Large brown caterpillar with eyes. Types of caterpillars with photos and names. Hiking pine silkworm

Sometimes on dill we see a large green caterpillar with bright black stripes and orange spots. I used to crush them mercilessly. But just recently I learned that this is the caterpillar of the swallowtail butterfly. And it immediately became a pity to kill them.

Swallowtail is listed in the Red Book of many countries

Why is a swallowtail a swallowtail?

We have become accustomed to the idea that the brightest and most unusual animals live somewhere in distant lands. Our swallowtail, which belongs to the family of sailboats, is not inferior to many “tropicans” in its brightness of pattern and refinement of form, but it has become less and less common. About 80 years ago, the caterpillars of these butterflies were considered malicious pests of cultivated plants, so they waged a merciless fight against them. Therefore, the number of swallowtails has sharply decreased and today they are listed in the Red Book, not only in our country, but also in many European countries.

The swallowtail received its name from the famous Swedish systematizer Carl Linnaeus. He named the butterfly in honor of the outstanding surgeon of antiquity who participated in the Greek campaign against Troy. It is borrowed from ancient Greek mythology: Machaon was the name of one of the two sons of the Thessalian king and physician Asclepius (Aesculapius, later the god of healing). This name is found in Ovid, Virgil, ancient authors wrote about the “swallowtail craft”, “swallowtail medicine”.

Butterfly

Of our daytime butterflies, the swallowtail is the largest. Its wingspan sometimes reaches ten centimeters. It feeds on the nectar of flowers. This butterfly is always in flight. Even when she sits on a flower, she continues to flap her wings. The mating games of colorful swallowtails resemble intricate dances in flight.

After courtship, the female lays eggs on a food plant: on a stem or leaf. In total, during the breeding season, one female is capable of laying about 120 eggs. During its short life (only 20 days), the butterfly lays eggs twice.

The caterpillar feeds mainly on flowers and seeds of plants, less often on leaves.

Caterpillar

After 7 days, the swallowtail caterpillar hatches from the egg - very bright and very voracious, it can eat a bed of dill in a day.

The bright colors give it a menacing look. When irritated or threatened, the caterpillar puts out orange “horns” called osmetria, secreting an orange-yellow liquid with a pungent, unpleasant odor. Only young and middle-aged caterpillars protect themselves in this way; adult caterpillars do not move their glands when in danger.

The swallowtail caterpillar clings quite tightly to the stems and does not fall, even if the stem is cut off and taken to another place.

She does not climb trees and does not eat roots. Forage plants include various umbelliferous plants, in particular hogweed, carrots, dill, parsley, fennel, celery, and caraway seeds. Can feast on Amur velvet or alder. Prefers to feed on flowers and ovaries, less often on plant leaves. By the end of its development, the caterpillar hardly eats.

When irritated or threatened, the caterpillar puts out orange “horns.”

Doll

Pupation occurs on the stems of the host plant or on neighboring plants. The color of the pupae depends on the season - summer pupae are green or yellowish, covered with small black dots. Overwintering ones are brown in color, with a black head end and thick horns on the head.

So is it a pest or not?

Now it is difficult to say how significant the damage caused by the swallowtail to cultivated plants is. Plowing land, grazing, mowing, using pesticides - all this is a real environmental disaster for the swallowtail and many other insects. And it is now rare to see this caterpillar in our garden beds. Kill it or give it the opportunity to develop into a beautiful butterfly - it's up to you.

Today, scientists from different countries are trying to artificially breed rare, endangered swallowtails, and then release them into the wild. English experts tried to restore the population of the swallowtail, which disappeared in one of the wetlands of Cambridgeshire due to land drainage in the 1950s. The eggs laid by the butterflies in the laboratory were transferred here, having previously planted about 2 thousand bushes of the bitter bitter plant. The experiment, alas, was unsuccessful.

However, there, in the UK, thanks to the experiments of biologist K. Clark in the laboratory, it was possible to breed a large number of adult butterflies within 1-2 seasons. This gives us hope that our children and grandchildren will still be able to admire the aerial dances of the beautiful swallowtail.

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 hawk moths 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 a gnawing type of mouthparts. The upper jaws of the insect 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. The salivary glands are transformed into specific spinning (silk-secreting) glands.

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 of 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.

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 in a strictly defined 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.

Life in a cocoon

To survive during the period of “inactivity” and defenselessness, the caterpillars find a suitable leaf, branch or tree trunk to which they can quietly “stick” with a strong silk thread, which they secrete from the abdomen.

To understand how a caterpillar turns into butterflies, you should delve into its ability to properly prepare yourself for this.

Having stuck to the selected surface, the caterpillar hangs on the silk thread and begins to wrap it around its body. This happens gradually, but what is important is that when wrapped, the caterpillar gives its cocoon an appearance similar to a leaf, bud or stem of the plant it has chosen.

The resemblance is so obvious that only a very observant eye can detect a cocoon on its surface. This is done so that the defenseless caterpillar is not found and eaten.

How a caterpillar turns into a butterfly inside a cocoon can only be seen by filming with special equipment in laboratory conditions. This process is so slow and secretive that it is impossible to observe it in nature.

The reserves that the caterpillar has managed to deposit in its body are quite enough for the strength to metamorphose into a butterfly.

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 whiteweed) (lat. Pieris brassicae) lives throughout Eastern Europe, northern Africa to the Japanese islands, and was also introduced to 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 (surveyor)(lat. Geometridae) is characterized by a 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, and therefore 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, currants and hazel.

• Great Harpy Caterpillar(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 woolly foot) (lat. Calliteara pudibunda) is found in the forest-steppe zone throughout Eurasia, as well as in Asia Minor and Central Asia. The caterpillar, up to 5 cm long, is pinkish, brown or gray in color. 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 the foliage of various trees and shrubs, especially preferring hops.

• Silkworm caterpillar(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 woodworm family. It is found in all European countries except the Far North, as well as in South Africa, Southeast Asia and 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 the branches and trunks of various trees, feeding on their juices.

• Lady Bear Caterpillar(lat. Callimorpha dominula) or female bear lives in Eastern, Western Europe and southeast Asia. It overwinters once and is distinguished by its black and blue color with yellow stripes and spots. Lives on nettles, geraniums, willows, raspberries, strawberries, and feeds on them.

• 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 carrots, 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 largest 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.

Poisonous caterpillars - description, types and photos.

Among the caterpillars there are quite poisonous specimens, so a bite from such a caterpillar or accidentally touching it can cause unpleasant sensations. Typically, such contact results in pain at the site of contact, redness and swelling of the skin, and less commonly, an itchy rash may appear. There are frequent cases of drowsiness, headache, gastrointestinal upset, increased blood pressure and temperature. In a word, do not be deceived by the bright and spectacular appearance of these creatures - sometimes they are dangerous.

The most famous poisonous caterpillars, ready to defend themselves from enemies and protect their food from attacks with the help of a “poisonous cocktail,” include:

• Coquette caterpillar (lat. Megalopyge opercularis)
• Saddle caterpillar (lat. Sibine stimulea)
• Caterpillar “stinging rose” (lat. Parasa indetermina)
• Spiny oak slug caterpillar (lat. Euclea delphinii)
• Caterpillar of the black bear (lat. Tyria jacobaeae)
• Traveling silkworm caterpillar (lat. Thaumetopoea pityocampa)
• Hickory bear caterpillar (Lophocampa caryae)
• Lazy clown caterpillar (lat. Lonomia obliqua)
• Saturnia Maya caterpillar (lat. Hemileuca maia)
• Volyanka caterpillar (lat. Orgyia leucostigma)

Poisonous caterpillar(lat. Megalopyge opercularis) is an insect that looks quite cute and resembles a miniature furry animal. However, this caterpillar is one of the most poisonous caterpillars found on the North American continent and Mexico. The color of the “fur coat”, under which the poisonous spines are located, varies from light gray to golden or red-brown. The length of the caterpillar does not exceed three centimeters, the width of the body is 1 cm, but even such modest dimensions make it very dangerous. After contact with an insect, within a couple of minutes, acute throbbing pain and noticeable redness of the skin, even bruising, appear at the site of contact. Later, painful enlargement of the lymph nodes, shortness of breath and chest pain occur.

Saddle Caterpillar(lat. Sibine stimulea) - a caterpillar of bright green color, both ends of the body are brown, the middle of the body has a brownish spot enclosed in a white edging, which gives this area a resemblance to a saddle. The length of the caterpillar, which lives in North and South America, is 2-3 centimeters; two pairs of fleshy appendages are equipped with stiff hairs, which contain quite strong poison. The prick of these furry stings causes severe pain, swelling of the skin, rash and nausea that lasts for several days.

Poisonous caterpillar “lazy clown”(lat. Lonomia obliqua) - an insect that lives en masse in Uruguay and Mozambique, has the most powerful natural toxin known today. The caterpillar can reach 6-7 centimeters in length, has a greenish-brown color, and accumulates venom in its spruce-shaped shoots. It loves shade, so the caterpillar usually lives in the foliage of trees, but often moves into residential courtyards. As a result of contact with this insect, painful hemorrhages appear on the skin; the caterpillar's venom can affect internal organs, causing renal colic, bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, pulmonary edema and even nervous system disorders.

Fighting caterpillars: means and methods.

Many species of caterpillars are pests and eat fruit trees, fruits and vegetables.

There are many methods to combat caterpillars, grouped into 3 main groups:

• mechanical means of combat with caterpillars, folk methods consist of manually collecting and shaking off caterpillars from plants, as well as cutting off wintering clutches. A proven method is to catch caterpillars using trapping adhesive belts and various traps with bait liquid.
• biological control methods are aimed at attracting natural enemies of caterpillars, primarily birds. To do this, comfortable conditions for their nesting are created in the gardens (birdhouses, nest boxes, feeders) and, if their numbers are small, the caterpillars are completely destroyed.
• chemical control methods with caterpillars are considered the most effective, but they cause addiction in caterpillars, so poisonous drugs (biological and chemical) should be alternated. Rovikurt, Karbofos, Lepidocide, Kilzar, and Karate are considered to be excellent products.

If the invasion of caterpillars is not significantly threatening, you can try decoctions and infusions of plants as a control: black henbane (against the cabbage caterpillar), hemlock (against all leaf-eating caterpillars), as well as red elderberry and peppermint.

• Entomophagy, or the eating of insects, has flourished since prehistoric times. Caterpillars of more than 80 genera of butterflies occupy a place of honor on gourmet menus. Caterpillars are eaten raw or fried, dried on hot coals, boiled, salted, and added to omelettes and sauces.
• The silkworm is of great economic importance for a number of silk producing countries. Indeed, from 100 kg of cocoons it is possible to isolate 9 kg of silk thread.
• The coloring of any caterpillar to one degree or another imitates environmental conditions and is the best means of camouflage and protection.

Video

Butterflies, lepidopterans, whose fossil remains have been known since the Jurassic period, are currently one of the richest species of 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 superior in beauty to the caterpillar from which it was born.

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

This is a night butterfly of the Corydalis family. 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 deciduous and mixed forests. The caterpillars feed on various broad-leaved trees, such as oak, elm, and 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 off predators. The caterpillars feed on different types of 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 humid 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 a genus of 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 in 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 entire winter and are born in the first warm days of 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 yellow stripes stand out; the head and the last segment of the body are gray on top with black dots.

Sometimes in the summer on meadow paths, or even in the city, you can meet large caterpillars slowly crawling. 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 part of the body, near the head, it 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 in 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 the evening 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. During the mating season, they often fly to light sources.

Hawkmoths are 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 not 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. They overwinter in the litter or upper layers of 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 the Belgorod Region as 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 hawk moth 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 -