A large green caterpillar with a spike on its tail. The most dangerous caterpillars in Russia

Evil nettle plant. Who hasn’t been burned by it in childhood so much that now there is no desire to try to pick it up. It seems even more strange if you meet a living organism eating it. And even like an eater! Sometimes you can find on nettle bushes a whole ball of black caterpillars, with small white dots, covered with belts of hard branched thorns. What kind of caterpillars are these? Why are there so many of them? And which of them hatches - read on.

Under the moving black mass, the green of the nettle is almost invisible. The trunk and leaves are covered with a tangle of constantly moving, chewing and crawling insects. Their bodies are covered with stiff hairs that encircle each body segment. Similar colonies of caterpillars are sometimes found on trees, but there they are still entwined with cobwebs. A repulsive sight.

And who would have thought that all these black caterpillars are just the first stage of the life of such beautiful butterfly, How daytime peacock eye (Inachis io).

The female peacock's eye lays up to 100-300 eggs, usually in groups, on the underside of a nettle leaf. They hatch into intense black caterpillars with small white dots and belts of hard branched spines. They live on food plants in broods, sometimes up to 300 individuals, in a common nest of leaves braided with silk thread. Before pupation they spread out. Starting from the second instar, the caterpillars live separately.

Food plants for caterpillars: common hop; raspberry; willow, including goat willow; stinging nettle; less often hemp.

Sometimes in the summer on meadow paths, or even in the city, you can meet slowly crawling large caterpillars. Someone will say “ugh, what a disgusting thing!”, and someone, on the contrary, will pick it up with interest. The caterpillar, of course, doesn’t like this, it begins to wriggle and curl up into a ring, because it has eaten itself for several weeks and is now looking for a secluded place to pupate. The caterpillar shown in the photo wine hawkmoth(lat. Deilephila elpenor) light brown, with a greenish tint; on the sides of the front of the body, near the head has dark spots with a white border on top and a small horn on the tail. If the caterpillar is frightened, it retracts its head, inflates the segments with eye patterns, making them look like the head of a snake with eyes, which should scare off unwanted predators. This caterpillar feeds on fireweed, better known among us as fireweed, bedstraw and grape leaves (for which it received its name). After pupation, the following year it will hatch into a wine hawk moth, a rather large twilight moth, which is very similar to a hummingbird in its flight and feeding habits. Even in English it is called elephant hawk moth, which can be roughly translated as “elephant moth.”

Wine Hawkmoth(lat. Deilephila elpenor) - a butterfly from the family hawk moths (Sphingidae). Wingspan 50-70 mm. The coloring of the forewings and body is olive-pink with transverse oblique pink bands on the forewings. The hind wings are black at their base. Widely distributed in the Palearctic. Flight time is from mid-May to mid-August, one, sometimes two generations. The caterpillar stage is from mid-June to August. The color of the caterpillar varies from light green to brown and almost black; on the 4th and 5th rings there are “eyes” with a dark core and a white border. The horn is short, black-brown. The caterpillars' food plants are fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium and E. hirsutum) and fireweed (Chamerion); less often bedstraw, impatiens, grapes. Pupation on the soil; the pupa overwinters.

Below is a photo (not mine) of what an imago (adult moth) looks like:

Photo by jean pierre Hamon, Wikipedia

Wine hawk moth belongs to the genus Deilephila. These are large and medium-sized butterflies with a wingspan of 40-80 mm. Medium Wine Hawkmoth is an olive butterfly with a pink pattern. The base of the hind wings is black. Wingspan 50-70 mm. The head, chest and abdomen of the moth are olive green. The pinkish stripes on the back in the abdominal area merge into one longitudinal line. The antennae are thickened, grayish-pink. The eyes are large, complex, covered with scales. Insects have excellent vision; they see objects in low light. Insects are common in Europe, including the south of the Urals. Found in Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, India, Korea, Japan and China. It lives in gardens, at the edge of the forest, and on roadsides. Settles on honeysuckle bushes, petunias and iris flowers. Moths living in gardens and parks pollinate 5-10% of nearby trees and shrubs.

The wine hawk moth caterpillar can be green or dark brown, almost black color. On the 4-5 body segment there are round black eyes with a white border. The tail horn is short, black at the base, and the tip is white. Due to their large size (70-80 mm), the caterpillars make a terrifying impression on people. They are actually not dangerous. The larvae do not even cause serious harm to plants.

In case of danger, the wine hawk moth caterpillar is capable of inflating a segment of the body that has eyes. She draws her head in and assumes a sphinx pose, lifting her front legs off the surface. At the same time, she becomes like a snake. Given the impressive size of the body, enemies such as birds prefer not to engage in combat.

The summer time of butterflies is from May to August. They are active in evening time until midnight. Moths feed on flowers and mate. Depending on the region where they live, they give from one to five generations. For plants that open their buds at close intervals, they are excellent pollinators. IN mating season they often fly towards light sources.

Hawk Moths excellent flyers, during migration they cover thousands of kilometers. Butterflies are able to hover in one place, feeding on the nectar of flowers, and move vertically up and down.

The fertilized female lays individual or paired round eggs on the leaves and stems of food plants. Green masonry with a glossy surface. The embryo develops in 7-10 days. Young larvae are yellow or light green in color. As they mature, most become gray-brown with black streaks. This stage lasts about a month.

The wine hawk moth caterpillar can be both beneficial and harmful. It depends on her diet. The larva that settles on the weeds helps get rid of the grass without weeding. The insect does no harm agriculture. Hawkmoth food plants are flowers and ovaries of fireweed (willowherb), bedstraw, and impatiens. In rare cases, it feeds on grape leaves.

Having reached the fifth instar, the larva descends to the ground and prepares for pupation. She chooses a place at the foot of the plant on which she fed and forms a cocoon. The pupa is brown, length 40-45 mm. Overwinter in litter or upper layers soil.

Hawkmoths fly at speeds of up to 50 km/h. The wind interferes with their flight and while feeding on flowers. When the wind force is 3 m/s, insects do not fly out to feed.

Medium wine hawk moth is listed in the Red Book of Karelia and Belgorod region like a rare species.

The wine hawk moth received the Latin name Deilephila elpenor in honor of the hero of mythology: Elpenor is a friend of Odysseus, returning with him from Troy; died after falling from the roof of the palace of the sorceress Circe.

There is an assumption that these spots on the caterpillars of wine hawk moths imitate the “glasses” of a cobra. However, it is unlikely that birds would confuse a small caterpillar with a snake, especially since wine hawk moths are widespread in areas where cobras are not found. And simple experience has shown that birds very willingly eat ocellated caterpillars. There is no clear answer to the question about the reason for this coloring. The horn of the caterpillar of the average wine hawk moth is weakly expressed.

The hawkmoth family (Sphingidae) is one of the fastest flyers not only among butterflies, but also among insects in general. Some reach speeds of up to 60 km/h! Narrow and long front wings and a streamlined, aerodynamic body make their flight swift and maneuverable. It was they, like some birds, that became the prototype for the creation of jet aircraft, thanks to observant designers. Hawkmoths make from 37 to 85 wing beats per second, while the swallowtail, for example, makes only 5-6 beats.

You can hatch the wine hawk moth at home from the pupa yourself, but to do this, after pupation, it must be stored in the refrigerator for some time, otherwise the adult insect will hatch somewhere around the New Year, when it will have nothing to eat. Detailed information about their breeding -

Caterpillars in the garden, on summer cottage capable of destroying crops. The invasion of voracious pests indicates lack of attention to preventive measures.

Types of harmful caterpillars

Most leaf-eating insects cause damage to plants. Caterpillars damage leaves, suck out nutritious juice, and cause curling and drying out of the green mass.

The pests overwinter in the leaves; with the onset of spring, a whole horde of hundreds/thousands of eggs and grown individuals safely move onto trees and vegetable crops. Moth, hawthorn, silkworm, cabbage moth, and leaf roller actively destroy plants and reduce productivity. If there is a large concentration of butterflies and their larvae, the damage to the farm can be very serious.

Harmful caterpillars in the garden:

• hawthorn. Hairy creature, color – yellow-black. Actively creates nests for the winter, wraps a web around the base of the leaf blade and petiole. On bare fruit trees in the cold season, the web is clearly visible. You must not hesitate to destroy the lacewing caterpillars: up to three thousand individuals can be in one nest;
• goldentail A pest with a bright color, the characteristic color scheme is a combination of black and red-orange. The pest attaches nests on twigs, tightly wraps itself around adjacent leaves and internodes, creating a reliable home for the cold season. You also cannot hesitate if the tree is dotted with nests inhabited by hundreds of voracious pests. Cutting off damaged areas together with the “tenants” will save the garden from the invasion of caterpillars;
• leaf roller Dangerous pest green It doesn’t look as scary as the silkworm, goldentail or hawthorn, but it does no less harm. The caterpillar eats leaves, stems, flowers, and destroys the plant almost completely. Leaf rollers twist the greens into a tube, build a nest with a web inside, and feed on the juices of the leaf. Pests actively reproduce: up to three generations can change in a season;
• gypsy moth. Hairy creatures with long hairs are clearly visible on trees. Leaves damaged by pests attract even more attention: often only veins remain of the greenery. Gypsy moth most often lives in forests, but when it gets into the garden it causes great damage to fruit trees.

How to get rid of it: effective methods of control

There are several ways to clear your garden, vegetable garden, and flower garden from voracious creatures. The best option is to monitor the condition of the plants all year round, prevent the invasion of caterpillars, regularly spray the garden and vegetable garden with decoctions with a natural base. If furry, unpleasant-looking creatures have filled the area, traces of activity are clearly visible on the leaves, only an integrated approach will help.

Mechanical methods

Any amateur gardener will cope with the task if he decides to collect pests from the crown or prevent the penetration of wintering caterpillars from the soil. Experienced owners offer several ways to fight.

Proven methods:

• manual collection of pests. The method is effective if there are only a few caterpillars. It is important to go through all areas of the crown, collect the voracious creatures in a bucket, and then destroy them. It's not a pleasant task, but the result is good. Many gardeners use the method of collecting pests from low plants or dwarf varieties of fruit trees;
• glue belt A product with a strange name prevents pests from crawling from the soil to the crown. The method is harmless to the tree. Boil 2 parts of birch tar, pour in 1 part of burdock oil, boil for 2 minutes, remove the mixture from the stove, cool. Apply a thick mixture to the trunks of fruit trees. Pests will not be able to overcome the barrier of sticky mass; the owners will only have to collect the furry creatures from the protective adhesive belt;
• cutting off the nests and oviposition of some pests. The sooner the owner discovers leaves damaged by lacewing, apple moth, and hawthorn, the greater the guarantee that all pests will be collected. It is important to remove leaves before the caterpillars move to open form nutrition.

Biological methods

Fighting attraction natural enemies has been practiced for decades. The owners noticed that many birds eat garden pests in large quantities.

If there are not many caterpillars bred, the winged helpers are able to completely clear the area of ​​pests. The owners need to attract birds to the garden, set up titmice, nest boxes, and birdhouses.

Important! Swifts, swallows, titmice, starlings, pied flycatchers, and cuckoos eat not only small, but also large caterpillars with long hairs on their bodies.

Chemicals against caterpillars

Experts consider it the most effective method of combating voracious creatures in the garden. After spraying with toxic drugs, most individuals die.

Unfortunately, the method has downsides:

• the use of chemicals often provokes intoxication in people after eating processed fruits;
• required permanent shift insecticides: pests get used to the components of the drug, control turns out to be ineffective.

What to do? Select formulations of the latest generations that do not cause resistance in caterpillars. Experienced owners recommend alternating toxic drugs and decoctions of herbal ingredients.

Effective insecticides against caterpillars:

• Karate.
• Aktara.
• Decis Pro.
• Inta – Vir.
• Spark.
• Kinmiks.
• Rovikurt.
• Lightning.
• Ram.
• Sumi is Alpha.
• Fufanon.

Find out the instructions for using the aerosol in the apartment, as well as precautions when using the chemical.

How to get rid of flies in an apartment? Effective methods fight against buzzing insects are described on the page.

Folk remedies and recipes

Spraying fruit and vegetable crops with safe, non-toxic compounds brings only benefits. There are several compounds that destroy/repel smooth and hairy caterpillars.

Proven means:

• decoction of black henbane. The product is used when hawthorn, cabbage white, and goldentail appear. You will need 2.5 kg of chopped plants (leaves and twigs). Pour water over the greens, boil for half an hour, bring the volume to 10 liters, boil again, remove from heat. Let the product sit for 12 hours, strain, add liquid soap or a handful of grated laundry soap. Spray the affected plants 5–6 times when the pests have just appeared;
• decoction from the stems of peppermint. The plant's shoots will be needed during the flowering period. For 2 kg of fresh raw materials, take 10 liters of boiling water, close the bucket with a lid, and let it brew for a day. Remove the green mass, strain, spray garden crops when leaf-eating insects appear;
• red elderberry decoction. Another proven remedy for repelling caterpillars, beetles, slugs, and fly larvae. Finely chop 200 g of stems and leaves, steam in 10 liters of boiling water, leave for 24 hours, strain. For active adhesion to the surface of the leaves, many owners add to the bucket warm water shavings from laundry soap. Spraying should be done before and after flowering.

When pest caterpillars appear, there is no time to waste: the nests are inhabited by thousands of individuals, ready to gnaw leaves and young shoots. Decoctions with herbal ingredients and proven insecticides will help repel and destroy pests. Mechanical methods of controlling leaf-eating pests have a good effect.

The following video talks about an excellent remedy for protecting cabbage from pest caterpillars:

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A caterpillar is the larva of a butterfly, moth or moth - insects from the order Lepidoptera.

Caterpillar - description, characteristics, structure and photo. What does a caterpillar look like?

Torso.

The length of the caterpillar, according to the variety, varies from a few millimeters to 12 cm, as in individual specimens of the Saturnia butterfly (peacock eye).

The caterpillar's body consists of a clearly visible head, thoracic, abdominal sections and several pairs of limbs located on the chest and abdomen.

Head.

The caterpillar's head is represented by six fused segments, forming a hard capsule. Between the forehead and eyes the area of ​​the cheeks is conventionally distinguished; at the bottom of the head there is the occipital foramen, which looks like a heart.

A round head shape is typical for most caterpillars, although there are exceptions. For example, many have a triangle-shaped head, while other species have a rectangular head. The parietal parts can protrude strongly above the head, forming a kind of “horns”. Small antennae, consisting of 3 consecutive joints, grow on the sides of the head.

Oral apparatus.

All caterpillars are distinguished by the gnawing type oral apparatus. The insect's upper jaws are well formed: their upper edge contains teeth designed for gnawing or tearing food. Inside there are tubercles that perform the function of chewing food. Salivary glands converted into specific spinning (silk separating) machines.

Eyes.

The eyes of caterpillars are a primitive visual apparatus containing a single lens. Typically, several simple ocelli are located one behind the other, in an arc, or they form 1 complex eye merged from 5 simple ones. Plus 1 eye is located inside this arc. Thus, caterpillars have 5-6 pairs of eyes in total.

Torso.

The caterpillar's body consists of segments separated by grooves and is covered in a soft shell, which provides the body with maximum mobility. The anus is surrounded by special lobes that have varying degrees development.

The insect's respiratory organ, the spiracle, is a stigma located on the chest. Only in species living in water are the spiracles replaced by tracheal gills.

Most caterpillars have 3 pairs of thoracic limbs and 5 pairs of false abdominal legs. The abdominal limbs end in small hooks. On each thoracic limb there is a sole with a claw, which the caterpillar retracts or protrudes when moving.

The legs of the caterpillar were peeled off by the moth

There are no completely naked caterpillars: the body of each is covered with various formations - outgrowths, hairs or a well-grown cuticle. Cuticle growths are star-shaped, spines or granules that look like small hairs or bristles. Moreover, the bristles grow strictly in a certain way, characteristic of a particular family, genus and even species. The outgrowths consist of raised skin formations - tubercles, similar to flat, round or oval warts and spines. Caterpillar hairs are represented by thin individual threads or tufts.

Caterpillar development.

Depending on the species, the caterpillar can develop from several weeks to several years. Caterpillars northern species butterflies do not have time to complete their development cycle in one season, so they hibernate (diapause) until next summer. For example, a butterfly, living in the Arctic Circle, can remain in the caterpillar stage for up to 12-14 years.

During its development cycle, the caterpillar undergoes not only significant age-related changes size and color of the body, but also striking metamorphoses. For example, the transformation of an almost naked caterpillar into a furry one or vice versa.

Caterpillars molt.

Each caterpillar molts several times during its entire period of existence. To the smallest number Miner caterpillars are susceptible to molting (2 times). The standard number of molts is 4, although some species molt 5 or 7 times. Adverse conditions environment cause a sharp increase in the number of molts, for example, a caterpillar clothes moth can molt from 4 to 40 times. It has also been observed that females molt more often than males.

The caterpillar secretes sweet nectar, which the ant drinks.

Types of caterpillars - photos and names.

Among the great variety of different caterpillars, the following varieties are of greatest interest:

• Cabbage caterpillar or cabbage butterfly caterpillar(cabbage whites) (lat. Pieris brassicae) lives throughout the territory Eastern Europe, northern Africa to the Japanese islands, and also introduced into South America. The caterpillar is 3.5 cm long, has 16 legs and has a light green body covered with black warts and short black hairs. Depending on the weather, the caterpillar stage lasts from 13 to 38 days. These caterpillars feed on cabbage, horseradish, radishes, turnips, turnips and shepherd's purse. They are considered the main pest of cabbage.

• Moth caterpillar(surveyors) (lat. Geometridae) characterized by long thin body and undeveloped abdominal legs, due to which it is distinguished by an original method of movement - it bends in a loop, while pulling the abdominal legs towards the pectoral legs. The family includes more than 23 thousand species of moths distributed throughout the world. All types of caterpillars of this family have well-developed muscles, so they are able to attach themselves vertically to plants, perfectly imitating broken branches and petioles. The color of the caterpillars is similar to the color of foliage or bark, which additionally serves as an excellent camouflage. They eat tree needles and hazel.

• (lat. Cerura vinula = Dicranura vinula) lives throughout Europe, Central Asia and northern Africa. Adult caterpillars grow up to 6 cm and are distinguished by a green body with a purple diamond on the back, bordered by a white outline. In case of danger, the caterpillar inflates, takes a threatening pose and sprays out a caustic substance. The insect remains in the caterpillar stage from early summer to September, feeding on the leaves of plants from the willow and poplar families, including the common aspen.

• Redtail caterpillar(bashful furfoot) (lat. Calliteara pudibunda) found in the forest-steppe zone throughout Eurasia, as well as in Asia Minor and Central Asia. A caterpillar up to 5 cm long is pinkish, brown or gray. The body is densely covered with individual hairs or tufts of hair, at the end there is a tail of protruding crimson-colored hairs. This is a poisonous caterpillar: upon contact with human skin, it causes a painful allergy. These caterpillars eat leaves different trees and shrubs, especially preferring hops.

• Caterpillar silkworm (lat. Bombyx mori) or silkworm. Lives in East Asia: in northern China and Russia, in the southern regions of Primorye. The caterpillar is 6-7 cm long, its wavy body is densely covered with blue and brown hairy warts. After 4 molts, completing the 32-day development cycle, the color of the caterpillar becomes yellow. The food of the silkworm caterpillar is exclusively mulberry leaves. This insect has been actively used in sericulture since the 27th century BC. e.

• Corrosive woodworm caterpillar(lat. Zeuzera pyrina) from the carpenter family. Found in all areas European countries, except for the Far North, as well as in South Africa, southeast asia and in North America. It overwinters twice, during which time it changes color from yellow-pink to yellow-orange with black, glossy warts. The length of the insect is 5-6 cm. Caterpillars live inside branches and trunks various trees, feeding on their juices.

• Swallowtail caterpillar(lat. Papilio machaon) lives throughout Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America. One of the most colorful caterpillars: at first black, with scarlet warts, and as it grows it becomes green with black transverse stripes. Each stripe contains 6-8 red-orange spots. The disturbed caterpillar secretes an odorous orange-yellow liquid. It feeds on celery, wormwood, parsley, and sometimes alder leaves.

The smallest caterpillar in the world is a member of the moth family. For example, clothes moth caterpillars (lat. Tineola bisselliella), which have just emerged from eggs, reach a length of only 1 mm.

The most big caterpillar in the world- This is the caterpillar of the peacock eye atlas (lat. Attacus atlas). The bluish-green caterpillar, as if dusted with white dust, grows up to 12 cm in length.

Butterflies, Lepidoptera, whose fossil remains have been known since Jurassic period, are currently one of the most species-rich insect orders - there are more than 158,000 species in the order. Representatives of the order are distributed on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica.

Butterflies go through four stages of development: egg, larva, pupa and adult. It is believed that a butterfly is always more beautiful than the caterpillar from which it was born.

Let's see if this is true. Interactive photos.

This moth family Corydalis. Caterpillar stage: June - September. An adult caterpillar is up to 6 cm in length, green in color. When disturbed, it takes a special threatening pose: it inflates and raises the anterior end of the body, then retracts it into the enlarged first segment of the abdomen. Click:

They live in broad-leaved and mixed forests. Caterpillars feed on various broad-leaved trees, such as oak, elm, citrus. Click:

Papilio troilus is a North American swallowtail, the closest relative of our swallowtail and swallowtail. The adult is black with iridescence and an elegant pattern of white spots, and the caterpillars are unusually funny: green or yellow with bright false eyes that scare away predators. Caterpillars eat different types bay leaves. Click:

The Atlas peacock eye is considered one of the largest butterflies in the world. Wingspan up to 24 cm! In India, this species is cultivated: the caterpillars secrete silk. Click:

This species is found from Mexico to Argentina, in wet forests. The wingspan of Greta oto is from 5.5 to 6 cm. The tissue between the veins on the wings of the butterfly is transparent because it is devoid of colored scales. Click:

The wingspan of this butterfly is from 6 to 9 cm. The female has reddish-brown forewings and legs, while the male has yellow fore and hind wings, body and legs. Click:

This is the genus day butterflies from the Nymphalidae family. The color of the wings of most species is blue or light blue, with a metallic sheen. There are species with wings of mother-of-pearl and pearl-white colors; with a black-blue or red-brown pattern. The coloring, shiny with a metallic reflection of the wings, is entirely optical; it is based on the refraction of light. Click:

Another butterfly of the genus True Swallowtails of the Swallowtail family. Found throughout North America, including Canada, the United States and Mexico. This is a large butterfly with a wingspan of 8-11 cm. The upper side of the wings is mostly black. Caterpillars in the first phases of development (up to 1.5 cm in length) are black with a white stripe in the middle, with white bristles having a light brown ring at the base. Click:

The largest moth North America and one of the most brightly colored. Usually, at the end of autumn, after four molts, cecropia caterpillars, which have managed to grow to 10-12 cm, wrap themselves in a cocoon. They pupate in it, spend the whole winter and are born in the first warm days summer. Click:

Cabbage butterfly Pieris brassicae

The caterpillar is up to 3.5 cm long, 16-legged, greenish-yellow, dotted with sparse and short black hairs and black dots; along the back and on the sides, above the legs, 3 stand out yellow stripes; the head and the last segment of the body are gray on top with black dots.