The butterfly belongs to the class of insects, the arthropod type, the order Lepidoptera.

The Russian name "butterfly" comes from the Old Slavic word "babъka", which meant 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

In the structure of the butterfly, two main sections are distinguished - the body, protected by a hard chitinous shell, and wings.

A butterfly is an insect whose body consists of:

• The head, inactively connected to the chest. The butterfly's head is rounded with a slightly flattened nape. Round or oval convex eyes of a butterfly in the form of hemispheres, which occupy most of the lateral surface of the head, have a complex faceted structure. Butterflies have color vision, and they 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.

• Breast with a three-segment structure. The front part is much smaller than the middle and back, where three pairs of legs are located, which have a structure characteristic of insects. On the lower legs of the forelegs of the butterfly there are spurs designed to maintain the hygiene of the antennae.
• The abdomen has the shape of an elongated cylinder, consisting of ten annular 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, perceiving air fluctuations 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 pierced with transverse and longitudinal veins. The size of the hind wings can be the same as the front ones or much 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 a protective camouflage that allows you to merge with the environment. Therefore, colors can be either monochrome or variegated with a complex pattern.

The size of a butterfly, or rather a butterfly's wingspan, 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 systems for classifying butterflies, quite complex and confusing, with constant changes taking place in them. The most successful is the scheme dividing 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 of mouth apparatus and antennae that reach 75% of the size of the front wings in length. The family consists of 160 species of butterflies.

Typical representatives are:

• golden small wing ( Micropteryx calthella);
• marigold small wing ( Micropteryx calthella).

2) Trunkless 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 cones moth ( Dioryctrica abieteila).

3) Heterobathmia, represented by one family Heterobathmiidae.

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

• Family Sailboatsrepresented by medium and large butterflies with a wingspan of 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

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

Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta)

Day peacock butterfly

Butterfly urticaria (Aglais urticae)

There are species of butterflies that do not have a mouth apparatus: in order to maintain vital activity, they consume the reserves of nutrients that were accumulated even in the caterpillar stage.

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

Also among the butterflies there are "vampires". For example, males of some species of moths maintain their strength thanks to the blood and tears of animals.

Such is the vampire butterfly (lat. Calyptra).

Breeding stages of butterflies. Turning 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 essential trace elements and proteins, is sometimes delayed for several hours.

The caterpillar turns into a 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, round, cylindrical or ovoid. The color of eggs can be white, greenish, yellow, red, sometimes with a pattern. This stage of a butterfly's life lasts within 8-15 days.

Butterfly eggs

• Caterpillar (larva)

At this stage, the insect has a worm-like shape. The mouth apparatus of gnawing caterpillars. A feature of the caterpillar is that it has special glands that produce a substance that quickly hardens from contact with air and forms a kind of strong silk thread. Caterpillars of butterflies 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

• Chrysalis

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

• Imago (adult, butterfly)

Depending on the species, the lifespan of a butterfly can range from a few hours to 10 months. The imago 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 of does it by being a chrysalis. 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 (buckthorn)

But there are also exceptions to the rule.

Some representatives of Lepidoptera prefer to leave their habitats without waiting for unfavorable conditions. They just fly to warmer regions. 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 benefits and harm to agriculture... In the caterpillar stage, they destroy leaves on fruit treeswhich leads to loss of yield. At the same time, adult butterflies aid in cross-pollination and self-pollination of plants. Both caterpillars and adults serve as food for many birds. And there is no need to talk about the benefits of the silkworm - this is a producer of natural silk.

• In the Saturnium butterfly, the caterpillar is so poisonous that the toxins it releases can kill a person.
• The migratory monarch butterfly is able to cover up to 1000 km in one flight, without stopping to rest.
• Butterflies do not sleep at night because they do not need sleep.
• During a flight over short distances, hawk makers can reach speeds of up to 60 km / h.
• The baby moth is the smallest butterfly with a wing size of 2 mm.
• Madagascar hawk moths have the longest proboscis, which is 28 cm long.
• The size of the wings of the Tisia agrippina butterfly reaches 31 cm.
• The sense of smell in the peacock-eye butterfly is very developed: it smells at a distance of 10 km.

Butterflies are well-known insects that attract especially great attention, since many species are large, bright, beautiful in color and are often found in forests, gardens, meadows and glades. There are 8000 species of butterflies in the CIS.

The scientific name of the order - Lepidoptera - is based on the most important feature of these insects: the large wings of butterflies are covered with the smallest scales. These scales are brightly colored, located on the wings in a strict order and form a wing pattern. From this picture, it is easy to determine the type of butterfly. Under the scales, the wings of all butterflies are the same: they are a transparent or whitish thin plate, reinforced with a kind of frame, consisting of thicker, darker and more elastic veins. The veins form a pattern of cells. Different groups of butterflies differ well in the length and direction of the veins and in the shape of the cells. These features are used in more complete qualifiers.

Another important feature of butterflies is the development of the so-called proboscis in many species. It is a thin long tube that has arisen from the mouth organs, with the help of which the butterflies feed on the nectar of flowers, and some - on the flowing tree sap. The proboscis is spirally twisted in most species. Those butterflies that do not feed do not have a proboscis either.

The antennae of butterflies are very diverse. Large group butterflies have thin long antennae with a clavate extension at the very end. These butterflies are diurnal and are called butterflies or butterflies.

Another group of butterflies is crepuscular and nocturnal. They are called moths. The structure of the antennae of moths is very diverse; most species have filiform or feathery antennae. In males, antennae often have a more complex structure than in females.

Daytime butterflies fly slowly, fluttering, while nocturnal species are often very fast in flight.

On the head of the butterflies there are large bulging eyes. The thoracic region of these insects is very well developed - strong flying muscles are located in it. The abdomen is elongated, in females it is often very thick, since it contains a large number of eggs. Butterflies have 3 pairs of well-developed legs, but in some species the front legs are shortened.

Butterflies are found in nature throughout the warm season. Overwintered specimens begin to fly in early spring. Young caterpillars emerge from eggs laid by females in late autumn.

Caterpillars are called butterfly larvae. The fleshy body of the caterpillars is naked or covered with hair. The head is large, with gnawing mouth organs. Caterpillars are notable for the fact that, in addition to short chest legs, they also have tenacious abdominal legs. These legs are unusual, are muscular outgrowths of the body, equipped with a tenacious, hooked sole. The abdominal legs of caterpillars are called false legs to emphasize their difference from the true, chest legs. However, it is the abdominal legs that are adapted for climbing the plants on which the caterpillars of most species of butterflies develop.

Caterpillars are herbivorous, only a few predators or eat grain, wax, wool or woolen products (for example, some moths). Having reached maturity, caterpillars for pupation weave a cocoon or pupate without a cocoon - under the bark, in various shelters, in the upper layers of the soil or openly on plants, fences, walls of buildings, etc. Butterflies emerge from pupae usually in 2-3 weeks.

The importance of butterflies in nature, agriculture and forestry is very great. Some species of butterflies are capable of multiplying in huge numbers. During these periods, they destroy the foliage and needles of trees, damaging tens and hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest, damage gardening, especially fruit trees, destroy the results of vegetable growers' labor, attacking cabbage and root crops, etc. There are also useful species among butterflies. They are bred, for example, to obtain silk from cocoons.

Butterflies are representatives of the order Lepidoptera of the class Insects of the Arthropod type.

Butterflies as arthropods

As representatives of this type, butterflies have:

• segmented body;
• paired articulated limbs;
• chitinous cover.

A chitin veil protects their bodies and supports their organs. And the segmented body and legs allow you to move with such a cover.

Butterflies as insects

Insects differ from other Arthropods in the following features:

• the body consists of 3 sections (head, chest, abdomen);
• have three pairs of legs;
• have two pairs of wings.

On the head of butterflies there are antennae - organs of smell, faceted eyes, palps - organs of touch.

The chest consists of three large segments, each of them has a pair of legs, and the first and second have a pair of wings.

The abdomen also consists of segments and on each of them there are a pair of respiratory openings - spiracles.

Butterflies as Lepidoptera

it special squad insects, which includes more than 150 thousand species. They differ from other insects in a number of distinctive features:

1. They have two pairs of large wings covered with scales. It is the scales that provide the variety of colors for these insects.
2. Butterflies feed on liquid food, mainly nectar. Therefore, they have a sucking mouth apparatus in the form of a proboscis.
3. Their development with complete transformation: egg - larva - pupa - imago.
4. Caterpillars are the larva of butterflies
5. The caterpillars have a gnawing mouth apparatus and no wings.

Butterflies are daytime (swallowtail, admiral, urticaria) and nocturnal (hawk moth, bear). They differ in physique - daytime ones are more slender; the type of antennae: in daytime ones they are clavate, in nighttime ones - feathery; folding the wings: daytime folds them upright, and nighttime folds horizontally.

The largest wings in a span of up to 30 cm are possessed by the tropical butterflies of the birdwing Alexander and the peacock-eye Atlas, which is called the King of Darkness for its nocturnal lifestyle.

In South America, there is a small butterfly, which is called glass. The middle of her wings is completely transparent.

One of the smallest diurnal butterflies is our compatriot, the Icarus bluebird. Her wings are no more than 1 cm.

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

1. Butterflies belong to one of the largest groups of insects - Lepidoptera. In addition to these creatures, this group also includes moths and moths. Lepidoptera currently number about 157,000 insect species.
2. These unique creatures are the second largest pollinators after bees.


3. The science that studies butterflies is called lepidopterology.
4. Attacus aitas is considered the largest moth. Its wings have a span of about 30 cm and is often confused with a bird.




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


6. The maximum speed that this little creature can reach is 12 miles per hour, but there are species that reach 50 km / h (31 miles per hour).
7. The most surprising fact about these creatures is that butterflies need solar heat in order to fly.
8. 4 wings of butterflies are covered with scales, which are sacs with transparent ribbed walls. After a careless touch, they fall off, and the wings look faded. In fact, the wings of a butterfly are transparent. The scales that cover the wing simply reflect sunlight and thus give themselves color. In rare cases, butterfly scales are present in very small quantities or are completely absent.






9. The life cycle of these creatures consists of four phases: egg, caterpillar, pupa and imago (butterfly).
Eggs can be of different shapes, from spherical and round to cylindrical and angular. It depends on the type of butterfly.
10. An interesting fact: a butterfly lays its offspring in one place for many years in a row.
11. Butterflies never sleep.
12. In some countries in Asia and South America butterflies are considered a delicacy!


13. The most complex organ of these amazing creatures is the eyes. They are made up of 6 thousand tiny parts called lenses.
14. The only continent where Lepidoptera does not live is Antarctica.
15. Butterflies are ancient creatures. Their images are present in Egyptian frescoes, which are more than 3.5 thousand years old.


16. Taste receptors in butterflies are located on the legs, i.e. standing on the plant, they can taste it.
17. Butterflies are one of the most common collectibles among famous people the world, such as: Nabokov, Rothschild, Bulgakov, Mavrodi.




18. The period during which a butterfly lays eggs lasts only a few days, however, one individual can lay more than a thousand eggs.
19. Basically all caterpillars live on land, but there is also a species of water caterpillars called broad-winged moths.


20. Basically, most butterflies have a short life - only a few days. However, there are specimens with a rather long life cycle: The Brixton butterfly is long-lived, its cycle lasts up to 10 months.
21. There is more than one species of these insects in the world, which can rightfully be considered the rarest. One of them is Queen Alexandra's sailboat, the largest butterfly on the planet. It can only be found in Papua New Guinea, and thanks to collectors, this species is on the verge of complete extinction.


22. Many butterflies have earned a place in the Red Book only due to their incredibly beautiful coloration, and some of these creatures are pests for crops.
23. There are several types of these beautiful creatures that do not eat at all during the entire cycle of adults (the last stage of life). Such individuals live due to the energy accumulated during the period when the butterfly was still a caterpillar.

24. In Russian, the word "butterfly" is derived from the word "baba", since our ancestors believed that all witches after death become butterflies.
25. The smallest butterfly in the world is considered to be the "Blue Dwarf", whose wingspan is only 1.4 cm.

26. In rainforest New and Old Worlds there is a species of butterflies, the males of which feed on the tears of animals.
27. Butterflies are myopic!
28. These creatures can even distinguish colors, however, not all. Each species sees its own shades. So, for example, the cabbage woman sees red, but the satire does not distinguish it at all.






29. Peru and one Indian state, Sikkim, are considered the richest in diversity of lepidoptera species.
30. It turns out that the secret of a butterfly is hidden precisely in its scales on its wings. They maintain the temperature balance and also increase the lethality.


31. The proboscis of a butterfly is a modified lower jaw that has been transformed into a sucking organ. But the butterfly caterpillar has rather strong jaws, thanks to which it can chew solid food.
32. The most common butterfly in Russia and Siberia is the Peacock Eye. Due to its original design, it is difficult to confuse it with any other: the upper part of the wing has a cherry-brown color and a spot in the form of an eye characteristic of this species, while the bottom is completely black-brown.




33. Butterflies are crepuscular creatures. Only a few representatives of this group of insects are diurnal. Butterflies feed on nectar and other plant secretions containing sugar.
These creations of incredible beauty at all times amaze people with their incredible variety of colors, bizarre shapes and intricate designs. Butterflies are born to die, giving life to a new generation before that.
Clutch of eggs and hatched caterpillars.

Someone, looking at butterflies, admires their weightless beauty, while someone claims that these are furry caterpillars with wings. The truth, as always, is somewhere in between - after all, butterflies really develop from caterpillars. There are a great many species of these creatures in the world, which are studied and bred by thousands of enthusiasts.

Butterfly facts

• Butterfly shape and wingspan different types varies from 2 mm to 28 cm.
• Butterflies (or, as scientists call them, Lepidoptera) are one of the richest orders of insects in terms of the number of species. To date, more than 158,000 butterflies are known to exist on the planet. It is assumed that up to 100 thousand species of these insects have not yet been discovered by scientists.
• Butterflies inhabit all continents and islands of the Earth, except Antarctica (facts about Antarctica).
• Butterflies appeared on the planet more than 200 million years ago - scientists discovered their remains dating back to the Jurassic period.
• The Russian word "butterfly" comes from the word "babka". The comparison of these wonderful insects with old women is due to the fact that before butterflies were considered the souls of the dead. In some villages they are still called "grandmothers" or "grandmothers".
• The agrippina scoop is a butterfly with the largest wingspan of any known species of these insects. It is up to 28 cm, and according to some sources - even up to 31 cm.
• The record-holder for total wing area is the female Saturnia found in Australia and New Guinea. The surface of its wings can reach 263 cm (facts about Australia).
• One of the smallest butterflies on the planet are baby moths, with a wingspan of about 4 mm.
• The largest diurnal butterfly living on Russian territory is the Maak sailboat (wingspan up to 13.5 cm), and the night one is a large nocturnal peacock eye (up to 15 cm).
• Some butterflies, for example, peacock eyes or clothes moths, do not eat at all - during adulthood they consume the nutrients accumulated in the caterpillar stage.
• Bagworm butterflies, or psyche, live in the form of an adult insect for only a few minutes, during which they have time to mate and lay eggs.

• The faceted eyes of butterflies can have up to 27 thousand segments.
• The sight of butterflies allows them to distinguish colors, however, the ability to see certain shades depends on the species. The colors most attractive to butterflies are known to be blue-violet and yellow-red (facts about vision).
• Butterflies see moving objects much better than stationary ones.
• Most butterflies taste through receptors located on their paws, just like spiders (spider facts).
• Some butterflies have special membranes on their abdomens that allow them to hear ultrasound from 10 to 100 kHz.
• Almost all butterflies have a symmetrical pattern on the right and left wings, but there are also species with different patterns on each side of the body - for example, Madagascar Urania (facts about Madagascar).
• The color and pattern of the wings of butterflies depend on the conditions in which the caterpillar lived and at what temperature the pupa, into which it turned, developed.
• The body temperature of the butterflies, optimal for flight, is 30-35 degrees Celsius.
• Most butterflies are capable of speeds of 7 to 17 km / h in flight.
• Scoop butterflies found in India and Malaysia feed on tears and blood of large animals (facts about India).
• In butterflies, during the development of which a genetic mutation occurs, one half of the body can be male and the other female. Sometimes only certain parts of the body of a butterfly possess signs of a different sex - for example, a piece of a male’s wing has a coloring characteristic of females.
• Mating butterflies lasts from 20 minutes to several hours. All this time the female and male are completely motionless.