To the question A, why do butterflies have such beautiful wings? Tell me. given by the author old world the best answer is Firstly, both vision and color perception in butterflies are quite weak. Therefore, in order to be recognized by their relatives, they must have as bright a color as possible. Secondly, predators are afraid of brightly colored insects: brightly colored butterflies can turn out to be poisonous or simply taste disgusting. Therefore, this coloring is safer.
How beautiful these butterflies are! How many different colors shimmers on their wings! In ancient times, people admired them and decided to use their colors. The man caught the butterfly, tore off the wings, and shook off the pollen from them. Eh, he thinks what color I took from nature! I’ll make some paint, paint a shirt... But that’s not the case. Nature, as always, turned out to be more cunning - the colors on the butterfly’s wings are deceptive. On the surface of their wings there are small scales that reflect light at a certain angle, resulting in such a variety of shades! These colors are not of a chemical nature (i.e., not pigments, as people thought), but of a physical nature - the laws of optics work! The scales are often brightly colored and form a beautiful, intricate pattern on the wing. This is a fragment of a butterfly wing, enlarged 180 times. The scales are very thin and delicate, so if you handle butterfly wings carelessly, they can easily be damaged, as if erased, and thereby disrupt the beautiful color pattern. The scales can be pigmented and optical, due to which the wings of some types of butterflies are distinguished by an iridescent sheen with one or another shade, resulting from the refraction of sunlight.
Source:
Answer from 22 answers[guru]
Hello! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: Why do butterflies have such beautiful wings? Tell me.
Answer from European[guru]
Butterflies on Tverskaya are no worse!
Answer from Ksunya =)))[expert]
this is biology, in fact, their color is several types of protection - imitating, for example, such as, simply protective such as a peacock's eye - large circles warn the predator from the fact that he thinks that this is some kind of large animal and cannot be touched, and some other things we are used to just admiring them, and this is quite beautiful, it’s a pity that there are almost no butterflies in Moscow!
Answer from Millet[guru]
The scales on their wings are transparent, but at different “falls” of sunlight
take on different colors.
Answer from ~VESNA-LETO~[guru]
Firstly, both vision and color perception in butterflies are quite weak. Therefore, in order to be recognized by their relatives, they must have as bright a color as possible. Secondly, predators are afraid of brightly colored insects: brightly colored butterflies can turn out to be poisonous or simply taste disgusting. Therefore, this coloring is safer.
Thirdly, it is known that in many animal species during mating games males display a multi-colored outfit. Birds even deliberately adopt poses in which bright areas of their plumage are exposed. And people still have the custom of dressing up in beautiful clothes for their wedding. But butterflies emerge from the chrysalis only for the “wedding”: they have one goal - to find a “groom” or “bride” and leave offspring. This means that butterflies simply cannot help but be attractive!
Ancient Hindus, for example, considered butterflies to be inhabitants of the spirit world, and Mexican shamans argued that the scaly cover of a butterfly is “golden pollen that brings knowledge to man.”
It turned out that cult ministers Latin America were largely right. By observing butterflies, people learned a lot, and not only about them.
The scales of butterflies began to be studied in detail back in medieval times. Theodore de Mayerne, physician to King Charles I of England, described patterns on the wings of butterflies formed by scales. In the 1930s, the Austrian naturalist G. Weber depicted in all its subtleties the structure of scales that tightly cover the body and wings of the red admiral butterfly (Pyrameis atalanta). The two-layer cover of scales increases the lifting force of the wing during gliding flight, protects the butterfly from hypothermia, reduces noise and vibration during flapping flight, and also absorbs echolocation signals bats. In addition, the scales protect the wing from damage (when the wing hits a plant leaf or a drop of resin, the scales break off, reducing the force of the impact and preventing the wing from sticking to the bark of trees) and contribute to the drainage of static electricity.
The scaly structure of butterflies arose in Jurassic period more than 200 million years ago. Over a long path of evolution, it has developed to a high degree of perfection, which allows scales to perform such a variety of functions, serving one purpose - preserving the life of the insect.
The scale (the length of which does not exceed 0.5 mm) is a complex three-dimensional formation consisting of upper and lower plates connected by struts (trabeculae). There are holes in the depressions of the top plate that allow air to penetrate into the hollow space of the scale.
Answer from Danube Lunacharsky[guru]
because the scales on their wings sparkle with all the colors of the rainbow, reflecting the sun
The scales on butterfly wings are made up of special skin cells. They are very diverse in color, shape and size. They reflect and refract sunlight, shimmering with very beautiful colors.
State Institution "Zholymbetskaya" high school No. 1"
Direction of educational and research activities:
"World of Insects"
Research on this topic:
« Amazing world butterflies"
Completed by: Veronika Reshetkina
2A class student
Head: Kudabekova Gulnara Kabdullovna,
teacher primary classes
Zholymbet village
year 2013
Abstract to the work.
"The desire to know more about those animals
that are interesting to you will allow you to increase
your level of intelligence"
Research hypothesis – Any animal in our world is a mystery.
Butterflies are such beautiful, bright, fragile creatures. Don't you want to know more about them? For example, how many varieties of butterflies andwhy are they like this beautiful names? What is the peculiarity of the structure of butterfly wings? How far can butterflies travel? What transformations occur to them? Are there harmful butterflies? Can a butterfly live at home, what will it eat, where will it sleep? That's why I decided to research the life of butterflies to answer all these questions.
Purpose of the study : study the features of the life of butterflies, find answers to the questions posed.
Research objectives:
Expand your knowledge of the world around you;
Collect and study information about butterflies from additional sources;
Organize with parents the selection of material;
Watch in summer holidays the behavior and life of butterflies;
Determine whether all butterflies are beneficial;
Stages of work: 1st stage I'm planning goals and objectives: I want to learn more about butterflies, how to care for them, how they sleep; Experimentally I want to find out if the butterfly lives at home, what it will eat, where it will sleep.Can a butterfly even live at home?2nd stage I study literature, look for information about butterflies, and talk with adults.3rd stage I conduct an experiment, observe, draw conclusions, and prepare materials for a presentation.
The relevance of research:
Butterflies are numerous and very beautiful insects, their role is varied. Observing the life and development of butterflies broadens children's horizons and promotes education careful attitude to nature. The results of the study can be used in classes on the surrounding world at school.
As a result of studying the material on this topic, it was found that the wonderful world of butterflies is fraught with many unsolved mysteries.
Butterflies bring both harm to humans (caterpillars destroy crops) and many benefits. They are the second most numerous pollinators after bees.
Butterflies cannot be destroyed excessively, as this will lead to an environmental disaster.
To complete this work, I used materials from encyclopedias and Internet sites.
The result of the work was that my classmates became acquainted with my work and enriched them with new knowledge.
Introduction.
You are right. With one airy outline
I'm so sweet
All the velvet is mine with its living blinking -
Only two wings.
Don't ask: where did it come from?
Where am I in a hurry?
Here I lightly sank onto the flower.
And here I am breathing.
For how long, without purpose, without effort,
Do I want to breathe?
Just now, sparkling, I will spread my wings.
And I'll fly away.
Afanasy Fet
One warm summer day, when I was walking in my grandmother’s garden, my attention was attracted by butterflies fluttering over a flower. I've heard these insects called "flying flowers." I looked at them more closely, they are really very beautiful. Painted in bright colors, these creatures fluttered from flower to flower, feeding on sweet nectar.I really wanted to catch and hold this beautiful creature in my hands, but I understood that I could harm its fragile wings. It was a butterfly!
And I realized that there is no more delightful decoration created by nature than butterflies.I wondered how many other different butterflies there are in the world that I don’t know about.Reading it with my moma lot of interesting material From encyclopedias and anthologies about beautiful butterflies, I decided to tell you and show you everything that I learned about these amazing insects.
Life Exploration butterflies.
Butterflies are one of the most beautiful living creatures on Earth! They look likeflowers come to life, the whimsicality and brightness of the color of their wings is truly fabulous. A bunch of fairy tales And there are legends about butterflies, which scientists call rather boringly: Lepidoptera. But their names are beautiful, these are often names greek gods and heroes: Apollo, Psyche, Hector, Icarus. This is how people expressed their admiration for the bright beauty of butterflies.
And the scales are the most important thing in their outfit - the same “pollen” that is so easily erased by the careless touches of the merciless fingers of some butterfly “lovers”...
At the same time, in collections collected more than a hundred years ago, butterflies sparkle with the same freshness of colors.
In myths ancient Greece butterflies were often a symbol of love, and in ancient Greek the butterfly and the soul were called in one word - “psyche”. Peoples South-East Asia They treat butterflies with respect. Here they believe that seeing a butterfly in your home is lucky, because it symbolizes all the best in a person’s life.
In Japan, the ritual “butterfly dance”, expressing the joy of life, traditionally opens ceremonial processions and holidays.
Among Christians, a butterfly is sometimes depicted sitting on the hand of the infant Christ and symbolizes the rebirth and resurrection of the soul.
Some butterflies are more modest in color. Some, like the butterfly -oakleaf , are excellent imitations of leaves.
Thus, butterflies hide from predators by merging with environment. Many butterflies have bright, eye-catching wing colors, which warn predators that the butterfly has a very unpleasant taste. Some harmless butterflies copy the colors of unpalatable ones so that predators will leave them alone. Sometimes the females of some butterflies of the same species are completely different from each other, because they live in different places and copy the warning coloration of the poisonous butterflies there.
Other butterflies have wings decorated with eye spots and tails. This way they attract the attention of enemies to the wings, distracting them from the most important thing - the head. This bright coloring is intended to confuse a predator, such as a spider, into thinking it is coming from the wrong direction. After further examination of the drawing, it becomes clear that this does not seem to be the animal that they wanted to eat.
The same system works for birds, which, flying over a butterfly, see not an insect, but a frightening image that does not in any way resemble food. For example, from a distance, eye spotsswallowtail They look like a squinting representative of the cat family. And a bird that wants to feast on day or nightPeacock's eye , a surprise awaits: the butterfly will open its wings, and the hunter will see two pairs of scary eyes. We admire the bright beauty of butterflies fluttering over flowers, and do not think about the fact that this variety of colors is just the protection of fragile creatures from numerous enemies.
Butterflies are divided into two large groups: day and night butterflies.
There is a world a large number of butterflies. Many species are described, however, there are also many undescribed species.
Did you know that some butterflies can travel intercontinentally? Yes, they cover enormous distances, while being well oriented.Butterfly"Monarch" can fly 1000 kilometers without stopping.Painted lady flies from Europe to Africa. There it lays eggs and dies. And the descendants of those who flew to Africa go to Europe next year. Travel andwhites, And monarchs, and some Hawk Moths .
For my short life a female butterfly can lay more than 1,000 eggs.
Butterflies are born to die, giving life to a new generation. Most live only a few days, with the exception of the monarch, which can live up to six months.
In addition to the tropical butterflies that are familiar to us, there are also arctic butterflies. They are inconspicuous in appearance, their wings are not bright, but whitish or almost transparent, as if made of glass.
Butterflies are the best plant pollinators. And some flowers are generally pollinated only by butterflies. Flying from flower to flower, butterflies collect nectar and pollinate plants. If the butterfly woke up in early spring When the flowers have not yet opened, she can enjoy sweet birch sap.
How does a butterfly work?
The first thing we notice about a butterfly is its bright wings flickering over a path or lawn. Wings can be of different sizes, different colors, but there is something in common between them. Firstly, there are always four of them. Secondly, they are covered with tiny colored scales, like a tiled roof - they have large butterfly There are up to a million such scales on the wings. For this property, butterflies are called lepidoptera.
The largest moth in the world -Attacusaltas (Brazilian Agripina). Its wingspan is more than 30 cm and it is often mistaken for a bird. And the smallest is 2mm (Acetosea from England). Sitting on the ground or flower, butterflies open their wings, showing their upper, usually brighter side. They need this coloring to see each other from afar, and also to scare away enemies. There is camouflage coloring on the underside of the wings; it helps to hide from these enemies.
Another hallmark butterflies - soft proboscis. It is always coiled and unrolls when the butterfly eats.
Where do you think the butterfly's taste organs are? After all, she has no language. In the proboscis? But they didn’t guess right. Imagine - on your paws. And this “tongue” of hers is 2000 times more sensitive than that of a person. As soon as the butterfly touches tasty pollen or sweet juice with its paws, it immediately understands what’s what, and its proboscis instantly unfolds. The length of the proboscis, by the way, depends on the depth of the calyx of the flower on which butterflies of a certain species feed. Sometimes the proboscis is very short, and sometimes long, up to 35 centimeters, likeMadagascar hawk moth.
Do butterflies have a heart? Yes, I have. Only not in the chest, but... in the abdomen. And their blood is not red, but green. It does not contain hemoglobin, and it does not carry oxygen, like in humans, but delivers it to all insect cells nutrients, various hormones and enzymes.
The structure of a butterfly.
Like all insects, the body of butterflies is divided into three main sections: head, chest and abdomen. Outside, it is protected by a hard chitinous cover, forming exoskeleton. Their head is inactive, their eyes are large, round or oval, surrounded by hairs and occupy a significant part of the head. Mustache located on the parietal part of the head and are sensory organs that perceive odors and air vibrations. The antennae also help maintain balance when flying..
The butterfly breathes through the thinnest tubes - tracheas, which permeate its entire body. They are connected to outside world two holes on the chest and sixteen on the abdomen.
Each type of butterfly has its own smell. Sometimes it is pleasant - some butterflies smell of vanilla, mignonette, strawberries, geranium, and chocolate. Male cabbageweeds smell of red geranium, reptiles smell of mignonette, and rutabagas smell of lemon flowers. Some butterflies retain attractive scents even after they are dissected for collections.
How a butterfly appears.
There are hundreds of species of butterflies, and their diversity is amazing. But the most amazing thing is that the butterflies, as in a real fairy tale, experience a complete transformation! They're not the only "completely metamorphosed insects," as scientists say, but here the difference between a worm-like, voracious caterpillar and a bright, sky-fluttering butterfly is especially striking.The adult butterfly lays a larva. A small caterpillar emerges from it, but does not immediately turn into a butterfly. In order for a caterpillar to turn into a butterfly, it needs for a long time to form. First she turns into a doll. Then it remains in this state for some time, gradually develops and turns into a beautiful butterfly.When a butterfly emerges from its chrysalis, its wings are soft and wrinkled. However, they quickly harden in the sun.
Interesting Facts:
- The pupa is like a safe that protects the insect's body when it changes its shape.
- The babies that hatch from insect eggs are called larvae, although people often just call them caterpillars.
- The caterpillar grows so fast that its skin cracks, and under it there is already a brand new skin designed for growth.
- The butterfly does not grow, but from time to time it likes to drink sweet flower nectar. This is the fuel that helps it fly.
They need protection.
For a long time, butterflies have been an object of collecting, and people, sometimes far from science, have been and are doing this. People who collect such collections on a whim cannot preserve them at home, because without special processing they become food for skin beetles and other pests and are destroyed. Currently, more than a hundred species of butterflies in our country are already listed in the Red Book. They were damaged a lot by cheerful children chasing butterflies with gauze nets in their hands. Anyone who is seriously interested in butterflies can, of course, assemble and properly arrange a collection - necessary and useful tutorial. But for us non-specialists, it’s better to just admire the butterflies in summer and early spring. Let them fly! Not a single collection with dead insects frozen on pins will bring that living joy that is given by meadow herbs shimmering with colors or a clearing in the forest where bright, wonderful butterflies fly, flutter, and dance in the sunny air. Nature has developed many adaptations for them, reliably protecting them from natural enemies. Butterflies are powerless only against humans. Therefore, I remind you once again: learn to admire and observe. Don't destroy, but protect. This is an important matter for man on Earth.
You may ask: aren’t there any harmful butterflies? Of course I have. The ability of insects to reproduce in very large numbers, as if to give an “outbreak” of reproduction in certain years, is dangerous for forests, gardens, and vegetable gardens. In such cases, a special fight is waged against them. Codling moths, pine, Siberian and ringed cocoon moths, lacewings, cutworms, moths and moths that are annoying in houses are a few of the harmful butterflies. Cabbage also causes harm. Its caterpillars are easily pecked by birds and domestic chickens. But in order to successfully fight harmful butterflies, it is necessary to create stable, healthy plant species, observing correct agricultural practices, and keeping the house clean and tidy.
Of course, in the matter of nature conservation we need to start with ourselves. We must understand for ourselves that there is no need to destroy or kill defenseless creatures, be it a flower or a butterfly, or some other Living being- it is forbidden. After all, it has already been proven that every day on Earth some species irretrievably disappears, and we are to blame for this. After all, nature and man are one whole.
Conclusion
So, while working on the topic “The Wonderful World of Butterflies,” I was able to learn a lot about butterflies, get acquainted with literature, and observe the behavior of butterflies during the summer holidays.
While working on the project, I learned a lot about the life of the most beautiful insects - butterflies, felt the beauty of the world around us, and expanded my lexicon, expanded my horizons.
My observations taught me to be attentive to butterflies and treat them with care. After all, butterflies are part of our nature. native land. We must do everything to ensure that the butterflies constantly feel our care. Life on planet Earth is impossible without butterflies. So let these magnificent symbols of nature - butterflies - continue to decorate our forests and fields. Let's just admire them. Let them fly!!!
I encourage everyone to protect butterflies on Earth!
Dina Fomina
A fairy tale about the mood “Where do butterflies get their beautiful wings”
Description: The tale can be used during psychological work with children to get acquainted with the world of emotions, feelings and moods. The story will help children understand that a person’s condition largely depends on himself, lead children to study ways to self-regulate mood, get rid of bad emotions and experiences, or consolidate existing knowledge.
Target: show in an accessible form the variability of mood, the ability to control and regulate mood.
Age: senior and preparatory preschool.
Where do butterflies get their beautiful wings?
In one old, ancient forest there lived many different animals and insects. But most of all there were butterflies. Whole families of butterflies and moths lived on almost every bush, flower and tree. But these butterflies were always very, very sad. The fact is that these butterflies were not at all as beautiful as the ones we know. They were gray, brown and black. Those moths that live on trees were brown, like tree bark. Those that landed on the ground were black. And the butterflies living among the old fallen leaves were gray, brown, dirty and the same. This color helped butterflies to hide from birds. If you are brown, like bark, then you are not visible at all on the tree. But all the same, these butterflies were very sad because of their color and did not know who could help them.
One day, a girl was walking through the forest. She was picking mushrooms and berries. The girl was very surprised when she heard someone sigh and cry.
Who is it that is so sad?
“It’s us, butterflies,” the insects answered.
Why are you so sad?
We are sad that we are ugly gray and so similar to each other.
I know who can help you - rainbow! She will paint your wings in the brightest colors!
But the trees in our forest are very tall, the crowns are very dense, little sun gets here and there are no rainbows at all. And if we become colorful, birds will easily notice us; a white butterfly is very clearly visible on the black ground.
Then send for me.
The girl followed a path out of the forest, and a whole flock of butterflies flew behind her. They fluttered their wings like fallen leaves.
The forest ended, and the girl came out into a large clearing strewn with a variety of flowers - white daisies, red poppies, pink roses, blue cornflowers, yellow dandelions.
How happy the butterflies were! Such beauty! But their gray and black colors are clearly visible on multi-colored flowers. Suddenly birds will fly in, what to do! But then a rainbow came out from behind the cloud. Butterflies rushed towards her. And each of the butterflies that flew through the rainbow became bright, colorful and unique. Red, yellow, purple, blue butterflies flew to the same beautiful flowers. Now you can’t tell where the butterflies are and where the flowers are; the birds won’t be able to catch them. The butterflies were very happy and grateful to the girl who helped them so much.
The rainbow turned out to be magical, which is why the butterflies also became magical. Every time the butterfly was overcome by sadness, it turned gray; when the butterfly was afraid, it turned white; if there was a quarrel, or the butterfly was overcome by anger, it turned black. Therefore, in order not to lose their beautiful color, the butterflies tried not to be discouraged or angry, and immediately cheer themselves up. Since then, butterflies have rejoiced at their colorful patterns on their wings, and everyone who looks at them is also filled with joy and fun.
Issues for discussion:
1. What mood were the butterflies at the beginning of the story? Why?
2. Who helped the butterflies?
3. How did the girl help the butterflies?
4. What can be called the girl’s action?
5. What mood did the butterflies feel?
6. Why did the butterflies turn black and gray again?
7. How do you think butterflies lifted their spirits?
8. How to cheer yourself up?
Publications on the topic:
Spring has come and the guys and I wanted something bright and colorful. I thought about it and decided to try mixing paints! To complete this.
One day an exhibition of live butterflies came to our city! Of course, the guys and I couldn’t help but go! The guys not only met different people.
Conversation “The Amazing World of Butterflies” Preparation: Illustrations depicting butterflies, encyclopedias: “Butterflies and Moths”, “Insects”, sets of colored paper, scissors, glue, Whatman paper.
Good afternoon, dear colleagues. I would like to present to your attention a so-called journey into the world of butterflies and other exotics. This one is wonderful.
Photo report “Spring round dance – beautiful butterflies!” Junior mixed age group Hello, guests of my page. I present to your attention...
Summary of the lesson in the preparatory group “Let's talk about the mood” Goal: To generalize and expand children’s ideas about mood and its influence on people’s behavior; show how the mood of good people manifests itself.
Fairy tale for children “Where does the rainbow come from?” Video"Where do rainbows come from?" There was rain in the world. And he was very sad. Almost immediately he cries. The sun took pity on him and peeked out from behind the clouds.
Rich countries in terms of butterfly diversity include Brazil, Peru, Indonesia, China and, in general, all tropical regions of the planet. Most of the more than 150 thousand species of butterflies known today live there, which are often striking in their size and color.
One of the poorest countries is Greenland - only five species of diurnal butterflies live there, and on some small oceanic islands and in Antarctica there are none at all. In fact, some of famous people said that butterflies convey the image of a country like no other. Southern countries are bright, colorful, cheerful, and so are the butterflies. In northern countries, butterflies are dull, blurry pastel colors.
It only seems to us that they are a manifestation of the “wastefulness” of nature. In fact, butterflies are mostly colored for very prosaic reasons. One of them is camouflage, that is, butterflies “hide” in their natural environment in this way. Let's say, in the highlands of Europe there lives a group of butterflies - Parnassians. This is a large genus, which has about a hundred species; in particular, our almost legendary Apollo belongs to it. These are translucent butterflies that seem to convey the crystal transparency of the air, the colors of glaciers, clear skies. They seem to harmonize with the landscape in which they live. Another group is nigella. They are brown or black, with an ocher color - this is also an attribute of the highlands, rocks, where the dark color allows them to better accumulate solar heat in cold climates. Another purpose of paints is to confuse people. As you know, birds have very good vision, and color vision. Now they see an insect and are already flying towards it to feast on it, the butterfly suddenly spreads its wings, and there, for example, big eyes appear. The bird gets scared for a moment, and meanwhile the butterfly runs away.
In fact, butterfly wings are covered with thousands of tiny scales, which give them their bright colors. These scales have a varied texture and, as a rule, are painted with various coloring substances - pigments, on which the pattern on the wings and their color depend. Sometimes the scales are colorless, but thanks to the shape of a prism, they refract light in such a way that they create bizarre iridescence of all the colors of the rainbow. Hence the variety and play of colors on the wings of butterflies.
Who is more beautiful - a male or a female?
Male. Females are usually larger, but males are more beautiful. This is due to the characteristics of reproduction. The fact is that butterflies reproduce only once. And until the female has laid eggs, she should be as inconspicuous as possible so as not to get into someone’s teeth. And males are more beautiful, however, for reproduction this is of rather little importance. Males find a female by smell, that is, pheromones are important, not color. This is a very subtle mechanism: there are species that find a female several kilometers away. But when the female is already fertilized, the smell changes, and she no longer attracts males.
Does global warming affect butterfly population changes?
There are no global changes in fauna caused by warming yet, but certain trends can be traced. For example, you can often find the bindweed hawkmoth: this tropical look, which, however, migrates to the Arctic Circle. These butterflies arrive from the Mediterranean in the spring and lay eggs, starting a new generation that develops here. In the fall, butterflies emerge from a different generation - a local one, which can often be seen in gardens among flowers in September. But this local generation is no longer fruitful; here it dies. There is a simple reason for this: over the past few thousand years, the climate in Europe has changed several times. Ice Ages were replaced by warming. It is genetically determined for these butterflies that they should fly to the north - obviously, previously there were such conditions here that they developed and migrated without hindrance. It's too cold for them now. But let’s imagine that the temperature rises by several degrees, these butterflies will be able to populate territories much further north, and new heat-loving species will appear on our territory.
Everyone is familiar with butterflies. Since ancient times, people have admired their beauty. People do not feel aversion to butterflies as they do to some other insects, perhaps because butterflies do not bite, do not sting, and are not carriers of diseases.
In the summer I often admired beautiful butterflies. And I began to be interested in questions: why are butterflies so bright; where do they come from; Butterflies cause benefit or harm to nature and humans.
To answer these questions, I began to look for information about butterflies in encyclopedias, books, on the Internet, and watched TV shows about nature.
As a result, I learned that butterflies belong to the order Lepidoptera. The total number of the order on Earth is about 200,000 species. There are 8,879 species found in Russia.
The largest nocturnal butterfly lives in Australia and New Guinea - Atlas. She is also called the Prince of Darkness. The wingspan is 28-30 cm. It is often mistaken for a bird.
The smallest diurnal butterfly is Zizula hylax. This species is common in Africa, Madagascar, and Australia. The length of the front wing is only 6 mm.
Butterfly structure
Like most insects, the butterfly's body consists of a head, thorax and abdomen.
Two pairs of wings are important for butterflies. Since the main form of movement of butterflies is flight.
The front pair of wings are used more during flight than the rear pair, so the rear part of the wings is often reduced in size.
Males always have more developed wings than females.
Butterfly wings are usually completely covered with scales, which are modified bristles. If you carelessly take a butterfly by the wings, you can damage the scales and the butterfly will not be able to fly.
The differently colored scales on the wing form a complex pattern. Each species of butterfly has its own. The designs can be symmetrical or asymmetrical.
For example, the Madagascan Urania has a clearly visible asymmetric pattern on the lower wings.
Why are butterflies so bright and beautiful?
Butterflies' vision and color perception are rather weak. Therefore, in order for their relatives to recognize them, they must have a bright color.
In addition, the coloring of the wings helps butterflies protect themselves from enemies.
For example, the Saturnia butterfly has a frightening coloring in the form of “eyes” on its wings.
In poisonous and inedible species, such as Isabella's warning bright coloring.
The crimson Ribbonwort has a protective coloring (on the bark of a tree).
The oakleaf cocoon moth imitates a dry leaf.
Power supplies
Methods and sources of nutrition different types butterflies differ: some feed on flower nectar, others on tree sap and overripe fruits.
And, for example, Sailfish love wet clay, from which they receive microelements along with moisture.
The death's head hawk moth willingly eats honey from the nests and hives of bees.
And some butterflies do not eat at all.
Life cycle
Butterflies are insects with complete metamorphosis.
Their life cycle includes four phases:
- egg,
- larva (caterpillar),
- doll,
- adult insect - butterfly.
Butterfly eggs are covered with a dense, hard shell that protects the egg from drying out and enemies. Females lay eggs on leaves, stems or branches of plants. Their number in a clutch can be more than 1000, but few survive to the adult stage.
Caterpillar
As a rule, caterpillars emerge from the eggs after two weeks.
The caterpillar is the larva of a butterfly.
Most caterpillars feed on leaves, flowers and fruits of plants. Caterpillars of some species are predators, feeding on aphids and ant larvae.
Doll
When cold weather approaches, caterpillars weave cocoons for themselves.
Butterflies spend the winter in a cocoon. When spring comes, an adult insect, a butterfly, emerges from the pupa.
Butterfly
In the first minutes after emerging from the pupa, the butterfly is not yet able to fly. She climbs to heights, where she remains until her wings spread. The spread wings harden and acquire their final color.
The lifespan of a butterfly can be from several hours to several months and on average is 2-3 weeks.
Butterflies are pests
Butterflies cause serious damage to agriculture and forestry.
Damage to vegetable gardens is caused by cabbage grass, cutworm, codling moth and others.
Forests and gardens are harmed by pine cutworms, ermine moths, bird cherry moths, oak moths, pine moths, and many others.
Furs, clothes made from natural fabrics and furniture are harmed by fur moths, clothes moths and furniture moths.
Beekeeping is harmed by wax moths.
Beneficial silkworm caterpillar
But there are also benefits for humans from the caterpillar. Caterpillars of many species of butterflies produce silk, constructing cocoons from it. For example, silkworm. In China, sericulture uses the Chinese oak peacock eye, which has been bred for more than 250 years.
A silk cocoon usually contains up to 3,500 meters of fiber, but only a third can be unwound. To get 1 kilogram of raw silk, you need cocoons of about a thousand caterpillars, which eat 60 kilograms of mulberry leaves in a month and a half.
Butterfly conservation
Now on Earth the number of many species of butterflies has decreased significantly, and some of them are on the verge of extinction as a result economic activity human - deforestation, plowing steppes, draining swamps.
Every year, more and more countries announce a ban on uncontrolled catching of butterflies on their territory. Many species of sailboats are most strictly protected: ornithopters, teinopalpus, etc.
I don't catch butterflies anymore. After all, if you carelessly take a butterfly by the wings, you can damage the scales and the butterfly will not be able to fly.
It was not for nothing that the ancients called butterflies flying flowers - they were so beautiful. There are many legends and tales different nations world is connected with these heavenly creatures. In Japan, they believe that seeing a butterfly in your home is lucky. An Indian legend says that if you whisper your wish to a butterfly and release it, it will certainly come true.
You are right. With one airy outline
I'm so sweet.
All the velvet is mine with its living blinking -
Only two wings
Don't ask: where did it come from?
Where am I hurrying?
Here I lightly sank onto a flower
And here I am breathing.
For how long, without purpose, without effort,
Do I want to breathe?
Just now, sparkling, I will spread my wings
Afanasy Fet