. But there are also species of butterflies that survive the winter cold by hiding in tree hollows or deep cracks in the bark. Also, some species of butterflies, like birds, with the onset of cold weather, rush to fly to warmer climes. For example, such travel butterflies are the monarch and the oleander hawk moth.
Disguise
Camouflage in butterflies
Many caterpillars are able to take the form of twigs, twigs, and dried buds. Some can copy snakes, and very successfully: they inflate the front part of the body, the spots on the sides resemble eyes, and the outgrowths near the head look like a forked tongue. Other caterpillars are completely covered with long, stiff hairs that break off easily and can cause irritation to the skin and respiratory tract. Instead of coloring and poisonous hairs, some caterpillars create a camouflage around themselves: they glue leaves together, build a web cover with twigs, pieces of bark, and straws woven into it, and spend their entire lives in this shelter.
Interesting: Main species of daytime butterflies in Russia: list, photos, names, descriptions and videos
Classification and types
There are incredibly many different types of butterflies; zoologists have counted as many as 158 thousand different butterflies. For all this diversity, there are several complex and confusing classification systems. In our opinion, the most successful is the system that divides butterflies into 4 suborders.
Primary toothed moths
This includes small butterflies whose wingspan ranges from 4 to 15 mm. Butterflies of this suborder have a gnawing mouth and long antennae reaching 75% of the size of their front wings. The suborder consists of 160 species of butterflies. Among the representatives are:
Proboscis butterflies
The wingspan of these butterflies is no more than 25 mm. Previously, they were classified as primary toothed moths, with which these butterflies have much in common. The most famous butterflies of this suborder:
- flour fire,
- spruce cone moth.
Proboscis butterflies
They are the most numerous suborder, which includes several tens of thousands of different families of butterflies. The appearance and size of proboscis butterflies can vary significantly. Among the families of butterflies we can distinguish:
Family Sailboats
It is represented by medium and large butterflies with a wingspan from 50 to 280 mm. The pattern on their wings may consist of black, red or blue spots. Among the most famous butterflies of this family are:
- swallowtail butterfly,
- sailing ship "Glory of Bhutan".
Family Nymphalidae
A distinctive feature of butterflies of this family is the absence of thickened veins on their wide wings, which have variegated patterns. The wingspan of these butterflies is 55-130 mm. Among the most prominent representatives can be identified:
- admiral butterfly,
- day peacock butterfly,
- butterfly hives,
- mourning butterfly.
Hawkmoth family
This includes moths with narrow wings, the span of which is no more than 13 cm. Also, all butterflies of the hawkmoth family have a characteristic pattern, their abdomen is thickened and fusiform. The most famous among them are:
- "death's head" hawkmoth
- oleander hawk moth,
- poplar hawk moth.
Stages of reproduction. Transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly.
Among butterflies, there are very complex forms of courtship during the mating season, which are expressed in special flights and mating dances. And the mating process itself can last several hours. Moreover, females receive from the male not only sperm, but also the supply of micronutrients and proteins they need.
The life cycle of a butterfly consists of 4 stages:
Eggs
Like many other insects, a butterfly's life begins with an egg. Depending on the type of butterfly, they lay eggs on
leaves or branches of plants. Typically there can be up to 1000 round or cylindrical fertilized eggs at a time. The butterfly egg stage lasts 8-15 days.
Caterpillar
From the eggs of butterflies, caterpillars emerge that have a gnawing type of mouthparts, with which they can eat plant leaves, flowers and fruits. Caterpillars have special glands that produce a special substance that hardens when it comes into contact with air. This substance forms a strong silk thread, which over time will become a cocoon.
Doll
Over time, the caterpillars begin to pupate, and the third stage of the butterfly's life cycle begins.
This is what the pupation of a caterpillar, its transformation into a pupa, looks like. The pupa can be elongated cylindrical or round in shape.
Imago (adult, butterfly)
At the last stage, an adult butterfly emerges from the pupa.
This is what the transformation of a pupa into a butterfly looks like.
Benefits and harms
Butterflies can be both beneficial and harmful to agriculture. So, being in the caterpillar stage, they are plant pests; due to eating the leaves of fruit trees, the harvest deteriorates, or even is completely lost. On the contrary, adult butterflies bring great benefits, since they promote cross-pollination and self-pollination of many plants.
You can also separately highlight the silkworm, which is a producer of natural silk, which has been of great value since ancient times.
Interesting Facts
- Are butterflies dangerous for humans? No, but there is an exception, this is the Saturnius butterfly. It is true that it is not the butterfly itself that is dangerous, but its caterpillar, which secretes poisonous toxins that can even kill a person. (fortunately, such butterflies and caterpillars do not live in our latitudes).
- The migratory monarch butterfly is a true champion in endurance; it is capable of flying up to 1000 km at a time, without even stopping to rest.
- If the monarch butterfly is a champion in endurance, then hawk moths are real record holders in the insect world for speed; they can reach speeds of up to 60 km per hour over short distances.
- Butterflies do not sleep either at night or during the day, since they absolutely do not need sleep.
Wing coloring
Coloring butterfly scales
The cavity contains a pigment that gives color to the entire scale. And the combination of scales with the same or different pigments makes up a bright, often very complex and contrasting wing pattern. The coloring of wings can be created not only by pigments. In many of our diurnal butterflies, as well as in the brightest representatives of the tropics, it arises due to the interference of light waves. On the surface of the flake there are very small ridges, which, at a certain angle of incidence, reflect light with a certain wavelength.
Butterfly Morpho (lat. Morpho)
This gives rise to the iridescent, brilliant blue, indigo, orange or silver coloring of our bluegills, mother-of-pearls, as well as the majestic South American Morpho and Ornithoptera from Southeast Asia. Scales not only give color. In males, in some cavities, instead of pigment, there is a gland that secretes pheromones. Such scales are called androconia: it is thanks to them that the males of the common turnip whitefish smell of lemon or mignonette.
Video
And finally, an interesting documentary about butterflies from the Discovery Channel.
Author: Pavel Chaika, editor-in-chief of Poznavaika magazine
When writing the article, I tried to make it as interesting, useful and high-quality as possible. I would be grateful for any feedback and constructive criticism in the form of comments on the article. You can also write your wish/question/suggestion to my email [email protected] or Facebook, with respect, the author.
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