What kind of animal is the black caterpillar? Wine and lime hawkmoths: history of pupation

The family of hawk moths (Sphingidae) unites large butterflies with a thick body, a fusiform body shape, narrow elongated fore wings and relatively short hind wings. There are about 1,300 species of hawk moths known in the world, and in Russia there are about 30 species.

These butterflies have powerful, fast flight and a very long proboscis: they drink nectar on the fly, hovering over a flower. Such a fluttering (standing) flight is considered the most difficult, the most aerobatics, and besides hawk moths, only some flies and bees possess it. By the way, often this way of feeding hawk moths leads to the fact that they actually steal the nectar: ​​after all, the pollen does not fall on the insect, which has not even landed on the flower, and the flower does not receive any benefit from such an action. The tropical hawk moth has the longest proboscis Macrosila morgani- 35 cm. This “trunk” is used specifically for pollinating an orchid whose corolla depth reaches 30 cm.

Hawk moths are nocturnal moths and feed at dusk and at night. Their eyes are designed in a special way to see better in dim light. At the same time, hawk moths have rather complex foraging behavior. Honeysuckle bumblebee route Hemaris fuciformis is not accidental: the butterfly flies in a straight line, stopping on average every second resin inflorescence. The hawk moth examines the inflorescence, starting with the lower flowers. Selectively examining the flowers, the butterfly checks whether there is nectar in a given inflorescence - there is little nectar in resinous flowers, and any pollinator drinks the flower dry, but in the meantime there will be enough nectar... So the hawk moth checks whether they left him another glass or is already here Someone ate it and we need to look for another inflorescence.

The caterpillars are large, naked, with a horn on the “tail”. Many hawkmoth caterpillars have a special dismembering coloring: they have oblique light stripes running across a gray or green background, which divide the caterpillar’s ​​body into segments. Hawkmoth pupae overwinter in the soil.

The death's head is a very rare butterfly for Russia; it only occasionally flies from the south to temperate latitudes. You can meet her in the evening at the apiary, because the death's head robs the bees. It approaches the honeycombs, pierces the cells with its strong proboscis and sucks the honey. She has strong integument, and the crush of bees does not frighten her, although it happens that bees sting a robber to death. The death's head draws in and pushes out air through its proboscis (it's impossible to say inhaling and exhaling: insects breathe through tracheas!) - and squeaks. This is the only insect that emits sound through its mouth! With its squeak, the death's head tries to avoid punishment for robbery: it is believed that it makes sounds similar to the squeak of a queen bee, so that the angry workers recognize the royal person and do not touch him. Something like a drunken person shouting at the police station: “I am a member of the State Duma!” But not only butterflies make sounds, but also caterpillars and pupae. Why is unclear.

We are used to grasshoppers and cicadas singing, but butterflies seem to us to be silent creatures. However, sometimes lepidopterans also make sounds: some butterflies have vibrating membranes that allow them to “squeak” quite loudly. And butterflies hear with completely different “ears,” which is evidence of the independent development of sound and auditory organs in different butterflies. For example, hawk moths, unlike other butterflies, hear with their heads. Others - some with their belly, some with their chest, some with their wings, and in hawk moths there are external “ears” on the mouth palps, and in the head there are internal, sensitive ones. nerve cells. As we remember, the fact that a dead head “speaks” through its mouth is completely unique ability. It's so original to hear with your head... speak with your mouth...

The death's head is colored in accordance with its name: the body is black and yellow, and on its chest there is a pattern resembling a skull and crossbones. The wingspan is up to 12 cm. Relatives of this butterfly live in the tropics. The death's head species is included in the Red Book.

Common among us lilac hawkmoth Sphinx ligustri. Like many hawk moths, its wings are colored at the same time protectively and warningly: the upper ones are inconspicuous and faded, and the lower ones are bright. Hawkmoth caterpillars often pretend to be branches and twigs of trees, and sometimes scare away with a “scary” appearance: some even copy snakes, inflating their chests, on which large eyes are drawn. Their horn at the rear end of the body is apparently intended to misinform the enemy: he believes. That the head is where the horn is, and grabs the caterpillar there, and it escapes, escaping with the loss of the back part of the body. Our hawk moths overwinter with pupae, which, by the way, also have a horn at the rear end.

Hawkmoth caterpillars feed on plant leaves, but this is not as easy as it might seem. Caterpillars of the North American hawk moth Erinyis allo feed on milkweed. To protect against leaf-eating insects, this plant is overgrown with stinging hairs, and sticky juice is released from the damaged leaves - in short, you can’t really eat such a protected plant. Local residents, by the way, call this spurge “evil woman.” However, the hawkmoth caterpillar, having approached the leaf and sitting on its petiole, carefully touches the leaf and thus “discharges” the stinging hairs. Then she bites through the petiole in several places, causing the release of sticky juice from the leaf to sharply decrease - the “evil woman” is disarmed, the leaf can be safely eaten.

Hawk moths are very different from all other butterflies. These are plump, furry animals with bear-like muzzles, feathered antennae and long, strong wings like a jet plane.

You can see them flying at night; during the day they usually sleep. It’s cool if you’re lucky enough to find a hawk moth sleeping under a leaf during the day - they’re so sleepy that you can pick them up and squeeze them.

They have a very long proboscis, often longer than the body itself. Hawkmoths do not sit on flowers, but drink nectar, hovering in front of flowers like hummingbirds. At the same time, they flap their wings very quickly.

Hawkmoths fly faster than all other butterflies - at a speed of up to 50 km/h. Those. they can easily overtake the bus.

The famous death's head butterfly is also a hawk moth. She is amazing not only for her design, which frightens the superstitious, but also because she can squeak loudly. For a long time, scientists could not understand why it beeps. It was suggested that with such sounds she imitates the squeak of recently hatched queen bees. She loves to climb into hives and eat honey there. And so that worker bees do not bite her, she pretends to be a queen with the help of such a squeak.
Then it turned out that she confuses the bees not with sounds, but with special chemicals. It releases these substances to smell just like bees. They decided that it squeaks to scare away other enemies.
But I think she squeaks simply because she likes it that way :)

Hawkmoths also have cool, big, thick caterpillars. They are easy to distinguish from other species of caterpillars because they all have horns on their tails. The euphorbia hawkmoth caterpillar - like the yellow and red one in the second picture - lived in my jar.

Now tell me, do you feel horror when you read this:

"Large or average size butterflies, with a powerful body, often cone-shaped, pointed at the end, and narrow, elongated wings. Wingspan 30 - 175 mm. In most species, the antennae are 80 - 100 mm long, fusiform, usually with a pointed and hook-shaped apex. The eyes are round, naked, often covered on top with a tuft of elongated scales. The proboscis is usually very long, several times longer than the body, less often short, sometimes reduced. The labial palps are well developed, curved upward, densely covered with scales on the outer side, usually devoid of scaly cover on the inner side. The tarsi bear several rows of short, strong spines. The abdomen is covered with adjacent scales, collected at the end in the form of a brush or wide brush. The fore wings are more than 2 times longer than their width, with a pointed apex. Their outer edge is smooth or carved, with deep notches between the veins, strongly beveled towards the rear edge, sometimes rounded. The hind wings are usually 1.5 times longer than wide, noticeably sloping towards the posterior margin, with a shallow notch along the outer margin in front of the anal angle. The hook is usually well developed, sometimes rudimentary."

Structure

Caterpillar body structure

	head breast abdomen body segment abdominal (false) legs spiracle (stigma) pectoral (true) legs mandibles
The general structure of the body of a caterpillar, as an example Macroglossum stellatarum.		Caterpillar body structure

Head

The head is formed by a dense capsule fused from six segments. Often, areas of the head are conventionally identified, occupying a relatively small area between the forehead and eyes, called the cheeks. On the underside of the head is the foramen magnum, which in most cases is heart-shaped.

Based on the position of the head relative to the body, it is customary to distinguish the following types:

• orthognathic- the longitudinal axis of the head is located more or less perpendicular to the axis of the body, the oral organs are directed downward. This type is characteristic of almost all large caterpillars that live openly on plants (club lepidoptera, hawkmoths, corydalis, cocoon moths, bears and others).
• prognathic,- the longitudinal axis of the head coincides with the axis of the body, the oral organs are directed forward. This type of head arose as an adaptation to a mining lifestyle. It is typical for Eriocraniidae, Stigmellidae, Phyllocnistidae and a number of other families. The head of this type is strongly flattened and is distinguished by the absence of a parietal suture. General form The heads are usually heart-shaped.
• semiprognathic- occupies an intermediate position between the first two types, characteristic of secretive caterpillars.

Caterpillar jaws

The typical head shape is round. Sometimes it can undergo changes - acquire triangular (many hawk moths), rectangular ( Catocala) or heart-shaped. The frontal surface becomes flat or even depressed. The parietal apices can protrude significantly above the surface of the body, sometimes turning into large horns or outgrowths ( Apatura, Charaxes) .

The eyes are represented by separate ocelli located on the sides of the head. They lie close to the oral organs and in most cases are located in the form of an arched row of five simple ocelli and one standing inside this arch. In some cases, their primitiveness or, conversely, specialization is observed. So, the New Zealand caterpillar Sabatina the eyes consist of five simple ocelli fused to form a compound eye.

The antennae are short and three-segmented. They are located on the sides of the head, between the eyes and upper jaws in the so-called antennal cavity. In some cases, the antennae undergo reduction - the number of segments decreases.

The upper jaws, or mandibles, are always well developed and represent highly sclerotized, strong formations that vary significantly in shape. Gnawing type. The apical edge of the mandibles usually bears teeth used for biting or cutting food. On inner edge Sometimes there are tubercles that serve for chewing food. The lower jaws (maxilla) and lower lip (labium) are fused, like in many other insects with complete transformation, into a single labio-maxillary complex. Salivary glands modified into silk separators.

Chest and abdomen

The body of the caterpillar, possessing extreme mobility, is enclosed in a soft membranous cover. The sclerotized areas are the tergites of the prothorax and the 10th abdominal segment. Each caterpillar segment can be divided into a number of secondary rings, separated by grooves, which are in no way different in appearance from the actual boundaries of the segments.

The pronotum (prothoracic shield) very rarely occupies the entire tergite, and in most caterpillars a small sclerite is separated from it, located in front of the spiracle (stigma), called the prestigmal shield, on which setae IV, V and VI sit. The meso- and metanotum are never completely sclerotized, and their lateral sections are always divided into several separate sclerites. The tergites of the abdominal segments are always divided into several sclerites associated with the primary setae and usually corresponding to their number.

The anus on the last segment is surrounded by 4 lobes. Not all of these lobes can be well developed at the same time. The upper one, the supranal lobe, hangs over the anus. The lower, sub-anal lobe is often presented in the form of a thick conical fleshy lobe; a pair of lateral or anal lobes - paraprocts - are usually well developed in moths and corydalis in the form of rather large outgrowths with setae at the end.

Almost all caterpillars belong to the group with one closed stigma (spiracle) on the chest. The exception is certain species leading an aquatic lifestyle. Their stigmata are closed and are replaced by tracheal gills.

The chest bears only one open, functioning stigma. The second reduced spiracle is located between the mesothorax and metathorax. The thoracic spiracles are usually larger than the abdominal ones. The abdomen on segments 1-8 bears eight pairs of stigmas located below the thoracic stigma and more or less in the middle of the segment or somewhat closer to it leading edge. The stigma of the 8th segment is located above the other abdominal segments and is larger than them, while the stigma of the 1st segment, on the contrary, lies somewhat lower than the others. The shape of stigmas can be round or oval.

Limbs

A caterpillar hanging on a silk silk. Three pairs of thoracic and five pairs of abdominal legs are clearly visible.

Most caterpillars have three pairs of thoracic legs (one pair on each chest segment) and five pairs of false abdominal legs on abdominal segments III-VI and X. The abdominal legs bear small hooks, located differently in different groups of Lepidoptera - in the form of a circle, longitudinal or transverse rows. The leg consists of five segments: coxa, trochanter, femur, tibia and tarsus.

The thoracic legs of caterpillars are to some extent reduced in comparison with truly walking legs, and the function of locomotion is carried out mainly by the abdominal legs. At the end of the chest paw there is a claw motionlessly articulated with it, which can have different lengths and shape. The final part of the ventral leg is the sole, which can retract and protrude and bears claws at its distal end.

There are two types of sole structure:

In different groups of butterflies, deviations from the described variant of the arrangement of the legs are described. The best known are moth caterpillars, most of which have only two pairs of abdominal legs (on segments VI and X). As a result, moth caterpillars move as if “walking.” Russian name, like German (German. Spanner) comes from the similarity of the movement of the caterpillar with the movements of the hand of a person measuring length with a span. The Latin name for the moth family is Geometridae(from the Latinized Greek “surveyor”) was also given by him in connection with this feature. It is less known that the abdominal legs can be reduced on abdominal segments III and IV in the caterpillars of some cutworms ( Noctuidae).

Hypsipyla grandela Dangerous pest from Brazil

Some caterpillars have been described to have more than five pairs of abdominal legs. In toothed moths ( Micropterigidae) - eight, megalopygid ( Megalopygidae) - seven (from II to VII and on the X segment), one of the genera of dwarf miner moths ( Stigmella from the family Nepticulidae) - six (from II to VII segments) pairs.

In addition, the legs (both abdominal and thoracic) can be completely reduced in small leaf miners.

Body coverings and their appendages

The body of a caterpillar is almost never completely naked; it is covered with various formations, which can be divided into cuticular outgrowths, hairs and body outgrowths.

Cuticular outgrowths are sculptural elements and small outgrowths of the cuticle: spines, granules, stellate formations, which may have the appearance of small hairs - chaetoids.

Hairs, bristles and their derivatives differ from sculptural elements in their articulation with the cuticle and development due to special cells of the hypodermis. The base of the hair is surrounded by an annular ridge, or the hair is located in a recess. Conventionally, hairs are divided into hairs themselves and bristles, the latter being stronger. The hairs are very different in shape. In most cases, they are presented as thread-like or bristle-like formations.

Body skin outgrowths are formations consisting of skin protrusions and having a cavity inside that communicates with the body cavity. These include tubercles - various formations associated with primary setae. A wart is a protrusion covered with a tuft of bristles or hair; warts can be spherical or, conversely, flattened and oval, often very large, for example, in Lymantriidae. The characteristic outgrowths are represented by spines.

In rare cases, aquatic caterpillars develop tracheal gills on their bodies. They are usually present on all body segments (except for the prothorax and the 10th abdominal segment) in the form of bundles of delicate filaments with trachea entering into them. Stigmas in these cases are closed.

The soft cuticle of caterpillars is folded and does not fit tightly to the body, so they can grow between molts, but only until the cuticle folds stretch and the caterpillar's body fills the entire volume of the exoskeleton.

Physiology

Nutrition

Most caterpillars are phytophagous - they feed on leaves, flowers and fruits of plants. Some species feed on lichens or fungi. A number of species - keratophages - feed on wax, wool, horny substances (caterpillars of moths of the genus Ceratophaga live in the horns of African antelopes, feeding on keratin). A few species are xylophagous - glass beetles and wood borers. Caterpillars of some species are predators, feeding on aphids, scale insects, larvae and pupae of ants. Caterpillars of some species are characterized by oligophagy - feeding on a very limited number of plant species. For example, polyxena caterpillars feed on only four species of plants of the genus Kirkazon, and caterpillars feed exclusively on mulberry leaves. In addition, the caterpillar eats the shell of its egg immediately after hatching, and then other eggs that it comes across.

The digestive tract is connected to the rest of the body only at the anterior and posterior ends, due to which, probably, the movement of the rest of the body does not interfere with the caterpillars digesting food.

In the digestive tract of caterpillars, there are three main groups of digestive enzymes - proteases, carbohydrases and lipases.

Silk formation

Spinning machine

The spinning apparatus consists of the spinning papilla and the sclerite that carries it. The spinal papilla is a tube, the upper wall of which is usually shorter than the lower one, the end edge of which is uneven. The edges of the papilla are sometimes framed with fringe. The silk duct passing through the papilla opens at its distal end. In very rare cases, for example Microplerygidae and some miners, the spinous papilla appears to be absent.

The papilla is extremely variable in shape and length among representatives of different groups. There is a close connection between the structure of the spinning papilla and the silk-secreting activity of caterpillars. Caterpillars entwining their passages, for example Hepialidae and the majority Microfrenata, have a long, thin and cylindrical spinal papilla. On the contrary, a short and flattened papilla is found only in caterpillars that do not weave cocoons or whose silk-secreting activity is limited, for example, in hawk moths, many cutworms and miners.

Some features are observed in the development of the silk-secreting glands of caterpillars. In the last 4 days of the caterpillar's life, when it is still feeding, the gland develops very quickly and short terms reaches its maximum weight. A day after the start of cocoon weaving, the weight of the gland sharply decreases, and then continues to decrease further, until the caterpillar finishes weaving the cocoon. Cells that produce silk synthesize it, apparently due to accumulated substances. In the oak silkworm, the weaving of the cocoon depends on the humidity of the surrounding air - so in an atmosphere with high humidity, caterpillars do not weave a cocoon.

Chemical composition and structure of silk

• caterpillars leading a free lifestyle, openly feeding on food plants;
• caterpillars leading a hidden lifestyle.

Bagworm caterpillar cover ( Psychidae), attached by mulberry to a cereal leaf before pupation.

Caterpillars of diurnal, or club-whiskered, butterflies, as well as most other large Lepidoptera, live openly on food plants. Caterpillars of many families of moth-like lepidoptera lead a secretive lifestyle: in the soil, litter or turf of cereals (often in silk tunnels); inside food plants, mining leaves, shoots and fruits; making various cases that the caterpillar, crawling, drags behind itself (bagworms are most famous for this ( Psychidae), but wearing covers is much more widespread). Caterpillars of very few species live in water, feeding on aquatic plants.

All caterpillars are able to secrete silk. Most use it to attach to the substrate when moving. A caterpillar crawling along a plant or soil constantly leaves behind a thin silken path. If she falls from the branch, she will remain hanging on a silk thread. Caterpillars of some families of moths and moths build tunnels (silk tunnels) from silk. Anyone who has seen the damage caused by the caterpillars of real moths to fur or wool products has noticed silken passages in the undercoat or on the surface of knitted items. Bag makers and some others use silk thread as the basis for making a carrying case. Caterpillars of ermine moths and some corydalis build silk nests on food plants. In some families, for example, cocoon moths, peacock moths and true silkworms, the caterpillar builds a silk cocoon before molting onto a pupa.

Ecology

Migrations

Caterpillars of the pine silkworm

Symbionts

In a number of species, caterpillars live in anthills, being in a symbiotic relationship with ants, for example, with the genus Myrmica .

The caterpillars of approximately half of all blueberry species ( Lycaenidae) are somehow connected in their development cycle with ants.

Caterpillars of leaf miners Phyllonorycter blancardella live in symbiosis with bacteria that secrete cytokines, these hormones stimulate plant cell division, prolonging photosynthesis, and the resulting “green islands” allow the insect to survive the winter.

Gallery

Caterpillars in culture

In literature

To the cinema

• The caterpillar is the heroine of the Russian cartoon "Gagarin" (1994).
• The Caterpillar (Blue Caterpillar) is the heroine of the 1972 musical film “Alice in Wonderland” (original title “Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland”), produced in Great Britain.
• The caterpillar is the heroine of the American cartoon “The Adventures of Flick” (1998).
• Caterpillar (Green Caterpillar) - the heroine of a French cartoon Minuscule (2006).

Economic significance

The species whose caterpillars produce silk are primarily useful to humans. In nature, silk is produced by the caterpillars of many butterflies, constructing cocoons from it. The textile industry prefers ( Bombyx mori), domesticated by humans. Also used in sericulture are the Chinese oak peacock eye ( Antheraea pernyi), which has been bred in China for more than 250 years. Silk is obtained from its cocoons, which is used to make chesuchi. Other types of silkworms do not develop well in captivity, so they are limited to collecting their cocoons in nature. plays an important economic role in silk production. To obtain silk thread, the pupae are first killed using hot steam and water on the tenth day after pupation. A silk cocoon usually contains up to 3,500 meters of fiber, but it can be unwound by barely a third. To get 1 kilogram of raw silk, you need cocoons of about a thousand caterpillars, which eat 60 kilograms of leaves in a month and a half. From 100 kg of cocoons you can get approximately 9 kg of silk thread. Today, 45,000 tons of silk are produced annually worldwide. The main suppliers are Japan, the Republic of Korea and China.

Dried caterpillars silkworm, infected with fungus Beauveria bassiana, used in Chinese folk medicine.

Caterpillars of some species can be used in weed control. Most shining example- specially brought to Australia in 1925 from Uruguay and from northern regions Argentina cactus moth ( Cactoblastis cactorum) helped get rid of the introduced prickly pear cactus, which had overgrown millions of hectares of pastures. In 1938, in the Darling River valley, Australian farmers erected a special monument to the caterpillars who saved Australia.

Notes

1. Big encyclopedic dictionary"Biology". - ed. M. S. Gilyarova, M.: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 1998. ISBN 5-85270-252-8
2. Vasmer M. Etymological dictionary of the Russian language. - Progress. - M., 1964–1973. - T. 1. - P. 477.
3. Boryś W. Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego. - Wydawnictwo Literackie. - Kraków, 2005. - P. 158. - ISBN 978-83-08-04191-8
4. Gerasimov A. M. Caterpillars. - 2nd. - Moscow, Leningrad: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences, 1952. - T. 1. - (Fauna of the USSR).
5. Akimushkin I. I. Six-legged arthropods // Animal World: Insects. Spiders. Pets. - 4th ed. - M.: Mysl, 1995. - T. 3. - P. 13. - 462 p. - 15,000 copies. - ISBN 5-244-00806-4
6. Gerasimov A. M. Fauna of the USSR. Volume 56. Lepidoptera insects. Caterpillars. - M.: Publishing house of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1952.
7. The movement of the caterpillar with its insides forward is open. membrana (July 23, 2010). Archived from the original on June 25, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
8. Physiology of insects R. Chauvin 1953
9. Key to freshwater invertebrates of Russia. T. 5. St. Petersburg. , 2001, p. 74-78.
10. Milius, Susan Hawaiian Caterpillars Are First Known Amphibious Insects. U.S. News & World Report (23 March 2010). Archived from the original on February 11, 2012.
11. Belokobylsky S. A., Tobias V. I. 2007. Sem. Braconidae - Braconids. 9. Subfamily Alysiinae. Group of genera close to Aspilota // In the book: Key to insects Far East Russia. Reticuloptera, Scorpioptera, Hymenoptera. - Vladivostok: Dalnauka. T. 4, part 5. P. 9-133.
12. Tobias V. I. (editor and author or first author) Order Hymenoptera - Hymenoptera. Family Braconidae - Braconids. 1986. Key to insects of the European part of the USSR. T. 3. The fourth part. 500 s.; Fifth part: p. 1-231, 284-307, Sem. Aphidiidae - Aphidiids, p. 232-283, 308.

The caterpillar is a larva - an interesting furry creature that undergoes a transformation and becomes a beautiful butterfly or moth. The process of this transformation is fascinating, and its result is amazing.

What does a caterpillar look like?

A caterpillar is small long insect. The larva, depending on the species and family, grows from a few millimeters to a maximum of 12 cm. Their body is longitudinal. Consists of a head, 3 thoracic and 10 abdominal segments. Their whole body is soft - not covered with protective, hard shell. But the caterpillar has peculiar bristles. They may vary in density and location depending on the species.

Different larvae have different patterns. There is an opinion that caterpillars are exclusively green. In fact, this is not so. In nature you can find larvae whose color is very variegated and contains almost all the colors of the rainbow. Basically, all caterpillars move smoothly, rearranging their legs one by one. However, there are also types that fold like an accordion when moving. Thanks to this way of moving, these larvae were called land surveyors.

Characteristics and structure

Each larva immediately upon hatching from the egg has 3 pairs of legs in the front part of the body. Their size immediately corresponds to the size of an adult insect, that is, these organs will not grow in the caterpillar throughout its entire life. Some species also have “false” legs. They are located in the abdominal part of the body. Mostly there are up to five such pairs. The hairs that cover the entire body of the caterpillar are not harmless. They contain toxic substances. If they come into contact with the skin, they can severely burn or cause injury.

The caterpillar's mouth is capable of biting off and chewing food, which cannot be said, for example, about butterflies, since they feed through the proboscis. The larvae are able to evaluate food using special antennae, which are located next to the mandibles. Caterpillars have a well developed digestive system. The insect has several intestinal sections. The larva also has spinning glands and nerve ganglia. There are small holes along the body - breathing holes.

caterpillar coquette photo

The born caterpillar experiences this severe hunger that the first thing she eats is an abandoned egg. The development of the caterpillar can continue for several years. When the larva has gone through all the stages of molting and reached adulthood, it transforms into a pupa, from which a butterfly emerges. Caterpillars Molt Newly hatched caterpillars begin to eat a lot. Soon their body seems small to them, since the skin cannot stretch. In this regard, the larva stops eating food for some time and sheds its cover. Scientists call this molting.

As soon as the caterpillar has a new skin, it begins to lead the same life as before, until this skin hardens. Thus, the larva molts more than once. Usually there are 5 such processes. By losing its covers and growing new ones, the caterpillar thereby grows and develops. In four weeks it can reach adult size.

Where do caterpillars live?

For most caterpillars, their usual habitat is the ground. However, there are also species that prefer water image life, for example, broad-winged moths. In nature, there are also larvae that can safely live both on land and in water. Biologists divide these insects into two subgroups: secretive larvae and larvae leading an open life.

harpy caterpillar photo

The first group includes:

• Leafworms - these insects go through all life stages in the wrapped leaves of trees.
• Carpophagous - hiding in fruits.
• Xylophages - live in the bark of trees and in plant trunks.
• Miners - with the help of their growth, they break through small passages and live in dense leaves, buds or in the peel.
• Gall formers - settle in plants and cause pathological growth in them.
• Underground - inhabit the top layer of the earth. Aquatic - live in fresh water bodies.

The second subgroup settles openly on plants.

What do larvae eat?

The first "dish" in the life of a caterpillar is the egg from which it hatched. Most larvae are considered herbivores. However, even here, caterpillars can be divided into categories depending on their preferences:

Regardless of the species, each larva is capable of secreting silk threads. They serve to secure the tracks to surfaces and move them. While moving, a thin thread of silk trails behind the insect. This path can even save a caterpillar if it falls from a branch.

silkworm caterpillar photo

Silk thread is very strong and can hold the spinner. The caterpillar spins thread using a special organ. It is a complex apparatus consisting of a papilla-tube and a plate - sclerite. It is placed slightly below the oral cavity.

The resulting silk slowly leaves the labial glands. The substance takes on the form of a thread only after pressing. Biologists are still studying the process of hardening of the silk substance. However, they are sure that this does not happen due to air drying. Since even aquatic caterpillars form hard silk threads directly in the aquatic environment.

Types of caterpillars

• Cabbage caterpillar;
• Moth caterpillar;
• Great Harpy Caterpillar;
• Redtail;
• Silkworm;
• Wood is corrosive;
• Lady Bear Caterpillar;
• Swallowtail.

Poisonous caterpillars

In nature you can find poisonous species this insect. Touching or biting such a caterpillar causes a chemical burn and discomfort, although sometimes the consequences can be much more serious.

Caterpillar burning rose photo

Contact may also result in local itching or rash. Allergy sufferers notice symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, poor health, and upset stomach. Many people are unaware that there can be danger behind bright colors.

Which insects are best not to touch:

• Coquette caterpillar. Looks like a furry animal. Poisonous thorns are hidden under its fur.
• "Burning Rose" The cover of this caterpillar is very bright: bright and yellow spots cover dangerous protruding tubercles.
• Oak caterpillar. Green insect with longitudinal red stripes. It has small spikes on its sides.
• Traveling silkworm. The black-brown insect is covered with a million small harpoons.
• "Lazy Clown" Perhaps one of the most dangerous caterpillars. Its poison, having penetrated the human body, can be fatal. Its thorns look like spruce thorns. The slightest touch to them causes internal bleeding.
• Volyanka caterpillar. The bright red head immediately identifies this caterpillar. Her body is translucent with long spines.

Fighting caterpillars

On garden plots people do not rejoice at such guests as caterpillars. After all, this voracious insect can harm many plants and fruits in the garden. People have come up with many ways to combat this pest. Getting rid of larvae using caterpillar glue. This mechanical method is considered the most gentle for environment, since it does not affect the plants themselves.

Whitewashing trees or digging up the area so that insects get into the grooves and cannot reach the plants. Treating trees with chemical solutions. These include: karbofos and antio emulsion. IN recent years Biological products that cause much less harm to plants than chemicals are becoming popular.

The most unusual and beautiful caterpillars

• Hubbrad's Small Silkmoth. Thanks to its amazing color, the night caterpillar hides well from predators.
• Blue Morpho. The habitat of this larva is Central America. This insect is dangerous to other insects due to the fact that it accumulates strong poison in its body. Sometimes these caterpillars engage in cannibalism.
• Cerura Vinula. This caterpillar knows how to defend itself perfectly. The butterfly leads an active life in the dark.

• During the first 2 months of life, the caterpillar gains weight, which exceeds its original weight by 20 thousand times.
• If you unwrap a caterpillar cocoon, you can get a silk thread whose length is 300-900 meters.
• The caterpillar can live up to 15 years. The larvae can withstand temperatures down to -70 degrees.

Thus, caterpillars are unusual insects. Behind their colorful appearance there may be hidden... dangerous predator. For many gardeners, this insect will always be on the list of pests.

One of the greatest natural miracles is the transformation of a fat and clumsy caterpillar into a butterfly. Moreover, the butterfly is not always more beautiful than its larva - some caterpillars are so unusual, brightly colored and have a bizarre shape that the butterfly, especially if it is nocturnal, looks like an ugly duckling next to it.

This review contains magnificent photos illustrating what caterpillars of some species look like and what kind of butterfly they turn into. And also, some interesting facts about these incomparable creatures of nature are presented.

1. Brahmin Moth

Brahmei butterflies are found in the East - in India, China, Burma, and are also common on some islands of Japan.

This is a nocturnal species of butterfly; they fly at night and sleep during the day with their wings spread. Butterflies and caterpillars are poisonous, so they have no enemies.

2. Peacock eye cecropia (Hyalophora cecropia)

The caterpillar is very poisonous, so with all its bright color it shows that it is better not to touch it. The tubercles have a rich color and additionally have dots, like those of poisonous ladybugs.

The peacock eye is the largest moth in America - larger than the palm of your hand.

3. Spicebush Swallowtail

At first glance, this creature looks more like a fish or lizard than a caterpillar. Huge false eyes scare away predators. In addition, during its life of a couple of months, the larva changes color - the egg hatches chocolate brown with large white spots, then becomes bright emerald, and before pupation - orange with a red abdomen.

The black and blue velvet butterfly is common in North America, in some places hundreds of thousands of copies are collected in colonies.

4. Black Swallowtail

The caterpillar of the black swallowtail is very bright and noticeable - so that predators do not covet it. Although in fact it is quite edible.

This is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful European butterflies. During the flight, you can see how the color of the wings of the black swallowtail shimmers.

5. Tailed Emperor Butterfly (Polyura Sempronius)

This is not a dinosaur, but a soft imperial caterpillar. Its size is up to 2 cm, and the shell visually enlarges the baby and scares the birds.

The “tailed emperor” is found only in Australia and feeds on nectar from only one plant.

6. Dalcerida (Acraga coa)

The Dalcerida caterpillar appears glassy and transparent.

At the same time, the butterfly itself is very shaggy, brick-colored. Refers to moths. Lives in tropical forests Mexico.

7. Moth (Acharia Stimulea)

This strange creature of an incomprehensible color, with a bright green blanket, is a very dangerous creature. Each shoot secretes poison, and even one touch of the caterpillar can put an adult in the hospital.

And the butterfly is an ordinary night moth, almost invisible.

8. Witch moth caterpillar (Phobetron pithecium)

A real caterpillar witch! Lives in orchards both American continents. It is also called the “slug monkey” for its unusual method of movement - it crawls along one leaf and jumps onto another leaf.

Witch butterflies are also quite spectacular and large. Lead night look life.

9. Greta Oto, or Glass Winged Butterfly

The caterpillar of the incredible Greta butterfly looks ordinary and does not attract attention.

But the glass butterfly with transparent wings looks simply amazing. This species lives in Mexico and throughout South America.

10. Large harpy, or spotted forktail (Cerura vinula)

Both the caterpillar and the harpy butterfly itself have a rather terrifying appearance. The growth in the form of a mustache confuses the birds, and they do not risk feasting on this completely edible larva.

The white moth from the Corydalis family is quite large and makes bad smell, so few people will dare to try it.

11. Flannel Moth

This is not a tuft of fur on a bush, but the larva of a flannel moth. Very poisonous creature!!! Under no circumstances should you touch it!

Adult flannel moths appear soft and cuddly, but they are also poisonous. Found in the USA and Mexico.

12. Blue Morpho

Here is such a strange furry stick, which has no clear where the head is and where the tail is, after the transformation it will become one of the most beautiful butterflies in the world.

The blue Morpho butterfly lives in Central and South America. It is very large - reaches 210 mm in span. The wings have a metallic tint and shimmer when flying. There are 60 varieties of Morpho in all shades of blue.

13. Slug worm (Isochaetes beutenmuelleri)

This gorgeous caterpillar looks like an ornate ice crystal covered with numerous needles. The sight of it seems completely unappetizing to the birds!

And the adult butterfly is an ordinary night woodlice. Distributed throughout North America.

14. Silkmoth (Hubbard's Small Silkmoth)

This is exactly the famous caterpillar that makes silk thread, and people make wonderful fabric from it. These larvae eat only mulberry or mulberry leaves.

The silkworm butterfly is nocturnal.

15. Slug Butterfly (Isa Textula)

The leaf-shaped caterpillar stings with its hairs. She moves very interestingly - in zigzags, leaving noticeable traces.

The butterfly is also quite spectacular, 3-4 times smaller than a caterpillar and flies only at night.

16. Rainbow Blue Swallowtail Butterfly

The rainbow swallowtail caterpillar is a very impressive creature, looking like a horned bull.

Very beautiful and bright large butterfly lives in only one place on Earth - in the Ussuri taiga.

17. Spotted Apatelodes

This simply adorable furry caterpillar is extremely poisonous. By the way, her head is where there is one “feather”!

The spotted apatelodes moth is very large and buzzes loudly when it flies.

18. Saturnia Io (Automeris io)

Incredible bright green caterpillar with pompoms. Distributed in Canada and the USA. Very poisonous. The Indians used it to lubricate their arrows.

The colorful moth is also quite impressive, especially at night when those “eyes” glow.

19. Butterfly from the peacock-eye family (Attacus Atlas)

This furry miracle is a very rare larva. And all because people caught both them and butterflies en masse for sale.

The size of peacock eyes is impressive - up to 25 cm! The price of a copy reaches a thousand dollars. The atlas peacock eye is found in Southeast Asia, China, Indonesia. The largest specimen with a wingspan of almost 27 cm was caught on the island. Java in 1922. This butterfly has no mouth and does not eat anything its entire life.