Biological significance of the color of the bear butterfly. Lady Bear Butterfly – a summer miracle by the stream

Ursa Family

I love this beauty, but try to find her during the day - she hides and flies at night. I see caterpillars often, it’s hard not to notice them - in the fall they crawl across the road for the winter, and in the spring, having already grown a lot, they hang on willows, aspens, sit in the grass - they are polyphagous, that is, they eat different types plants.

At the end of May I took the most big caterpillar from the willow tree and brought it home. I put the willow branches in a jar of water and covered the water with cotton so that the caterpillar would not drown. I put all this in a three-liter jar and covered it with a handkerchief with an elastic band. I wiped the jar from condensation to prevent mold.

The caterpillar gnawed on the leaves for two weeks, and I regularly brought it fresh ones. Then she wove a cocoon between the leaves, strengthening it with prickly hairs from her body. And then a couple of weeks later a butterfly was born. I photographed it and took it to the forest.

During the day these butterflies sleep. But if they are frightened, they show their lower bright wings and shoot a poisonous liquid from their abdomen. Kayas fly from July to August, and then young caterpillars appear and spend the winter.

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In May I found two such caterpillars near a dacha in the Naro-Fominsk region. I regret that I didn’t take one in for upbringing - now they are flying somewhere, but I can’t find them. These are secretive moths and are quite rare among us. It seems to me that there should be more of them further south.

The small caterpillar overwinters, then feeds and grows in the spring. The butterfly flies in June-July. The caterpillar is polyphagous - I saw one on meadow geraniums, the other on cereals.

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I often see these small (5 mm) bugs on flowers - they feed on pollen. Larvae are predators. In some species of little ones they prey on aphids, in others they live in rotten wood and eat bark beetle larvae. “Malacus” in Latin means soft, gentle. These beetles do not have such hard covers as others.

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Although the rider hatched from the pupa of the lady bear, I still met the butterfly at the end of June - it was sitting in the grass in the place where I took the caterpillar. Only her right wing is slightly deformed - apparently she was born this way. No one will eat it, because... many bears are poisonous.

Later I met two more she-bears of this species - on chamomile and yarrow.

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The lady's caterpillar feeds on buttercups, nettles, poplar, and rowan.

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Phymatopus hecta with sheath Psyche sp.

Slender moth heather, family Slender moths

Last year I didn’t see them anywhere, but now I see them all the time, and only males. Females are lighter.

Flies in June-July. The caterpillar lives on heather, bracken and knotweed.

Nearby you can see the case of a bagworm butterfly - the caterpillars construct cases from bark and blades of grass and carry them around. Male butterflies are usually gray and fluffy, while females are wingless.

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Ringed centipede, female (Nephrotoma crocata)

The males are smaller, slimmer and somewhat twitchy - jumping back and forth among the flowers. One even somehow got his feet entangled in an inflorescence, and I pulled him out of there. The thing at the end of the female’s body is the ovipositor.

Centipedes lay eggs in damp soil and silt near the shores of water bodies. They don't bite. The ringed centipede feeds on nectar.

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Beauty Girl (Calopteryx virgo)

Last year I photographed these dragonflies for a long time, and found only males. And this year, females also appeared - they sat next to the males at the edge of the forest. Sometimes they took off, caught midges, sat on leaves and chewed food. One male was so calm that he even sat on my hand!

The larvae of beauties develop for 2-3 years in shallow reservoirs.

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Meadow tick (Dermacentor reticulatus), family Ixodid ticks

This is the only animal I can't stand. It doesn’t have charming eyes, fluffy mustaches, and it doesn’t even itch – it silently does its dirty work!

Our ticks carry borreliosis (Lyme disease). If you remove the tick immediately, you will not get sick; if later, you need to take 200 mg of Doxycycline within 72 hours after the bite to prevent borreliosis. And don’t wait a day for the doctor to pull out the tick - pull it out yourself with a needle and that’s the end of it (it takes a particularly long time to pull out the proboscis).

The photo shows a characteristic hunting pose - with its legs spread out, the tick sniffs out prey. If anyone suddenly needs it, here I wrote in more detail about ticks -

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Linden corydalis (humpbacked capuchin - Ptilodon capucina), family Corydalis

This species has a cool caterpillar, but for some reason I can’t find it. I met a butterfly for the first time - it was sitting in the grass on a slope above a stream, and I had to balance on one leg so as not to fall into this stream. The butterfly is nocturnal, so it sleeps during the day, and you can safely photograph it. We have two generations of capuchins - at the beginning of summer and at the end of summer. The pupa overwinters.

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Pearl megarissa (Megarhyssa perlata), family Ichneumonidae

Ichneumon in Greek means bloodhound.

Megarissa pearl is listed in the Red Books of many regions. Rarely seen, there are few photographs of her on the Internet.

I once read in the magazine “In the World of Animals” a photo story by a macro photographer about pearl megarissa. I was struck by its size and variegated coloring - the rest of our riders are plain, black or red. A lot of time has passed since then, and now I finally found Megarissa! Yes, not just one, but three at once.

At the beginning of July, I was walking out of the forest in the evening; it was almost eight. I saw a bunch of fallen birch trees, took a closer look, and there one megarissa was flying and buzzing, another was sitting and cleaning its tail, and the third was drilling into the tree with its ovipositor.

Riders smell the larvae of bark beetles and other insects directly through the bark. They drill into the bark with their ovipositor and lay an egg directly into the larva. The ichneumon ichneumon larva develops inside the host and eventually destroys it.
Some small species of ichneumon fly are bred en masse in scientific institutes to treat fields against pests.

The riders are not at all interested in the person and do not try to prick him - unless you grab them and squeeze them with your hand.

Megarissa specializes in horntails - these are hymenoptera, like sawflies, also vegetarians, the larvae live in diseased wood. Megarissa lays an egg exactly next to the horntail larva under the bark. The hatched megarissa larva rides on the horntail until it eats it. When the rider lays an egg, he puts an odorous mark so that another rider does not touch this victim - after all, it is already occupied.

The body length of Megarissa without ovipositor is about 4.5 cm, and the ovipositor longer than body! In flight and in the sound of its wings, it resembles some kind of skinny dragonfly with a long thread trailing behind it.

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Speckled bear (Spilosoma lubricipeda), Ursa family

If you touch this fluffy butterfly, it falls over and pretends to be dead. Usually hides during the day and flies at night. In case of danger, shows it to enemies yellow belly, warning of toxicity. The caterpillars are fluffy, dark with a yellowish stripe, and are found on nettles, willow, geraniums and some other plants. Butterflies fly from May to July.

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Who would have thought that the laminated wing looked so funny in infancy!

And an adult is like this -

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Adult grasshoppers fly well, sometimes they even fly to our third floor.

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Epiphragma ocellare, family Limoniidae

The pattern on the wings impressed me - just like a mosquito!

Swamp mosquitoes are similar in appearance and lifestyle to long-legged mosquitoes. But they are usually smaller and have different wing venation. The larvae live in ponds or damp places, feed on dead organic matter, and some are predatory. Adults do not bite and hide in damp places.

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Enoplognatha ovata, family Theridiidae

These spiders are usually pale green-yellow, but sometimes you come across these elegant ones. The size of the female is 6 mm. At the same time, she easily catches insects twice her size.

They live in raspberry bushes or in the grass, where they build small nets in the form of hammocks. They are quite harmless to humans, although there is a black widow in the same family.

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At the cinema:

“The Amazing Spider-Man” - at first I was skeptical about the reboot of this project, but in the end I liked this film more than the old Spider-Man. A real adventure drama, where you sympathize with the main villain, and a couple of the main actors look nicer than Toby and Dunst. The only thing I didn’t like was the soundtrack - I don’t even remember what kind of music it was.

“Brave” is a beautiful, good, kind cartoon about the search for a golden mean in the relationships between generations. True, there are not enough adventures, and the soundtrack is weak.

"Magic Mike" - the film is billed as an incendiary comedy, but in fact it is a boring melodrama. However, the dance numbers are good, and Matthew McConaughey is surprisingly wonderful as the owner of the strip club.

Rock of Ages - I'm a fan of musicals and rock, so I'm excited! I wrote a review here, and there you can listen to how he sings... Tom Cruise -
http://borubo.ru/index.php/2012/06/rok-na-veka-adama-shenkmana/#more-1920

I read that Katie filed for divorce from Tom - they say that he is a despot and a tyrant, did not allow her to star in new films and wanted to send her daughter Suri to a Scientology school. I wonder if he tied her to a chair?

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In the Internet:

“Game of Thrones” - I’ve heard a lot about this series (2 seasons of 10 episodes each have been filmed so far), its rating on Kinopoisk is high. The film turned out to be really fascinating and extremely tough and frank - I do not recommend it for children under 16. This is something like the story of the War of the White and Scarlet Roses in a light fantasy treatment. Politics, intrigue, love, war. Actually, from fantasy there are only Shadows, Others and Dragons (occasionally). It's a pity for wolves and ravens - people treat them unfairly.

Sean Bean and his Eddard Strack are wonderful. It's a pity that in almost all films Sean Bean is killed. IN Lately Sean looks a little tired and shabby, they say he drinks too much. Eh, there used to be one like this sexy man. I would take an example from Tom Cruise - he looks 10 years younger and plays sports.
My favorite characters in Game of Thrones are Daenerys (the blonde), Lord Stark and his daughter Arya.

“Lollipop” - at one time this film was actively discussed, but I only watched it now. The film is provocative, controversial, with only two actors on the screen. But it's exciting and interesting. True, the ending is stupid, and in general it’s absurd - a Terminator girl. And the plot is this: a teenage girl decides to make fun of her pedophile uncle... There are also older films on the theme of victim and executioner, for example, “The Virgin and Death” by Polanski.

“The Girl and the Little Fox” - (France, 2007) - I recommend it to all nature lovers. Nowadays this is rarely filmed, and I’m afraid children are reluctant to watch such things. It's a pity, this is a worthwhile film, deep, dramatic. A bright, beautiful, kind movie that immersed me in pleasant memories - as a child I also ran through the forests. Only I didn’t get lost in the caves. It’s great that the girl in the film understood an important thing - if you love, don’t strive to possess.

As for foxes, it is not difficult to tame cubs; some even keep them at home. But then you can’t return them to the forest - they will die. Adult foxes are difficult to tame, but some come to the dachas and take the chicken right from your hands.

Interestingly, at the Novosibirsk Institute of Cytology and Genetics you can buy truly domestic foxes - http://myfoxcub.ru/gallery.html
I saw a story about them. These foxes have been selected for years on the principle of “the kindest and most tame.” As a result, we got a pure line of absolutely domestic foxes - they never bite, they can be picked up, they are not dangerous for children, and they get along with dogs and cats.
By the way, domestic fox She becomes very attached to her owner, and if he wants to return her to the farm, it will be stressful.

Butterflies got their name “bear” from the appearance of their caterpillars, whose bodies are covered with dark, long hairs. These caterpillars are really appearance They look like little bear cubs.

Dipper butterflies are perfectly protected from enemies: their blood is poisonous and bitter, and in addition, the bear has a frightening coloring. Caterpillars are also well protected; in addition to poisonous blood, they have poisonous hairs that provoke a severe allergic reaction in people.

Ursa butterflies come in medium to large sizes. As a rule, they are variegated and brightly colored. Their front wings are triangular in shape, wide and elongated. The wings are decorated with a pattern of stripes, lines and spots. The hind wings are not so variegated, yellow, red and Pink colour. When the bear is in a calm state, her wings fold into a house.

Their body is thick and completely covered with hairs. The legs are hairy and short. The antennae are comb-like.

Lifestyle of a bear

Bears live all over the world. There are about 11 thousand species of these butterflies. About 60 species live in the European part of our country.

These butterflies are mainly nocturnal or twilight image life, but certain species fly during the day, for example, the plantain bear. Oral apparatus these butterflies are not developed, so they do not feed throughout their lives.

Bear caterpillars are polyphagous; they eat many shrubs and herbaceous plants, and they also damage numerous trees.

Before pupating, the caterpillar weaves a silky, loose cocoon. She braids the falling hairs into the walls of the cocoon. Inside the cocoon, the bear's pupae are motionless.

Lady Bear

One of the notable representatives of the family in middle lane is the lady bear. The wingspan of the butterfly reaches 55 millimeters. The hind wings of the lady bear are yellow or bright red.

These butterflies live in shady, damp places. They meet from June to July. Their habitats are ravines, rivers, forest clearings. The caterpillars eat the leaves of bushes and herbaceous plants, such as willow, blackberries and raspberries. The caterpillars spend the winter in the soil and pupate in the spring.

Kaya bear

Another widespread group of bears is the Kaya bear. These butterflies are very beautiful, and they are one of the largest in Russia, their wingspan reaches 80 millimeters.

The female bear kaya has coffee-brown forewings with white bands. The red hind wings have large black peas with a blue tint.

Kaya bears are found in late summer. The caterpillars are black and hairy. They appear in the fall and spend the winter. These caterpillars have a very thick covering of hairs, thanks to which they resemble furry animals. In times of danger, the caterpillar takes a protective position: it curls into a ring, thus protecting all its vital organs, and the body is reliably protected from enemies by thick poisonous hairs. When the caterpillars pupate, they hide under fallen trunks and stones and weave their cocoons there.

Hebe the Bear

The she-bear Hebe lives in the steppe zone of our country. The wingspan of this butterfly reaches 55 millimeters. Their forewings are light, have black spots at the outer edge, and in the center there are 3 narrow black bands. The hind wings are reddish with black spots. These are night butterflies. They fly from May to July.

Most species of this family are unusually variegated and beautifully colored. There are almost no halftones here - the combination of black, white, yellow, red spots and stripes gives these butterflies a unique look. Butterflies are usually medium-sized or large. Lead night look

life, although some species are active during the day. The caterpillars of most species are covered with dense hairs resembling fur, which perhaps explains the name of the family. Caterpillars of almost all species feed on herbaceous plants. They pupate more often in a loose cocoon. Three species of Crimean bears are listed in the Red Book of the USSR (1984).

One species, the American white butterfly, is a dangerous pest.

URSA STRIPED

Spiris striata L.
Bober (1793), Melioransky (1897), Efetov, Budashkin (1987). Wingspan 32 - 38 mm. Sexual dimorphism is pronounced: males are brighter in color, the wing pattern is clearer. The proboscis is poorly developed. The range covers Europe and Asia Minor. In the USSR, distributed in the European part, Kazakhstan,
Southern Siberia
, Yakutia.
In Crimea it is found everywhere with the exception of the eastern part of the Southern Coast. Common in foothill forest-steppe.

Gives two generations: I - May - June, II - August - September.

The caterpillar feeds on plantain, wormwood and other herbaceous plants; hibernates.

URSA RETICAL
Coscinia cribraria L. Bober (1793). Wingspan 38 - 43 mm. Found in
Western Europe
, Asia Minor, North Africa. In the USSR - in the European part, in the Caucasus, in Siberia, in the Far East.
Mentioned for Crimea only in the work of Bober (Bober, 1793) from the Belogorsk region (“Karas Basar”).

In the European part of the USSR, butterflies fly in June - July.

The caterpillar lives on plantain, cereals and other herbaceous plants; hibernates.

URSA SPOT

Utetheisa pulchella L. Grumm Grzhimailo (1882), Melioransky (1897), Dyakonov (1958), Efetov, Budashkin (1987), Kryukova et al. (1988). Translated from
Latin language
The species name of the black bear means "pretty". The wingspan is 32 - 45 mm. The proboscis is developed. The species is cosmopolitan, distributed in the tropical and temperate zones of both hemispheres. In the USSR - in the south of the European part, the Caucasus, in
Central Asia , in the south of Kazakhstan. In Crimea, finds are known from Evpatoria, Sevastopol, Simferopol, Feodosia, Kerch, Miskhor, Gurzuf. However, they all refer to end of the 19th century- first half of the 20th century Most
late date
The caterpillar feeds on forget-me-not, blueberry, heliotrope, plantain and other herbaceous plants; hibernates.
Listed in the Red Book of the USSR (1984).

URSA KAYA

Arctia caja L.

“List of harmful insects...” (1932), Gornostaev (1970), Efetov, Budashkin (1987).

Wingspan 47 - 80 mm. The proboscis is poorly developed. The color of a butterfly can vary greatly.
Distributed from Western Europe to Japan and North America (circumtemperature range). In the USSR it is found almost everywhere (except for the Far North). An interesting fact is that this is widespread and almost everywhere normal look quite rare in Crimea. Three specimens of this species from Crimea are kept in the collection of the Zoological Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Leningrad. Butterflies were caught in the area of the Angara Pass and on Mount Agarmysh (dates unknown). The above materials probably served as the factual basis for mentioning the species for the Crimea ("List of harmful insects of the USSR and adjacent countries", 1932; Gornostaev, 1970). In 1988, 12 specimens of the female bear kaya were collected in Crimea by V. Sinyaev: “Ai-Petrinskaya yayla, At-Bash, 10 males, 1 female born on 08/13/88” and “near Simeiz, Mount Koshka female 08/17/88”.
Flight of butterflies in the European part of the USSR in June - August.
The caterpillar feeds on many herbaceous plants and is also found on raspberries, apple trees, pears, and plums. The caterpillar hibernates.

RURAL BEAR

Arctia villica L.

Grumm Grzhimailo (1882), Melioransky (1897), Lebedev (1913), “List of harmful insects...” (1932), Efetov, Budashkin (1987), Budashkin (1987).

Wingspan 50 - 60 mm. The proboscis is weakly expressed.
Distributed in Southern and Central Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa. In the USSR - in the European part, in the Caucasus, Kazakhstan, South-Western Siberia.
Found everywhere in Crimea, mass appearance. In the Kara-Dag Nature Reserve, a population of 108 specimens per light trap per night was registered.
Gives one generation per year in April - July.
The caterpillar feeds on plantain, dandelion, yarrow, jasmine, strawberry and other herbaceous plants. It can damage the leaves of apple, pear, and raspberry trees, but does not cause significant harm. The caterpillar hibernates.

URSA HEBE

Ammobiota festiva Hfn. (=hebe L.)

"List of harmful insects..." (1932), Gornostaev (1970), Efetov, Budashkin (1987), Budashkin (1987)

Hebe in ancient Greek mythology is the daughter of Zeus and Hera, the goddess of youth, the heavenly wife of Hercules.
The butterfly has a wingspan of 45 - 57 mm. The proboscis is not developed.
Distributed in the Middle and Southern Europe. In the USSR - in the south of the European part, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Southern Siberia.
In Crimea it is found everywhere, except in mountain forests. The species is not rare.
Flies in April - May. There are isolated finds in July - August.
The caterpillar feeds on dandelion, yarrow, milkweed and other herbaceous plants; hibernates.

HAIRY BEAR

Ocnogyna parasita Hb.

Budashkin, Efetov (1986),

Males have a wingspan of 32 - 36 mm, females have shortened wings - 22 - 24 mm. The proboscis is not developed.
Distributed in Southern Europe and Asia Minor. In the USSR - in Moldova, Crimea and the Caucasus.
In Crimea there are finds from Simferopol, Sevastopol, Sudak, and the Karadag Nature Reserve. According to observations in the Karadag Nature Reserve, the abundance of the species is consistently high and reaches several dozen specimens per light trap per night.
Gives one generation per year in February - April (one of the earliest butterflies of the peninsula).
The caterpillar feeds on cereals, nettles, scabiosis, poultry grass, Crimean kopeks and other herbaceous plants.

The pupa overwinters in a fairly dense cocoon.

MEADOW BEAR

Diacrisia sannio L. (= russula L.)

Melioransky (1897), Efetov, Budashkin (1987), Budashkin (1987).
"Sannio" translated from Latin means "jester", "buffoon", "clown".
The butterfly apparently owes its name to its variegated coloration.
The meadow bear has pronounced sexual dimorphism. Males are distinguished by their larger sizes (wingspan 40 - 48 mm, while in females 32 - 42 mm) and lighter coloration of the wings.
Distributed in Europe. In the USSR - in the European part, in the Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Siberia.
In Crimea, the species is common in mountain forests, foothill forest-steppe, and on yailas. Very rare in the eastern part of the South Coast.

It produces two generations per year: I - May - June, II - July - September.

The caterpillar lives on nettles, bedstraw, dandelion, plantain and other herbaceous plants; hibernates.

PURPLE DURSE
Rhyparia purpurata L.
Wingspan 39 - 45 mm.
Distributed in Western Europe, Asia Minor, Korea and Japan. In the USSR it is found in the European part, the Caucasus, Siberia, and the Far East.
One male of this species was found in Crimea: “Mount Ai-Petri, born July 27, 1989, V. Kornilov, Yu. Budashkin.”

In the European part of the USSR, the butterfly flies in June - July.

The caterpillar feeds on bedstraw, wormwood, plantain, yarrow and other herbs, less often on willow, oak, birch, apple trees, and can eat up grape buds. The caterpillar hibernates.

Efetov, Budashkin (1987), Budashkin (1987), “Pests of agricultural crops...” (1988).

Wingspan 20 - 40 mm. The proboscis is reduced. There are two forms of butterflies - with pure white wings and with white wings with less or more numerous black spots.
The homeland of this species is North America, from where it was accidentally brought to Europe with cargo. On August 5, 1940, the butterfly was found in the vicinity of Budapest. From that moment on, the non-stop march of this pest across the European continent began. In the USSR, the American white butterfly was first recorded in 1952 in the Transcarpathian region. Then it spread to Moldova, Odessa, Kherson, Nikolaev, Zaporozhye regions.
It was first discovered in Crimea in 1969. Currently, it is a widespread species on the peninsula and is found everywhere (there are no finds only on the Yaila).
It produces two generations per year: I - May - June, II - July - August.
One female can lay up to 2000 eggs. Young caterpillars live in colonies, forming large web nests. They damage up to 200 species of trees and shrubs, including apple, pear, plum, cherry, sweet cherry, quince, mulberry, Walnut, maple, linden, oak, ash, many other hardwoods. Is the most dangerous pest agriculture and forestry.

The pupae overwinter.

URSA YELLOW

Spilarctia lutea Hfn. (= lubricipeda auct).

Grumm Grzhimailo (1882), “List of harmful insects...” (1932), Gornostaev (1970), Efetov, Budashkin (1987).
Wingspan 35 - 40 mm. The proboscis is poorly developed.
The species is widespread in the Palearctic. In the USSR it is found in the European part, Siberia, and the Far East.
In Crimea, the yellow bear is common in the foothill forest-steppe, mountain forests, and on the southern coast.

At night it flies well into the light. The butterfly is found in May - August. The caterpillar feeds on nettles, bedstraw, dandelion, and other herbs. The pupa overwinters.

DURSE MINT

Spilosoma lubricipeda L. (= menthastri Esp.)

Efetov, Budashkin (1987), Budashkin (1987).
Wingspan 35 - 42 mm. The proboscis is poorly developed.
Widely distributed in the Palearctic. In the USSR it is found in the European part, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Siberia, and the Far East. In Crimea, this species, common in other areas, is extremely rare. We noted two specimens that came to light in the Golden Field of the Kirov region and one in the Karadag Nature Reserve (on July 3 and August 18, respectively). In the collection of Simferopol state university
there is one specimen from Simferopol, caught on May 25.
In the south of the European part, the caterpillar feeds on mint, nettle, sorrel and other herbs. The pupa overwinters.

Ursa Nettle

Spilosoma urticae Esp.

Spilosoma lubricipeda L. (= menthastri Esp.)

Wingspan 32 - 45 mm. The proboscis is reduced.
Very similar to the previous view. The differences are as follows: firstly, as a rule, the mint bear has black dots on the front wings more numerous than the nettle bear, and secondly, the mint bear has a black antennae, while the nettle bear has a white antennae.
Distributed in Europe. In the USSR - in the European part, in the Caucasus, in Central Asia, Siberia, in the Far East.
In Crimea it is found everywhere, except for mountain forests and yayls. The species is common, rare on the South Coast. At night it flies into the light.
The butterfly appears in April, the last specimens can be found in August (probably two generations).
The caterpillar feeds on nettles, sorrel and other herbaceous plants. The pupa overwinters.

BEAR BEGAN

Diaphora mendica Cl.

Spilosoma lubricipeda L. (= menthastri Esp.)

Wingspan 27 - 35 mm. Sexual dimorphism is pronounced: in males the wings and body are brown-gray, in females they are white. The proboscis is poorly developed.
Distributed in Western Europe, Asia Minor. In the USSR - in the European part, in the Caucasus, in Western Siberia.
The species is not rare in Crimea; it is found everywhere. Butterflies fly well into the light mainly in the evening and early morning.
Gives one generation per year in April - June.
The caterpillar feeds on lettuce, sorrel, forget-me-not, plantain, nettle, and other herbs. The pupa overwinters in a sparse cocoon.

BROWN BEAR

Phragmatobia fuliginosa L.

Kozhanchikov, Danilevsky, Dyakonov (1955), Gornostaev (1970), Efetov, Budashkin (1987), Budashkin (1987).

Wingspan 32 - 38 mm.
Widely distributed in the Palearctic. In the USSR - in the European part, in the Caucasus, Central Asia, Siberia.
In Crimea, the species is common and found everywhere. Butterflies are active at night and often fly to the light.
It produces two generations a year: I - March - May, II - June-August.
The caterpillar feeds on cereals, sorrel, forget-me-not, bedstraw, lettuce and other herbs. The caterpillar hibernates.

CALM URSA BEAR

Phragmatobia placida Friv.

Kostyuk, Ivy (1987).

Wingspan 34 - 38 mm. The proboscis is not developed. Previously considered a subspecies of the brown bear. Recently it has emerged as an independent species.
It differs from the brown bear by the presence on the front wing next to a black spot closer to leading edge red dot.
Distributed in Bulgaria, Bosnia, Asia Minor. In the USSR - in Crimea, Transcaucasia, Central Asia.
In Crimea, found on Karabi-yayla (on June 9, 1986, five males were collected by I. Yu. Kostyuk during light catching).
There is no information on the biology of the species in Crimea.

SPOTTED URSA

Chelis maculosa Gern.

The butterfly has a wingspan of 30 - 35 mm. The proboscis is poorly developed.
Found in central and southern Europe. The subspecies Chelis maculosa mannerheimi Dup. is known on the territory of the USSR, differing from the nominative subspecies by a well-defined marginal row of spots on the fore wings. Recorded in the south of the European part, the North Caucasus, Southern Urals, Northern Kazakhstan, Southern Siberia.
In Crimea there are finds from Simferopol, the village of Dobroye, Sevastopol, Nizhnegorsk, Feodosia, Sudak, and the Karadag Reserve.
The species is rare on the peninsula.
In Crimea, butterflies fly from May to June and from July to September.
The caterpillar feeds on bedstraw and other herbaceous plants; hibernates.

PURE URSA

Watsonarctia deserta Bart. (= casta Esp.)

Grumm Grzhimailo (1882).

The butterfly has a wingspan of 29 - 33 mm, the proboscis is reduced.
Distributed in Central and Southern Europe, Asia Minor. In the USSR - in the European part, in the Caucasus, in Eastern Kazakhstan, Southern Siberia.
There is no material from the territory of Crimea. There is only one indication from Grumm Grzhimailo about the capture of three caterpillars of this species on ivy in the southern coastal part of the peninsula. However, he failed to breed the butterflies. The author himself considered the definition dubious. To prove the presence of the species in Crimea, new findings are needed.
In the European part of the USSR, the species develops in one generation per year. Flight of butterflies in May.
The caterpillar feeds on bedstraw and other herbaceous plants. The pupa overwinters.

LADY BEAR

Callimorpha dominula L.

Melioransky (1897), Dyakonov (1958), Efetov, Budashkin (1987), Kryukova et al. (1988).

Wingspan 45 - 55 mm. The butterfly often feeds on flowers during the day and occasionally flies into the light at night.
Distributed in Europe and Asia Minor. On the territory of the USSR - in the European part, in the Caucasus.
In Crimea, the species is rare and local. Most of the finds (8 specimens) belong to the territory of the Crimean hunting reserve: Babugan-yayla, its northern slopes, Mount Chuchel. V. Melioransky (1897) was discovered on Mount Castel. The collection of Simferopol State University contains a copy from the outskirts of the village of Bogatoye. We discovered the species in the area of the Angarsk Pass. - "08/3/1985 K. Efetov."
Gives one generation per year in July - August.
The caterpillar feeds on nettles, strawberries, forget-me-nots, blackberries, raspberries, willows, and poplars; hibernates.
Listed in the Red Book of the USSR (1984). Protected on the territory of the Crimean Game Reserve.

URSA HERA

Euplagia quadripunctaria Poda (= hera L.)

Grumm Grzhimailo (1882), Melioransky (1897), Vuchetich (1917), Kuznetsov (1926), “List of harmful insects...” (1932), Kozhanchikov, Danilevssy, Dyakonov (1955), Dyakonov (1958), Gornostaev ( 1970), “Pests of agricultural crops...” (1974), Efetov, Budashkin (1987), Budashkin (1987), Kryukova et al. (1988), Gusev (1989).

Hera in ancient Greek mythology is the eldest daughter of Cronus and Rhea, sister and wife of Zeus, queen of the gods, mistress of the forces of nature, patroness of marriage and conjugal love.
The she-bear Hera has a wingspan of 50 - 55 mm. The butterfly feeds on flowers during the day and often flies to the light at night.
Distributed in Europe, Asia Minor, Iran, Syria. In the USSR - in the central and southern regions of the European part, in the Caucasus, in Turkmenistan (Kopet Dag).
In Crimea, the species is found in all natural areas, common, gravitates towards bushes, open woodlands, and dry forests.
Gives one generation per year in June - August.
The caterpillar feeds on plantain, clover, gorse, honeysuckle willowherb, hazel, raspberries, blackberries, as well as oak and beech.
The caterpillar hibernates.

Listed in the Red Book of the USSR (1984). But in Crimea it has a consistently high population and a non-shrinking range.

BLOODY BEAR

Turia jacobaeae L.

Melioransky (1897), Vuchetich (1917), Efetov, Budashkin (1987), Budashkin (1987).
Males have a wingspan of 37 - 39 mm, females 30 - 33 mm. The proboscis is poorly developed.
Distributed in Europe. In the USSR - in the European part, in the Caucasus, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Southern Siberia.
In Crimea it is found in the steppe, foothill forest-steppe, and on the southern coast. Common.

Gives one generation per year in April - June. The caterpillar feeds on poisonous meadow ragwort (Senecio jacobaea L.).

The pupa overwinters in a thin cocoon.

The family owes its name to caterpillars whose bodies are covered with long, dark brown hairs so thick that they appear to be dressed in bearskin. Most caterpillars of these butterflies have hairs collected in tufts-tassels, sitting on special protrusions-warts. This “fur coat” protects the bear caterpillars from enemies. Caterpillars lead a relatively secretive lifestyle, feeding mainly on herbs, while lichen bears have switched to feeding on mosses or lichens growing on tree trunks.

Dippers are medium to large sized butterflies with a plump body. Large species of this family are very brightly and variegatedly colored, but many smaller species are gray and inconspicuous. The front wings are triangular in shape, the hind wings are smaller. Almost all female bears lead an evening and nocturnal lifestyle. Let's meet some of the most interesting views closer.

Kaya bear

One of the most famous representatives of the family is the female bear (Arctia caja). Its habitat includes Europe, Asia and North America. This species is common in central Russia, as well as in Siberia and the Far East. The wingspan of kaya is 6-7 cm. The upper side of the wings is colored in brown and white shades and has an irregular winding pattern, the hind wings are red-orange, with round black or blue spots.

The kaya's proboscis is underdeveloped, so it does not feed throughout its short life.

Ursa Hera

The bear, named after the wife of Zeus, the goddess Hera, is easily recognized by three oblique light lines on the front wings and black spots on the red hind wings. The Hera bear (Euplagia quadripunctaria) lives in Europe (except northern regions) and in Central Asia. Found on forest edges and clearings, among bushes in the area deciduous forests. In terms of flight time, Hera is a late-summer species - these butterflies fly in July and August. Unlike most other bears, Hera flies during the day. The caterpillars of this butterfly hibernate.

Human economic activity is leading to the destruction of hera habitats, and today it has become extremely rare in many places.

This is one of the largest representatives of the family - its wingspan often exceeds 10 cm! The species surprises not only with its size, but also with its way of life - the Trans-Caspian gloomy bears (Axiopoena maura) prefer to live among rocks and in caves! It is also unusual that the caterpillars of this species live very far from caves in mixed-grass steppes.

There is this amazing butterfly in India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Transcaucasia and Turkmenistan.

Lady bear

The lady bear (Callimorpha dominula), unlike the previous species, cannot boast large sizes(her wingspan is only 4.5-5 cm), but she is very beautiful. The front wings are colored in dark shades with light spots, the hind wings are orange or bright red with dark spots.

The lady bear is widespread in Central and Southern Europe, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. Prefers damp and open places - clearings, grassy slopes, ravines, clearings of broad-leaved forests.

Dipper black and yellow

This is a large bear (Epbestris melfntba), up to 7 cm in wingspan, lives in tropical forests Colombia and Brazil, as well as in the equatorial regions South America. The wings and abdomen of the butterfly are bright, but not variegated, and instead of the usual numerous spots, they are simply painted in two colors - black and golden yellow. After all, the Greek word melfntba means “black-golden-yellow.”

The red-spotted bear (Utetheisa pulchella) is a relatively small species, found in southern Europe, Africa, Central and South Asia. It got its name from the bright pattern on its wings. This one is pretty rare view mainly found in grasslands.

Purple Dipper

The purple bear (Rhyparia purpurata) is found in Europe and Asian regions from temperate climate. Settles on dry heather heaths and sandy soils. Its wingspan is 3-4.5 cm. The front wings are yellow, with individual brownish spots, the hind wings are orange-red.

Ursa is fast

The quick dipper (Spilarctia luteum) is widespread from North Africa, through Europe to East Asia. Prefers raw mixed and pine forests. White wings with small black dots span 4-5 cm.These bears fly in June and July during the daytime.

In contact with

An Indonesian posted on his Facebook a video of a strange-looking creature that looked like a hybrid of a moth and a spider with furry legs. Commentators write that they would rather burn down their house than be near this creature. True, it turned out that this is not a monster from another planet, but the very common insect before mating.

An Indonesian resident, who calls himself Gandhik on Facebook, tickled the nerves of his subscribers by sharing on Facebook a photo of a strange creature that looked like a butterfly from another planet.

After seeing the picture, people did not understand why this creature was still not on fire. Although, as the experience of a woman from Kansas shows, this is true.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS AND WHY IS IT STILL NOT BURNING?”

“OH GOD NO, I WILL BURN THE WHOLE COUNTRY WHEN I SEE THIS CREATION.”

People did not understand what kind of creature was in front of them, but they guessed that it was a hybrid of a spider and a moth. Or moths with caterpillars. Most people didn't want to face him anyway.

“I’d rather be dragged into hell than face this.”

“I’ll have to be revived if I step on this.”

For those who have very strong nerves, there was also a recording attached to the post where a mysterious creature moves its paws.

The video captured a bear butterfly (in Latin the name sounds like Creatonotos gangis). According to the Daily Mail, such hairy legs on these insects cannot always be seen, but only during the mating period.

With the help of these tubes - coremates filled with blood or air - male butterflies secrete pheromones. The hairs, of which there are about 3 thousand on each tube, help distribute these odors.

The size of the coremates depends on how many leaves the male ate poisonous plants when I was a caterpillar.

But even when Facebook users found out what kind of creature was in front of them, their sympathy for him did not increase.

“Yes, it’s worse than a spider.”

"It's horrible!!! Why does this exist?!!! I would leave wherever it was and never return.”

Such butterflies are found in Asia and Australia, and now people doubt whether to go to this country. After all, there you can still stumble upon fluffy spiders, which at first glance.

“Look, honey, this is why we don’t have to go to Australia.”

But it’s not only insects that Internet users have nightmares about; spiders and bear butterflies may well give a head start to sea creatures. This fisherman from Murmansk regularly posts photos, and subscribers can’t tear themselves away from them.