The atlas peacock eye (lat. Attacus atlas), also known as the Prince of Darkness, is one of the largest butterflies in the world. It has many subspecies, and the largest of them is called the Emperor.
Spreading
The habitat of the Prince of Darkness is in subtropical and tropical forests, growing in southern China, Thailand, Indonesia and the island of Java. It prefers to be nocturnal, which is why it got its name.
Reproduction
The entire life of butterflies is intended exclusively for procreation. The female Atlas peacock eye is much larger than the males. Having been born, she begins to spread pheromones, staying for several days in anticipation of a male.
From the first minutes of his life, the male is also searching for a partner. In this it is helped by its long antennae, which capture the aroma it emits. The gentleman can detect her whereabouts within a radius of several kilometers. The fertilization process itself can last for several hours.
A day after mating, the female begins laying eggs. This continues for several nights in a row. Having fulfilled its parental duty, the butterfly immediately dies. Oral apparatus she is undeveloped. All the time she lives off the reserves that her caterpillar managed to make.
The fertilized female lays eggs on the lower part of plant leaves, which serve as food for her larvae. Incubation period lasts from one week to two.
Thick greenish caterpillars with long shoots are born. blue color and lightly powdered with a waxy coating. They grow up to 11 cm in length.
In India, this species of butterfly is domesticated. Caterpillars are used to separate silk threads. These threads are different from those produced by silkworms.
The silk thread of the peacock eye caterpillar is brown, very strong and woolly.
Fabric woven from such a thread is called fagar silk and has increased strength. Enterprising Taiwanese have adapted to using empty cocoons of peacock eyes as wallets.
Description
Peacock's eye atlas has unusual shape wings resembling a snake's head. Obviously, nature took care of its protection from natural enemies. The colors of the butterfly are also very beautiful. Her outfit contains bright red, yellow, chocolate and pinkish shades.
There is one transparent window on all wings. The wingspan of the butterfly reaches 26 cm, and their area is 400 square meters. cm.
Today's topic of the article is the most big butterfly. Butterflies belong to the order of insects with complete metamorphosis. On your own life path they go through three stages: egg, larva (aka caterpillar) and adult. Representatives of this order are characterized thick cover chitinous scales on the wings. Butterflies have the most various forms wings and the size of their span (varies from 2 mm to more than 30 cm). Today Special attention will be given the most major representative butterflies, and the criterion by which the largest butterfly will be determined is precisely the length of the wingspan.
Rating "The largest butterfly." Top 5
1. SCOOP AGRIPPINA IS THE LARGEST BUTTERFLY IN THE WORLD
The first place in the ranking is occupied by the scoop agrippina (it has another name - tizania agrippina. This moth is rightfully considered the largest, since its wingspan reaches 30 cm. The Agrippina scoop has a white and gray background of wings, on which there is a dark pattern. The shades of the wings may vary between individuals. The largest butterfly lives in Central and South America. The typical habitat of the agrippina moth is considered to be the tropical rainforests of Brazil, Peru, Venezuela and other Latin American countries.
Second place in the “Largest Butterfly” rating with a wingspan of 27 cm is occupied by the Queen Alexandra Birdwing. This diurnal butterfly lives in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. The length of the abdomen of this large and beautiful butterfly can reach 8 cm, and weight – 12 grams. The butterfly larvae measure 12 cm in length and 3 cm in thickness. The wings and abdomen of Queen Alexandra's birdwing are dark brown and white with cream or yellow patterns. Currently, this one of the largest butterflies in the world is prohibited from catching and selling, since the number of this species is small.
3. PEACOCK EYE HERCULES – NIGHT BUTTERFLY OF THE PEACOCK EYE FAMILY
Next... The Hercules peacock-eye is a nocturnal butterfly of the peacock-eye family. It lives in the tropical forests of Australia and the islands of New Guinea. The wingspan of female butterflies can reach 27 cm. The area of its wings - the largest among butterflies - reaches 262 cm2.
The swallowtail antimach is a large day butterfly from the swallowtail family. The wingspan of this butterfly named after the hero Greek mythology, reaches 25 cm. Females are larger than males. The Antimach swallowtail lives in the rainforests of Africa. Females most often live in the treetops. This one of the largest butterflies has a red-yellow, orange and even ocher background on its wings, on which dark brown spots form a pattern.
5.ATTACUS ATLAS – BUTTERFLY OF THE PEACOCK EYES FAMILY
Attacus atlas is a butterfly of the Peacock-eye family. It lives in tropical and subtropical forests of China, Thailand, and Indonesia. The wingspan of this large butterfly can reach 24 cm. In India, Attacus atlas caterpillars are cultivated and used to produce silk.
Atlas is a giant butterfly that challenges the title of the largest in the world from the Agripinna moth. Atlas belongs to the family of peacock-eyes, the representatives of which are generally distinguished by their large size. The butterfly got its name in honor of the hero of ancient Greek mythology, Atlas (better known to us under the name Atlanta). According to legend, Atlas (Atlas) held the vault of heaven on his shoulders, thus the name of this butterfly emphasizes its gigantic size.
Male Atlas (Attacus atlas).
The wingspan of the atlas is 25o mm, the largest officially registered specimen had a wingspan of 262 mm, while the unofficial record for this species is already 289 mm! Males have forewings that are wider than their hindwings, so their body shape is more triangular; females have forewings and hindwings of approximately the same size, so their body shape fits into a square. Thus, the females of this butterfly are larger than the males; they hold the world record for the largest wing area among butterflies - 400 cm²!
An atlas sitting on a person’s hands gives a clear idea of its size.
The body of the atlas itself is much shorter than the wings, but thick and voluminous, red-brown in color. The color of the wings of males and females is the same: the general background is chestnut-red - darker in the center and brighter at the edges, the edges of the wings are bordered by thin black and light brown stripes. The pattern also contains yellow and black elements. Like all peacock-eyes, the atlas has an eye on each wing, but it is relatively faintly noticeable. The fact is that the eyes are not pigmented, but translucent, as if covered with a film. The shape of the eyes is also unusual - almost triangular.
The underside of the wings is satin.
Atlas lives in countries South-East Asia: Southern China, Thailand, Indonesia, foothills of the Indian Himalayas. This butterfly inhabits tropical and subtropical forests. Atlas females are practically motionless; throughout their short lives they remain close to the place of pupation. Males, on the contrary, flutter in search of females and try to locate themselves in ventilated places, where it is easier for them to catch the scent of a female. Adults do not feed and live off fat reserves accumulated at the caterpillar stage, so the lifespan of the imago (adult form) of the atlas is only 1-2 weeks. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of a variety of fruit plants - cinnamon (cinnamon tree), rambutan, hornbeam, lagerstroemia, ardisia, apple, willow, clerodendrum and various citrus fruits.
Male atlas on tree bark.
During the breeding season, females emit odorous substances - pheromones, imperceptible to humans, but males can detect their insignificant concentration at a distance of 2.5 km. Females lay red-brown eggs (25-3 mm in diameter) on reverse side leaves. After 1-2 weeks, caterpillars emerge from them, the bodies of which have outgrowths. At first, the caterpillar's body is black, and the outgrowths are light yellow, then as it matures and increases in size, the light yellow color becomes predominant, and then the caterpillar acquires a bluish-green color, and the outgrowths become dusty, as if mealy. Before pupation, she weaves a cocoon of silky threads, maximum length the caterpillar is 11.5 cm. The cocoon-pupa is located on the branches of trees in a suspended state.
Atlas caterpillar just before pupation.
IN natural environment atlases have few enemies, but due to their low fertility they are not found anywhere in mass form. Like all large animals, these butterflies are vulnerable and have difficulty restoring their numbers in places where they were once destroyed. At the same time, people destroy these butterflies for economic purposes. In India, their cocoons are sometimes used to produce threads. Unlike silkworm threads, satin threads are coarser and brown rather than white in color; they are used to produce stronger and woolier, so-called fagar silk. In Taiwan, entire atlas cocoons are cut and, after removing the pupa, used as purses. Atlases are not listed in the Red Book, but they need protection, because they have no equal among all butterflies.
Atlas protective pose. At the moment of danger, the butterfly opens its wings and shows bright spots - such war paint can frighten a predator.
Here in Russia, we are accustomed to the fact that butterflies are relatively small size. Catching a decent specimen with a wingspan of 6-7 centimeters is already great luck. Meanwhile, far beyond the borders of our homeland live huge lepidopterans that barely fit in the palm of your hand! It is about them that our conversation today will go.
Scoop agrippina
So, in front of you Thysania agrippina or Scoop agrippina - the largest moth in the world and the largest in principle. Its wingspan is up to 28-29 centimeters, depending on the specimen, and back in 1934, an individual was caught in Brazil whose size was 30.8 centimeters!
It can be found in Central and South America, as well as Mexico. The wings are dominated by two colors - white and brown, on which there is an unusual pattern in the form of strokes. The color itself varies depending on the habitat - for some it is predominant brown tint, while others have white. Scientists know practically nothing about the life of this species of lepidoptera, except that they are nocturnal and feed on the leaves of the cassia bean tree.
Attacus atlas
In second place on our improvised hit parade is Attacus atlas, a butterfly from the Peacock-eye family. The wingspan of the largest specimen caught on the island of Java was 262 millimeters. Most often found in South China, Indonesia, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Java and so on. Interestingly, this species is cultivated in India - Attacus atlas produces magnificent silk, which is more expensive than the usual silk obtained from silkworm. And in Taiwan, empty caterpillar cocoons are used as wallets.
Queen Alexandra's Birdwing
Third place is Ornithoptera alexandrae Rothschild, a butterfly that, unlike the previous two, is classified as diurnal rather than nocturnal. Named after the wife of King Edward VII of England.
It can be found in the tropical rainforests of Papua New Guinea, however last decades The number of these lepidopterans is only decreasing, so they are now prohibited from being caught. Wingspan - up to 28 cm.
Sailboat antimah
Another honorary member of our top is the Sailboat Antimah. This is one of the largest butterflies of the swallowtail family. It can only be found in Africa, and in terms of size it simply has no equal on this continent.
It was first discovered by a British biologist in 1775, after which he sent the found specimen to his homeland. Once in London, the butterfly was examined by entomologist Drew Drury, who created the first description of the Antimach swallowtail. By the way, he was described in his own book, which was published in 1782. Interestingly, scientists for a long time could not catch the female - this happened only at the end of the 19th century.
The wingspan of the antimach reaches 25 centimeters, but in nature such individuals are quite rare, and besides we're talking about exclusively about males - females are much smaller. The wings have an unusual shape - they top part strongly elongated. The color of the wings varies from yellow to red. Also on the wings there is a pattern of dark and white flowers.
Peacock-eye hercules
Another representative of the peacock eye is Coscinocera hercules. This is a nocturnal butterfly, which is also on the list of one of the largest in the world. Distributed exclusively in the tropical forests of Australia, it is nocturnal. Its wingspan can reach 27 centimeters, and its wing area reaches 260 square centimeters - in this parameter it simply has no equal.
It feeds on plants, the list of which includes shrubs such as willow, lilac and late bird cherry.
Sailboat Maak
Sometimes this butterfly is called the Maak's tailtail or blue swallowtail - it belongs to the Swallowtail family. Unlike our previous specimens, its wingspan is not so surprising - about 14 centimeters. But Maaka is the largest butterfly in the territory Russian Federation. It was named after the naturalist Richard Karlovich Maak.
This species has a very beautiful coloration. The wings of males have a dark green tint with black margins, the lower part is lighter. But the color of females can be different - the wings are either brown or black, with pronounced red spots along the edges.
Blue swallowtail is distributed up to 54° north latitude. If we talk about our country, the butterfly can be found in Primorye, Amur region, on the island of Kunashir and on Southern Sakhalin, and even in Vladivostok in the summer. Often found in Asia, particularly Japan, China and Korea. Maak's flight begins in mid-May and ends in mid-September. It is interesting that the females keep separately, and they can be found in the crowns of trees, in the second half of summer - near flowers. Males prefer to form clusters of several dozen specimens and stay in damp areas.
The caterpillar has a protection system. If it is disturbed, a special gland appears at the end of its body in the form of two small horns, which secretes a foul-smelling liquid. In this way the caterpillar protects itself from enemies.
In the photo you can see that the butterfly looks simply amazing.
Pear peacock eye
Belongs to the Peacock-eye family. Today this is the largest moth that can be found in Europe and Russia. The wingspan of most individuals barely reaches 70 millimeters, but there are specimens with a wingspan of up to 15.5 cm! Of course, it is almost impossible to see them in nature.
On the wings, eyes with a brown rim and a black center are clearly visible, there are four of them in total. There is a gray stripe along the edge. The butterfly is found in the southwestern part of Russia, in Central and Southern Europe, in Iran, Asia, Crimea and the Caucasus. It prefers to live in places where there are many trees and shrubs, that is, in forest belts and parks. Flight time is from May to June. As we already mentioned, the pear peacock eye is nocturnal, but scientists have found that males can fly daytime. By the way, they also have unusual ability- females are able to smell pheromones at a distance of up to 10-12 kilometers, after which they fly to her.
The caterpillars are large and have a green tint. There are rows of many greenish warts on the body. Before pupation, the body color changes to yellow-red. Caterpillar feeds on leaves fruit trees, including apple, cherry, pear and so on.
Currently, the pear peacock eye is included in the Red Book of Ukraine, since the number of this species is very small.
This giant butterfly amazes with its beauty and size. It's called Peacock-eye Atlas(Attacus atlas). Its wingspan reaches 26 cm, and its wing area reaches 400 square meters. cm. According to the last parameter, Atlas is considered the largest butterfly on the planet. It is found in the subtropics Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Thailand, southern China, Malay Archipelago. The largest specimen was documented on the island Java- this female had a wingspan of 262 mm.
Atlas is painted in shades of brown, bright red, yellow and pink. On each wing it has large transparent triangular “windows”. The front wings have a bizarrely curved edge, reminiscent in shape and color of a snake's head, which repels many insectivorous animals. For this unusual feature in Hong Kong the butterfly was nicknamed "The moth is the head of the snake."
In addition to its size, the giant beauty has another unique feature - a completely atrophied mouth. During its short (1-2 weeks) life, it does not feed on anything, but processes fat reserves accumulated while still being a caterpillar.
Atlas caterpillars are also huge - up to 10 cm in length. Appearance they are quite unusual: light green in color, with large bluish processes throughout the body, which are covered with a white waxy coating reminiscent of powder.
Atlases belong to the twilight species. They are active in the late evening and early morning hours, for which they received another sonorous nickname - “Prince of Darkness”.
The entire short life of these beautiful creatures is devoted exclusively to reproduction. On the very first evening after emerging from the pupa, the male goes in search of a female. The female, emerging from the pupa, sits motionless, waiting for the male, and is able to wait for him in this way for several days. She attracts males with powerful pheromones, the smell of which the male can smell with the help of his large feathery antennae at a distance of several kilometers! Mating lasts several hours. The next evening after mating, the female begins laying eggs. Oviposition continues for several nights, and immediately after its completion the female dies.
Atlases are not only beautiful, but also “useful” butterflies. In India, they are bred on special farms to produce fagar silk, which differs from mulberry silk in its wooliness, strength and extraordinary durability. And in Taiwan, wallets are made from the huge strong cocoons of this butterfly.
To admire Peacock-Eyed Atlas you don't have to go to Asia. She is being bred into Moscow Zoo.
Photographer Sandesh Kadur, while traveling in the Himalayas, photographed the largest moth in the world. The wingspan of this moth is 25 centimeters. When the photographer first saw him, he was a little scared. The open wings of the butterfly with a pattern on them created the impression of a large, angry snake's face. It’s not for nothing that Atlas is called “the butterfly with the head of a snake” in China.
According to experts, this is a kind of protection from enemies, and the butterfly itself is completely harmless and non-toxic. She doesn't even have a mouth. For all my short life, which lasts only two weeks from the moment the pupa turns into a butterfly, this beautiful creature has only one goal - to lay as many eggs as possible. Atlases do not drink or eat. They live off nutrients, which were obtained at the caterpillar stage.
