This interesting butterfly lives in tropical forests South and Central America, but most often it is found in the Amazon basin. It is in the Amazon jungle that these glass butterflies are the most common species of insects from the order Lepidoptera. It seems that nature was in a hurry when creating Greta Oto, and did not have time to give her a colorful outfit, leaving most of the wings transparent. But this did not stop the butterfly from becoming beautiful.
Greta Oto, or glass butterfly, belongs to the nymphalidae family. She's no different large sizes like some tropical butterflies. The wingspan of this transparent beauty is no more than 6 centimeters. The surface of a butterfly's wings is not completely transparent: there is a pattern along the edges, as well as a mesh pattern over the entire surface of the wing.
But most of the glass Greta Oto's wing is still transparent. This is a very unusual sight when through the wing of a butterfly you can see everything that is behind the butterfly.
This anomaly, according to scientists, is due to the fact that for some reason part of Greta Oto’s wing is devoid of colored scales. Therefore, sunlight is not reflected from the surface, but passes through the wing.
In addition to the unusual wings, the butterfly has another interesting feature. Its caterpillars feed exclusively on poisonous plants of the genus Cestrum. Such a toxic mono-diet leads to the accumulation of a large number of poison that persists throughout life. Therefore, having turned into a butterfly, Greta Oto is of no interest to predators. She does not have natural enemies, and its prosperity depends only on favorable living conditions.
Another interesting feature are increased requirements glass butterfly to quality environment. Scientists have noticed that if the ecological condition of the area where Greta Oto lives deteriorates, the number of butterflies decreases sharply. The glass beauty is not a plastic species that can adapt to deteriorating environmental parameters, which makes it very vulnerable to modern world. This feature allows scientists to use Greta Oto's abundance data as an indicator of environmental health.
Living in the humid forests of Southern and North America Greta Oto, or glass butterfly (lat. Greta oto) is a real miracle of nature. Her wings are so transparent and thin that you can look through them as if through glass.
Such an appearance - original way camouflage. Unlike other butterflies from the nymphalid family, Greta Oto is not painted in bright, warning colors. This unusual butterfly solved the issue of its own safety by becoming completely transparent.
The color of butterfly wings is given by multi-colored scales attached to their surface. Greta Oto has no colored scales, but at a certain angle to the light it loses its transparency and begins to shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow, like a soap bubble. The only thing that makes the glass butterfly visible is the opaque borders of the wings, which are brownish-orange in color, and the brown body.
Despite their external fragility, Oto Gretas are strong and resilient butterflies. During migrations, they unite in groups and fly up to twenty kilometers a day in search of better life. During the mating period, males gather in a shady place and arrange something like a viewing party. They are not afraid of fair competition and actively emit pheromones to attract females.
The caterpillars of glass butterflies are more familiar to the eye: their bodies are thick, covered with dense fibers, and are colored purple with stripes. From birth, Oto grets feed on poisonous plants, and this outfit is a warning to predators. They do not lose their toxicity even when they become adults, so transparent butterflies are just as unpleasant to the taste as their caterpillars.
Greta Oto or glass butterfly is a unique species of butterfly that is a member of the Insect class. To those who have seen a glass butterfly, the mystery of flowers is revealed. This sweet and fragile creature is beautiful. The glass butterfly Greta Oto is one of the most beautiful insects on the planet. In this article you can see a description and photo of a glass butterfly and learn a lot of interesting things about it.
Butterfly Greta Oto looks completely weightless. This creation is incredibly gentle and refined, as if it were made of crystal. The wings that nature gave to this magical butterfly are incredibly beautiful! They are so transparent and thin that they glow right through, like glass.
Greta Oto lacks the colored scales that give color to butterfly wings. However, at a certain angle of incidence of light, the glass butterfly changes its transparency and begins to shimmer like a soap bubble, emitting rainbow highlights. The Greta Oto butterfly looks extraordinary - it is a real miracle of nature!
The glass butterfly is made visible by the framed edges of its dark brown wings with a reddish-reddish sheen and its brown body. There are also whitish spots on the wings of this beauty, which complete her fabulous image. The glass butterfly looks very small and has a wingspan of only 6 cm.
Where and how does the Greta Oto butterfly live?
The Greta Oto butterfly lives in Central and South America. The amazing glass butterfly lives in tropical rainforests from Mexico to Argentina. In its habitat, Greta Oto is the most numerous species.
The butterfly's lack of color is a way of camouflage. Light passes through the thin wings of the insect, as a result of which it becomes almost invisible and unnoticeable to birds and other predators. Despite their external fragility, glass butterflies are strong and resilient. During migrations, Greta Oto live in groups and can cover a distance of up to 20 kilometers in a day. Greta oto play an important role in the pollination of most plants.
The main difference between these butterflies is that they are poisonous. The butterfly's toxicity deters predators, allowing it to increase its population size. In this regard, enemies in natural environment insects are not afraid. Who would want to eat food laced with toxic toxins? Therefore, birds and other insectivorous predators are not interested in the Greta Oto butterfly.
During the mating season, male glass butterflies gather in shady places and conduct something like a viewing. They engage in fair competition and actively emit pheromones to attract females.
The Greta Oto butterfly lays eggs on small evergreen shrubs of the genus Cestrum, the leaves of which will then become food for the caterpillar. The females of these butterflies do not lay eggs on the same plant twice. The caterpillars of glass butterflies are striped and covered with thick hairs.
What does the glass butterfly Greta Oto eat?
Greta Oto butterflies feed on the nectar of numerous flowers growing in their habitats. Glass butterflies are not sensitive to substances from poisonous plants and use them for their protection.
At the caterpillar stage, Greta Oto butterflies feed only on plants of the genus Cestrum. Glass butterfly caterpillars eat this toxic plant so that their bodies accumulate cestrum extracts that are harmful to birds. Toxins accumulated from plants remain in the insect’s body throughout its life. Adult Greta Oto butterflies feed exclusively on nectar from flowers of various plants.
Male glass moths also feed on the toxic nectar of flowers in the Asteraceae family. The toxic substances contained in this nectar serve as a pheromone for males to attract females.
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The Greta Oto glass butterfly is not only a unique insect living on our planet, but also an indicator of the well-being of the Earth’s ecological system.
Her wings are something unimaginably beautiful! She herself seems completely weightless! Another name for the glass butterfly is Greta Oto. It is a representative of the order Lepidoptera insects and belongs to the nymphalidae family. The genus to which the insect belongs is called Greta.
On different languages The “name” of a butterfly has its own meaning. For example, in Spanish Greta Oto is called “espejitos”, which means “little mirrors”. The English-speaking population calls the butterfly “glasswinged butterfly”, which translates as “butterfly with glass wings”.
Nature has endowed this amazing creature with wings that glow right through. Only their edges have color. From a scientific point of view, this is explained by the fact that there simply are not enough colored scales to cover the entire surface of the wings. Therefore, the edge of the wing of a glass butterfly is painted red and black, and the middle is colorless. There are also white streaks on the wing that complement the design of this beauty.
Greta Oto butterflies are very small. When they open their wings, the distance between them is about six centimeters.
As for the caterpillar stage, glass butterflies have striped colors with a predominance of red and purple hues.
These magical creatures inhabit rain forests, located on the territory of Argentina and almost the entire South American continent. The extent of its range reaches Mexico. It is worth noting that in the forests located along the banks of the Amazon River, Greta Oto is the most numerous species among all other butterflies.
A peculiarity of butterflies of this species is that at the caterpillar stage they feed only on poisonous plants of the genus Cestrum. Over the course of its entire life, toxins accumulate in the animal's body and are retained in the body of the imago (the last stage of butterfly development - an adult insect). Such a toxic butterfly is unattractive to predators, which is what allows it to increase its population size.
Glass butterflies are excellent and hardy flyers. Greta Oto can fly about 12 kilometers per day (during the migration period).
An adult insect eats exclusively plant nectar. Greta Oto’s “menu” includes numerous varieties of flowers that grow in the habitats of this butterfly.
Caterpillars feed only on the leaves of plants belonging to the genus Cestrum.
Greta Oto's egg laying is done on the leaves of cestrum plants so that the caterpillar that hatches from the egg can immediately begin to actively consume this plant. Sometimes eggs are laid on plants from the nightshade family. Scientists noted that the female glass butterfly does not lay eggs twice on the same plant.
Due to the poisonous nature of this insect, it has no enemies in its natural environment. Who would want to eat food if it is poisoned? So birds, like other insectivorous predators, bypass Greta Oto.
Researchers have noticed a pattern that glass butterflies inhabit only ecologically clean areas. Therefore, if the population of a particular region begins to decline sharply, this is a signal to conservationists that environmental change for the worse is impending.
Original and unusual things are always created as a result of inspiration, creative search and a special attitude. Most likely, it was in this vein that Mother Nature acted when creating some insects. How else can one explain the fact that some of their species turned out to be incredibly scary and even disgusting, while others turned out to be cute, funny and very colorful.
As an example, we can take the Greta Oto butterfly, which is called the “glass” butterfly. This is just a unique insect, cute and very fragile. At first glance it may seem that this is not Living being, but a crystal brooch, which at the slightest touch can crumble into small pieces. However, there is no doubt that our heroine is really extremely gentle. To do this, just look at her thin and transparent wings. The butterfly itself is like a feather, which at the slightest breath of wind can break off and fly. She is completely weightless.
The butterfly's habitat includes the territory South America. Most of it is in the area of the Amazon River. Most likely, this is due to high humidity, to which the butterfly is partial. Greta Oto also has other names. The Spaniards call it “little mirrors”, and the British call it “a butterfly with glass wings”. We call it “the butterfly with crystal wings.” In essence, all these names are absolutely identical, and relate to appearance a butterfly, or rather, its transparent wings. Only their edges are covered with colored scales, while the rest is colorless and transparent. The edging can be red or black. The result is a very original ornament.
The insect is very small. Its wingspan is only six centimeters. Scientists classify the butterfly as a transparent insect. Despite such a fragile and pretty appearance, the butterfly has serious weapons. While in the caterpillar stage, it feeds on the leaves of a poisonous plant. As a result, toxins accumulate in her body, which make her incredibly toxic. This is evidenced by the bright edging of its wings, which scares away predators. The caterpillar itself is also unusually colored. Her body is covered in red and purple stripes. Due to its poisonous nature, Greta Oto has no natural enemies.
An adult butterfly feeds exclusively on nectar, which it obtains from flowers and plants. She travels vast distances in search of food. During the day it can fly more than ten kilometers.
The butterfly reproduces only in those areas where the cestrum grows. Greta Oto lays eggs on its leaves, from which caterpillars subsequently hatch. They feed exclusively on this poisonous plant. The most interesting thing is that for each next clutch the butterfly chooses a new plant. She never makes two clutches in one place.
The butterfly is very sensitive to the ecological state of the environment, and is its natural indicator. She tries to avoid polluted places. The unfavorable ecology is evidenced by a sharp decline in its population.