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The lemongrass butterfly is the first insect of spring. Lemongrass butterfly: species, photos and descriptions, lifestyle and habitat

   Class — Insects
   Row — Lepidoptera
   Family — Belyanki
   Genus/Species — Gonepteryx rbamni

Basic data:
DIMENSIONS
Wingspan: up to 57 mm.

Legs: 3 pairs.
Oral apparatus: Adult butterflies have a proboscis, while caterpillars have jaws.

REPRODUCTION
Mating season: in the north early in the spring, in the south later.
Development: eggs 7-14 days, caterpillar 3-7 weeks.
Doll: 12-15 days.
Lifespan: 9 months.

LIFESTYLE
Habits: fly in good weather; stay alone.
Food: adult butterflies drink nectar and various organic liquids, the caterpillar eats buckthorn leaves.

RELATED SPECIES
A relative of lemongrass is a southern European species.

Lemongrass lives much longer than most butterflies.

At the end of summer and autumn, they feed intensively in order to make the necessary energy reserves and survive the long winter. In spring, lemongrass emerges from hibernation.

FOOD

Caterpillars feed on zoster, so these butterflies are most often found where exactly such bushes grow. Adult lemongrass, like other butterflies, are able to absorb only liquid food. With their long proboscis they drink nectar, for example, from the flowers of wolfberry and coltsfoot, and they also willingly feed on the flowers of the field sotra.

Lemongrass carries pollen from flower to flower.
Lemongrass fly out of their winter shelters early in the spring, so many spring flowers are pollinated by them. The proboscis of lemongrass is well adapted to tall primrose flowers that have a long cup.

LIFE CYCLE

The life cycle of lemongrass is not similar to the life cycle of other butterflies.

It flies for a very long time and is considered the longest-lived among butterflies. Lemongrass live for about 9 months. To survive the long winter, they make energy reserves. In autumn, lemongrass find a place hidden from the wind, usually in thickets of ivy, where they fall into a state of torpor, which is reminiscent of wintering.

On exceptionally sunny and warm winter days, lemongrass can wake up from its winter torpor and fly over the snow drifts. Mild winters create additional difficulties for butterflies as they expend more energy.

Typically, lemongrass begins to fly only in mid-March. At this time, males begin to look for females. In spring you can observe the mating flights of these butterflies. The female flies in front, and the male follows her, maintaining a constant distance.

Fertilized females lay eggs. Caterpillars, hatched from eggs, feed for 3-7 weeks, molting several times until the time comes to transform into a pupa. The period of development of the pupa depends on the weather. In the south, butterflies appear in early summer.

HABITS

Lemongrass loves the sun more than other types of butterflies. Before rising into the sky, it basks in the sun's rays for a long time.

If the sun disappears behind a large cloud, lemongrass will land on the plants. Early in the evening, these beautiful butterflies begin to look for a place suitable for spending the night. The difference in color between a butterfly that flies and a butterfly that rests is amazing. Active males amaze the observer with their bright colors.

They can even be seen from the train window. When they sit on a plant and fold their wings over their body, their bright yellow color disappears. The underside of the wings of these butterflies is light green, and the folded wings are shaped like leaves.
When lemongrass takes off again, it seems as if a sulfuric acid-yellow fire suddenly lit up on the bush. The female lemongrass has a more modest color.

OBSERVING THE LEMONNUM

The lemongrass butterfly begins to fly in July and flies until the fall of the following spring.

In clearings and in mixed or deciduous forests, it appears already in March, when, for example, liverworts bloom. The next generations of lemongrass appear in July and fly until autumn. In summer, butterflies do not seem as bright as they were in spring, and they are less common than last year's generation. Lemongrass, which sits on a plant with folded wings, is not easy to notice - after all, the clearly colored, slightly greenish females are really very difficult to see against the background of green vegetation.

DID YOU KNOW THAT...

During rest, lemongrass sits motionless. She even allows flies to land on her body and wings.
During mating, lemongrass can remain mated for a whole day.
Lemongrass usually mount yellow and reddish-purple flowers, so it can be assumed that they have a preference for flowers that are the same color as their body, which has a purple tint.
In English, lemongrass is called “brimstone,” which is what amber used to be called.
Lemongrass can overwinter without any protection near the soil or in foliage.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF LIMONNA

Male: its wings are bright yellow, the front pair is slightly cut out from the sides, and small processes are visible on the rear pair.

In females, the upper part of the wing is greenish-yellow. There are 4 orange-red spots on the wings.
Disguise: lemongrass often overwinter under ivy. The light greenish color of the lower part of the wings and thick veins provide the butterfly with good camouflage.

Method of eating: lemongrass plunges its long proboscis to the very bottom of the corolla of the flower and drinks the sweet nectar. On occasion, she also collects pollen from a plant, which she later transfers to another flower. Thus, it takes part in plant pollination.

— Range of lemongrass
PLACES OF ACCOMMODATION
Limongrass lives throughout almost all of Europe, its range reaches the southern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula.

Lemongrass can be found in temperate Asia to the Pacific coast and northeast Africa.
PRESERVATION
The species is threatened by the use of pesticides and the destruction of bushes, however, despite this, the number of lemongrass still remains fairly stable.

The butterfly belongs to the class insects, phylum arthropods, order Lepidoptera (Lepidoptera).

The Russian name “butterfly” comes from the Old Slavonic word “babъka”, which denoted the concept of “old woman” or “grandmother”. In the beliefs of the ancient Slavs, it was believed that these were the souls of the dead, so people treated them with respect.

Butterfly: description and photo. The structure and appearance of butterflies

The structure of the butterfly has two main sections: the body, protected by a hard chitinous shell, and the wings.

A butterfly is an insect whose body consists of:

Head, inactively connected to the chest. The butterfly's head has a round shape with a slightly flattened occipital part. The round or oval convex eyes of the butterfly in the form of hemispheres, occupying most of the lateral surface of the head, have a complex facet structure. Butterflies have color vision and perceive moving objects better than stationary ones. In many species, additional simple parietal eyes are located behind the antennae. The structure of the oral apparatus depends on the species and can be of the sucking or gnawing type.

Breasts with a three-segment structure. The front part is significantly smaller than the middle and back part, where three pairs of legs are located, which have a structure characteristic of insects. On the shins of the butterfly's front legs there are spurs designed to maintain the hygiene of the antennae.
The abdomen has the shape of an elongated cylinder, consisting of ten ring-shaped segments with spiracles located on them.

Butterfly structure

The antennae of the butterfly are located on the border of the parietal and frontal parts of the head. They help butterflies navigate their surroundings by sensing air vibrations and various odors.

The length and structure of the antennae depend on the species.

Two pairs of butterfly wings, covered with flat scales of different shapes, have a membranous structure and are penetrated by transverse and longitudinal veins. The size of the hind wings can be the same as the front wings or significantly smaller than them. The pattern of butterfly wings varies from species to species and captivates with its beauty.

In macro photography, the scales on the wings of butterflies are very clearly visible - they can have completely different shapes and colors.

Butterfly wings - macro photography

The appearance and color of the butterfly’s wings serve not only for intraspecific sexual recognition, but also act as protective camouflage, allowing it to blend into its surroundings. Therefore, colors can be either monochrome or variegated with a complex pattern.

The size of a butterfly, or better said, the wingspan of a butterfly, can range from 2 mm to 31 cm.

Classification and types of butterflies

The large order of Lepidoptera includes more than 158 thousand representatives. There are several classification systems for butterflies, quite complex and confusing, with constant changes occurring in them. The most successful scheme is considered to be one that divides this detachment into four suborders:

1) Primary toothed moths. These are small butterflies, the wingspan of which ranges from 4 to 15 mm, with a gnawing type mouthparts and antennae that reach a length of up to 75% of the size of the front wings. The family consists of 160 species of butterflies.

Typical representatives are:

golden smallwing ( Micropteryx calthella);
marigold smallwing ( Micropteryx calthella).

2) Proboscis butterflies. The wingspan of these insects, covered with dark small scales with cream or black spots, does not exceed 25 mm. Until 1967, they were classified as primary toothed moths, with which this family has much in common.

The most famous butterflies from this suborder:

flour moth ( Asopia farinalis L.),
spruce cone moth ( Dioryctrica abieteila).

3) Heterobathmyas, represented by one family Heterobathmiidae.

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

Family Sailboats, represented by medium and large butterflies with a wingspan from 50 to 280 mm. The pattern on the wings of butterflies consists of black, red or blue spots of various shapes, clearly visible on a white or yellow background. The most famous of them are:
1. Swallowtail butterfly;
2. Sailboat "Glory of Bhutan";
3. Queen Alexandra's Birdwing and others.

Swallowtail butterfly

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

Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta)

Day peacock butterfly

Urticaria butterfly (Aglais urticae)

There are species of butterflies that do not have a mouthparts: to maintain life, they use up the reserves of nutrients that were accumulated in the caterpillar stage.

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

There are also “vampires” among butterflies. For example, males of some cutworm species maintain their strength thanks to the blood and tear fluid of animals.

This is the vampire butterfly (lat. Calyptra).

Stages of butterfly reproduction. Transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly

Most butterflies have complex forms of courtship during the mating season, expressed in flights and dances. The mating process, during which the female receives from the male, in addition to sperm, a supply of necessary microelements and proteins, sometimes drags on for several hours.

Caterpillar turns into butterfly

The life cycle of a butterfly consists of 4 phases (stages):

Eggs

The life of a butterfly begins with an egg. Depending on the species and genus, the butterfly lays eggs on the leaves or branches of plants. This can be up to 1000 fertilized eggs that are round, cylindrical or egg-shaped. The color of the eggs can be white, greenish, yellow, red, sometimes with a pattern. This stage of the butterfly’s life lasts between 8-15 days.

Butterfly eggs

Caterpillar (larva)

At this stage, the insect has a worm-like shape. Mouthparts of gnawing type caterpillars. A special feature of the caterpillar is the presence of special glands that produce a substance that quickly hardens upon contact with air and forms something like a strong silk thread. Butterfly caterpillars feed mainly on plant foods: fruits, flowers and leaves of plants. However, there are caterpillars whose diet consists of wool, horny substances and even wax.

Caterpillar

Doll

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

Imago (adult, butterfly)

Depending on the species, the lifespan of a butterfly can range from several hours to 10 months. The adult is already capable of reproduction and dispersal, which are its main functions.

What do butterflies do in winter?

It is noteworthy that butterflies winter in different ways. There are species of butterflies that, having left the pupa, live only during the summer and die with the onset of cold weather. Some wait out the winter in the egg stage, but most do so as pupa. There are species that meet the cold as adult insects and hide from them in tree hollows or deep cracks in the bark. These are urticaria, burdock and lemongrass.

Lemongrass butterfly

But there are also exceptions to the rules.

Some representatives of lepidoptera prefer to leave their habitats without waiting for unfavorable conditions to occur. They simply fly to warmer climes. The most famous "travelers" are the oleander hawk moth and the monarch.

The benefits and harms of butterflies

It is noteworthy that butterflies bring both great benefit and harm to agriculture. In the caterpillar stage, they destroy leaves on fruit trees, which leads to loss of yield. At the same time, adult butterflies help cross-pollinate and self-pollinate plants. Both caterpillars and adults serve as food for many birds. And there is no need to talk about the benefits of the silkworm - it is a producer of natural silk.

The Saturnia butterfly's caterpillar is so poisonous that the toxins it produces can kill humans.
The migratory monarch butterfly is capable of covering up to 1000 km in one flight without stopping to rest.
Butterflies do not sleep at night because they do not need sleep.
When flying over short distances, hawk moths can reach speeds of up to 60 km/h.
The baby moth is the smallest butterfly with wings measuring 2 mm.
Madagascar hawkmoths have the longest proboscis, which is 28 cm long.
The size of the wings of the butterfly Tisania agrippina reaches 31 cm.
The peacock butterfly's sense of smell is very developed: it can smell it at a distance of 10 km.

Lemongrass butterflies are diurnal insects with bright, easily recognizable colors. They are common in many regions of the Northern Hemisphere and appear as soon as...

From Masterweb

25.04.2018 16:00

Lemongrass butterflies are diurnal insects with bright, easily recognizable colors. They are common in many regions of the Northern Hemisphere and appear as soon as spring begins. What do lemongrass butterflies look like and where do they live? Photos, descriptions and details of the lifestyle of these insects can be found in our article.

Genus lemongrass

The lemongrass butterflies we are considering belong to the white butterfly family, known for their predominantly light color. Closely related to them are burdocks, hawthorns, rutabagas, cabbages, which feed on cultivated plants and cause significant damage to horticulture and agriculture. In contrast, lemongrass is not a pest, and its caterpillars feed mainly on buckthorn.

These butterflies live in the temperate and subtropical zones of the Northern Hemisphere and are found in Asia, Europe, and North Africa. The exact number of species that are included in the genus Lemongrass is unknown. Presumably their number ranges from 7 to 15. The most famous representatives are: cleopatra, mealy buckthorn, aminta lemongrass, mahaguru lemongrass. They are all very similar to each other and differ mainly in the nuances of shades, habitat and some habits.

Description of lemon butterflies

Butterflies of this genus have a characteristic wing shape that is common to all its representatives. The posterior pair is rounded and ends with a sharp tooth, the anterior pair is somewhat elongated and also pointed at the end. There are four orange or brown spots on the wings, as well as clearly visible veins that match the overall color. All this allows insects to camouflage themselves. Sitting calmly on a tree with folded wings, they are practically indistinguishable from leaves and are invisible to predators.

The way lemongrass butterflies look fully corresponds to their name. All males of the genus have a light yellow color, similar to the color of an unripe lemon. However, they are characterized by sexual dimorphism, so females may differ slightly in color. As a rule, they are much paler than males and are colored white or green. The back and head of both sexes are dark gray interspersed with long light hairs. The belly and legs of insects are colored light yellow.

In the photo, lemongrass butterflies may seem quite large, but in reality they are small. With their wings spread, they reach only 5-6 centimeters in size. The front wings of insects are usually slightly shorter than the hind wings; they grow to 25-30 millimeters, while the hind wings grow to 33-35 millimeters.

Reproduction

In temperate latitudes, lemongrass butterflies appear as early as March, and immediately begin to look for a mate. The more noticeable color of males suggests that the decisive role in choosing a partner belongs to females. To show interest, the male pursues the chosen one, flying after her, but without getting too close. When his candidacy is approved, both partners descend onto a bush, flower or tree, where mating occurs.

The butterfly lays its eggs on a plant, which will become food for the young. Lemongrass caterpillars feed mainly on joster, or buckthorn, which is why they are also called buckthorns. They lay 70-100 eggs on the stems, leaves and buds of the plant, attaching them with a special secretion. After one to two weeks, tiny larvae about 1.5 mm in size appear. They must go through several stages of molting until they are strong and mature enough to form a pupa and become a full-fledged butterfly.

Lemongrass caterpillars develop best and fastest in warm and dry weather. Mature individuals reach 3-4 centimeters in size. They are covered with sparse short hairs and are colored light green with a white longitudinal line. The body of the caterpillars is covered with small black dots, each of which has a thin spike.

A month after the fifth molt, the caterpillars begin to pupate, attaching themselves to a stem or leaf cutting, and within two weeks a butterfly is born. In total, about 50 days pass from the moment of laying to the adult stage.

Lifestyle Features

Yellow lemongrass butterflies are diurnal insects whose activity occurs primarily in sunny, dry weather. Unlike caterpillars, which eat only one type of food, adults have a more varied diet. Their oral apparatus is designed for consuming liquid food and the basis of the menu is the flower nectar of various herbs, shrubs and trees.

The lifespan of most butterflies ranges from a few days to two to three months. In comparison, lemongrass are considered real long-livers, because many of them die at the age of nine to twelve months. They are active in the warm season, and during cold periods they hide in a reliable shelter and fall into a state of suspended animation. If the winter is warm, then the butterflies may wake up ahead of time and die without finding food. If everything goes according to a natural schedule, then the insects wake up in early spring, replenishing their strength with birch sap and nectar of primroses.

Lemongrass buckthorn

This species is also called buckthorn, or common lemongrass. The butterfly is the most typical and widespread representative of its genus. Males are colored an even light yellow, females are pale green. There is one orange dot on the front and rear wings.

Common lemongrass can be seen in sunny forest clearings and meadows. They do not like dense thickets of trees and do not rise above 2 kilometers in the mountains. They are rare guests in deserts and steppes. They live in Eastern Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia. They are found in the Caucasus, Mongolia, Turkey, and the western and southern regions of Siberia.

Lemongrass Aminta

Aminta is the largest in the genus of lemon butterflies. It is found only in Asia. It lives within the subtropics of China, Taiwan and Northern Laos. The wingspan of the butterfly reaches approximately 7-8 centimeters. Their females are pale green and almost indistinguishable from other lemongrass. In males, one pair of wings is bright yellow, and the other is white on top and pale yellow below. The outer edge of the fore wings is framed by a dark brown stripe.

Lemongrass cleopatra

Like other lemongrass butterflies, Cleopatra lives in woodlands, clearings and meadows. Its range covers the entire southern part of Eurasia from Portugal to the Middle East, as well as the subtropics of North Africa. It is also found on the island of Crete, Corsica, Sardinia and the Maltese archipelago.

Carl Leinaeus, who described this species, named it in honor of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. The main feature of the butterfly is the bright orange spots that occupy most of the forewings of the males. Their upper edge along the contour is bordered by dark dots. Females are characterized by a pale color and the absence of orange spots.

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Lemongrass is the famous “marathon bird” with “golden pollen” on its wings

Hello, dear visitors of the animal site and insect lovers! Today from this article you will learn interesting facts about the lemongrass butterfly. You will read its description, you will know what lemongrass looks like, and you will no longer confuse it with other butterflies. And also look at the selection of photographs of lemongrass, you will see it in the photo caterpillar, pupa and adult.

Brief description of the lemongrass butterfly

The name “limongrass” is understandable: butterfly wings ripe fresh colors lemon, from the inside - also the color of lemon, but unripe, slightly greenish.

The Latin name Gonepteryx rhamni was given to the butterfly because its caterpillar feeds on the leaves of Rhamnus or buckthorn until it pupates. Hence its other names: buckthorn, or white buckthorn (genus of white buckthorn). Lemongrass and cabbageweed belong to the same genus - whiteweed.

If you see this whiteweed in the garden in the summer, do not worry: it is not a pest, it does not need your radish, it only needs the nectar of the flowers growing in the area. And she got pregnant out of necessity. Because he “respects” more the flowers of wild plants, and lemongrass sits on burdock, cornflower, thistle, mytnik, speedwell, thistle, lungwort. Loves willow flowers and birch sap.

Reproduction of the lemongrass butterfly and laying eggs

And the female lays eggs on completely different leaves. Not even on the leaves - on the buckthorn buds or its young stems. Yellowish-greenish in color, conical in shape with ribs, the eggs are laid by the female lemongrass and are enveloped in a mass that “glues” them to the surface of the leaf in May, when there are no leaves yet.

The mating games of butterflies precede the laying of eggs. Here is a dazzling yellow male with a large orange-red spot in the center of each wing (showing through to the underside) and a large single tooth on the edge of each of the four wings. He tirelessly pursues a female of a more modest, greenish-white (even slightly silvery) color, but with the same “signature” spots and teeth on the wings. Chases at a respectful distance, without flying closer.

With folded wings, the butterfly is shaped like a leaf and is invisible among the greenery. Front wings have a length from 26 to 31 mm, reaching a span of 6 cm.

Having emerged from the dry leaves on the ground in early spring with the first thaw, the female “stretches” her wings after a long winter. The special composition of the liquid in her body and the long whitish hairs on her body prevented her from freezing in winter.

The male who overwintered nearby also woke up. It's time for both of them to take a walk in the barely warm air.

No, they will begin to mate when the buckthorn nurse awakens from hibernation, while they fly and feed on the nectar of the corydalis primrose or birch sap.

Where does the lemongrass butterfly live?

You will not find buckthorn in the desert or on the island of Crete. But on the other hand, it grows along forest edges, clearings, roadsides, lawns in forests and river valleys, along ravines, and forest-steppe gullies overgrown with bushes. It grows in the areas of North-West Africa, Asia Minor and Central Asia, Western and Southern Siberia, spreading east to the Baikal region and Mongolia.

In our country, it is distributed everywhere, not growing north of the Khibiny on the Kola Peninsula and not entering the steppes of the Ciscaucasia and Central Asia in the south. A butterfly also lives here. And it lives for a very long time, lemongrass is the largest longest-lived of all known daytime butterflies.

And she lives for such a long time due to the special cyclical nature of her summer existence: after flying for several days, she falls into a thought-stupor that is mysterious to us, then “resurrects” again and a new stage of her extra-long life “marathon” begins.

Until the beginning of June, only overwintered individuals fly (they have lived for almost a year). And in June-July, young butterflies will emerge from the pupae; some of them will die, having lived until the beginning of October, and some will go into winter.

Description of the lemongrass butterfly caterpillar

Caterpillars hatch from eggs with the onset of sustained warmth in June. They feed, grow and go through several molts: the grown caterpillar becomes cramped in its old skin.

And the skin on the lemongrass caterpillar is matte yellow-green in color, with lighter sides, with a matte whitish light stripe above the segments where the caterpillar has legs. The skin on top is covered with black dots, with a short black spine protruding from each in the center and with a large orange “dewdrop” shining at the end. The head is green.

When you touch the caterpillar, it does not curl up or slide off the leaf - it slowly and menacingly bends up and back, raising its upper body, and emits saliva from its mouth with a pungent odor: don’t touch me, I’m eating!

The caterpillar has five instars, and each instar eats differently: those that have just hatched graze on the underside of the leaf, eating away the pulp on either side of the central vein, without biting through the upper skin of the leaf. Older caterpillars move to the upper side of the leaves and gnaw them around the edges. The lemongrass caterpillar remains a caterpillar for 3 to 7 weeks. The warmer the weather, the faster its development to the pupa.

Limonaria butterfly pupa

Entirely consisting of corners, with a very wide chest, the pupa formed by July is yellow-green in color with light yellow stripes on the sides and dark dots on the thoracic segments, a cremaster and a belt of silk attached to the bark on a buckthorn branch, victoriously sticking out vertically upward with a sharp with a thorn at the head end, it will go into the winter.

It will leave in order to release a young butterfly from its hard shell in July next year, which will continue the life line of the species into infinity.

Lemongrass gets its name from its bright yellow color. Lemongrass are long-lived, adult butterflies fly out of their winter hiding places when the primroses bloom.

   Class - Insects
   Row - Lepidoptera
   Family - Belyanki
   Genus/Species - Gonepteryx rbamni

Basic data:
DIMENSIONS
Wingspan: up to 57 mm.
Legs: 3 pairs.
Oral apparatus: Adult butterflies have a proboscis, while caterpillars have jaws.

REPRODUCTION
Mating season: in the north early in the spring, in the south later.
Development: eggs 7-14 days, caterpillar 3-7 weeks.
Doll: 12-15 days.
Lifespan: 9 months.

LIFESTYLE
Habits: fly in good weather; stay alone.
Food: adult butterflies drink nectar and various organic liquids, the caterpillar eats buckthorn leaves.

RELATED SPECIES
A relative of lemongrass is a southern European species.

Lemongrass lives much longer than most butterflies. At the end of summer and autumn, they feed intensively in order to make the necessary energy reserves and survive the long winter. In spring, lemongrass emerges from hibernation.

FOOD

   The lemongrass caterpillar eats buckthorn leaves. The female lays eggs one by one next to succulent shoots so that the caterpillars that hatch from the eggs have enough food. Dull yellow caterpillars usually first gnaw a hole in the leaf blade, then crawl to the edge of the leaf and gradually eat the entire leaf, leaving only hard veins.
   Caterpillars feed on zoster, so these butterflies are most often found where exactly such bushes grow. Adult lemongrass, like other butterflies, are able to absorb only liquid food. With their long proboscis they drink nectar, for example, from the flowers of wolfberry and coltsfoot, and they also willingly feed on the flowers of the field sotra. Lemongrass carries pollen from flower to flower.
   Lemongrass fly out of their winter shelters early in the spring, so many spring flowers are pollinated by them. The proboscis of lemongrass is well adapted to tall primrose flowers that have a long cup.