Tizania agrippina belongs to the order Lepidoptera, family Noctuidae. This is the largest moth from the noctuid family.
She is called differently, but each nickname is beautiful in its own way and fully corresponds to its unusual appearance winged beauty. Agrippa has several names, including the white witch, scoop agrippa, and sorceress.
External signs of Tisani agrippina
The Agrippa moth has a wingspan of up to 31 cm, but in terms of wing surface area it is inferior to another butterfly - the peacock eye.
One of the large specimens of Tisania agrippina was caught in Costa Rica with a wingspan of 28.6 cm and a forewing length of 14.8 cm. The second large representative of this butterfly species was discovered in Brazil. The wingspan of the second individual was 29.8 cm, and the length of the front wing reached 13.4 cm. However, experts doubt the accuracy of the measurements.
The moth is the world's largest butterfly by wingspan. The color of the wings of the Agrippa armyworm is white or light gray. Against this background, a pattern formed from alternating dark, usually brown and brown blurry spots is noticeable. The pattern consists of dark brown lines and bands. The butterfly's wing line is sinuous. Color shades vary greatly among different individuals of a given species.
In some butterflies the brown pattern is pronounced and prevails over the white background of the wings, in others the pattern is not so noticeable against the general background color range. The underside of the body is dark brown with scattered white spots, in males with a special metallic sheen of a bluish tint or matte.
Distribution of Tisani agrippina
The habitat of the Agrippa moth is located in Central and South America; the butterfly is found in Mexico. It came to Texas as a result of the migration of insects from southern regions.
Habitats of the Agrippa armyworm
Agrippa lives in the jungle South America, also found in humid tropical forests.
Peculiarities of behavior of the Agrippa butterfly
To attract a male, the female Tisania agrippina secretes pheromones (odorous substances) with the smell of milk chocolate, and its sensitive antennae detect negligible concentrations of the substance at a distance of several kilometers. The armyworm Agrippa, sitting on a tree trunk with folded wings, against the background of brownish-gray tree bark, is practically invisible to birds. Nature gave such a magnificent camouflage to a rare butterfly, thereby increasing the chances of survival in natural environment a habitat.
Agrippa nutrition
The lifestyle of Thysania agrippina is little studied, but in accordance with the description of the related species Thysania zenobia, cutworm larvae feed on the leaves of plants of the Cassia genus Cassia of the legume family.
If you look at butterflies in middle lane Russia, they rarely grow larger than Walnut. And everyone has long been accustomed to this type of winged decoration of fields and meadows.
However, there are species of butterflies that are larger in size than even the rather large birds familiar to Russians. Such fluttering creatures live only in the tropics. Which one is the best now? big butterfly in the world it is impossible to say for sure. Several species compete for the prestigious title. And all because butterfly wings can be assessed in different ways - by area or by maximum span. By the way, the largest butterflies in the world also claim to be the most beautiful butterflies on the planet.
Tizania agrippina
One of the largest butterflies in the world is Tizania agrippina. It is also called scoop agrippina. The wingspan of this person can be 30.8 centimeters. This particular specimen was caught and measured in 1934 in Africa. And this is by far the most big representative Tizania agrippina spp. However, this species is inferior in wingspan to the Atlas Peacock-Eye, which is also competing for the title of “the largest butterfly in the world.”The largest butterfly in the world lives mainly in Mexico, South and Central America. They emigrated there from more southern regions. And the individual feeds on the leaves of cassia - this is a shrub that grows to a meter in height. Tizania agrippina is difficult to see during the day; it is exclusively nocturnal. Moreover, if such a record-breaking butterfly comes into a person’s field of vision, then it is better to admire it from afar. And not because it is poisonous or can cause any harm, the armyworm is on the verge of extinction.
Externally, Tizania is very similar to a huge one beautiful moth. Both pairs of butterfly wings are wavy at the edges. Top part the wings and body may be white with multiple wavy brown, gray and brown stripes. Different individuals of this species may have different colors. In some, the brown pattern is more pronounced than in others and dominates the overall white background. The lower part of the butterfly's body is usually dark brown with whitish spots, but can also be matte or have a metallic sheen.
Koscinoscere hercules
Another contender for the title of “The largest butterfly in the world” is Koscinoscere hercules. Also quite a large individual. Its size can reach up to 28 centimeters; these dimensions are achieved mainly by females, while males are not so impressive. You can distinguish a male from a female not only by its wingspan, but also by its appearance. The difference is simple: on males you can see very long “spurs”. 
Incredibly large and beautiful Koscinoscere hercules butterflies can be found in Australia and New Guinea. Like previous record holders, these winged creatures are nocturnal, so it is better to go out after sunset to see the spectacles in search of unprecedented butterflies. By the way, not only the Koscinoscere themselves are impressive with their dimensions, but also their caterpillars. They have impressive sizes, growing up to 16-17 centimeters in length.
Peacock-eye Atlas
Another participant in the ranking of the largest butterflies in the world. And again with a rather original name. Peacock-eye Atlas can reach a size of 26 centimeters. The largest individual that was found and measured lived on the Indonesian island of Java. The size of the butterfly was 26.2 centimeters. Well, in general, this species flies throughout China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, the Philippines and New Guinea.It is worth noting that female Atlas Peacock-eyes are much larger than males. Individuals feed on leaves of bushes and trees. And like previous record holders, they lead a nocturnal lifestyle. They are especially active during twilight, early morning and late evening, which is why they received the nickname “Prince of Darkness.” And the best way to observe the largest butterflies in the world is not in person, but in photographs. However, residents of Russia can see the beauty without leaving the country - Atlas Peacock-Eyed is bred in the Moscow Zoo.
By the way, the Atlas Peacock-eye species itself is quite interesting. During mating periods, a male can detect a female at a distance of up to several kilometers. And the mating itself lasts several hours without interruption. Immediately after emerging from the pupa, both the male and female are ready to reproduce. Peacock-eyes are unusually patient; females can wait for their male for several hours, while sitting motionless in one place, while the male will look for her at this time. And it is precisely this process, that is, reproduction, that is the meaning of life for the largest butterfly in the world. By the way, the life of a female is quite short. She dies immediately after laying offspring.
By the way, in Taiwan, Peacock Eyes without knowing it benefit people. People use caterpillar cocoons as wallets.
The largest butterfly in the world amazes with its beauty. The winged individual can be colored bright red, yellow, pink and brown shades. And on each wing of the butterfly there are large triangular transparent “windows”. The front wings have a rather bizarre curved edge, which in shape and color resembles a snake's head. This is what the Peacock Eye scares away insectivorous animals. By the way, in Hong Kong, for this unusual feature, Atlas was nicknamed “The Moth - the head of a snake.”
In addition to its size, Peacock-Eyes has one more feature - its mouth is completely atrophied. Throughout its short life (only 1-2 weeks), the butterfly does not feed on anything, but processes all the fat reserves that it accumulated as a caterpillar.
By the way, the caterpillars of the giant butterfly are also huge - they grow up to 10 centimeters in length. AND appearance theirs is original - they are light green in color with large blue processes throughout the body, which are covered with a waxy white coating (similar to powder).
Peacock-eye Atlas is not only beautiful, but also useful butterfly. In India, it is bred on special farms where fagar silk is obtained. It differs from the silkworm product in its wooliness, strength and durability.
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Six representatives of the order Lepidoptera are vying for the right to hold the title “The largest butterfly in the world.” Each species is a leader in size, either span, or length, or wing area, or prevails in size among nocturnal and daytime butterflies.
To determine the size of the wingspan, it turns out that there are special standards established by entomologists for specimens placed in collections. The wings of butterflies must be spread in a certain way, so that a right angle is formed between the body of the insect and the lower edge of the front wings. Measurements in violation of this rule led to misunderstandings regarding the wingspan, since the indicators increased by 0.5-1.8 cm.
Scoop agrippa
Thysania agrippina is a nocturnal moth and the largest in the world based on its wingspan. According to various sources, it reaches 25-31 cm. A collection specimen from Costa Rica is known, which had a span of 28 cm. The span of another Brazilian specimen, caught in 1934, was 30.8 cm. But this is not known case, how accurately the measurements were taken.
The coloring of the insect's wings is quite inconspicuous: on a light gray, almost white background, symmetrical strokes with wavy lines of brown and brown alternate. Male moths are more attractively colored than females. However, this is only visible when the butterfly's wings are folded. On their lower side, closer to the abdomen, the color is brown, turning into a blue-violet iridescent tone with bright white spots.
The distribution area of the world's largest butterfly is South and Central America; the insect is also found in Mexico. The typical area where the species predominantly lives is the jungle of South America. The lifestyle of insects is poorly studied; presumably these butterflies, like caterpillars, feed on the leaves of one of the plants of the legume family. Life expectancy and reproductive characteristics are unknown.
If you ask entomologists which butterfly is the largest in the world based on total wing size, they will deservedly name Coscinocera hercules. It is ahead of all other lepidoptera in this indicator. Their span in females does not exceed 27 cm. However, the area can reach 263 cm2. Males are slightly smaller, colored much darker than females, distinguished by long tail-shaped corners of the hind wings, sometimes elongated by 13 cm. Each of the four wings of individuals of both sexes has a transparent eye spot, which is larger and more noticeable in females.
Indeed, the wings of this nocturnal species are the most massive and largest, therefore, if you do not take into account the span, Koscinocera hercules can be considered the largest butterfly on the planet. Its habitat is the tropical forests of Papua New Guinea and one of the northern regions of Australia.
Female Queen Alexandra's Birdwing
The butterfly with the world's largest wingspan of any diurnal species is Ornithoptera alexandrae. Enough interesting story associated with the discovery of this species in 1906 by zoologist Albert Meek. On the Pacific Islands near Australia, he compiled a collection of insects for the avid butterfly collector banker Rothschild. It was he who in 1907 gave the largest butterfly in the world a name associated with the name of Queen Alexandra, the wife of the English King Edward VII. As this species flutters through the treetops tall trees, the first specimen obtained, which turned out to be a female, was shot with a gun. Small bright birds, from which they were later made into stuffed animals, were shot down with cartridges loaded with tiny shot or mustard seeds, so as not to damage the birds’ plumage. The same charges were used for large flying insects.
What the world's largest butterfly (among diurnal species) looks like depends on the sex of the individual. Males are smaller, with more graceful and brighter colored wings, the span of which does not exceed 20 cm. Females have a velvety brown coloring with a beige-white pattern. Their wingspan sometimes reaches 27 cm, and their abdomen, 8 cm long, weighs about 12 grams. Ornithoptera alexandrae - endemic, living only in tropical wet forests one of the regions of the mountains of New Guinea. After a volcanic eruption in the middle of the last century destroyed most of the lepidopteran population, they are considered a rare species.
The most common of the largest butterfly species is Attacus atlas. The insect is not much inferior in scope and wing area to Koscinocere hercules. You can verify this by looking at a 1922 specimen from the Australian Museum: the width of the wingspan of this individual is 24 cm. Higher figures are often found due to incorrect position of the wings when measuring the insect. Therefore, the atlas peacock eye is not considered the largest butterfly in the world.
Photos of this species are plentiful and easily taken by tourists while traveling in the south-eastern countries of Asia. And this is not surprising, because the habitat of the Atlas peacock eye is very wide in this part of the world, and the list of food plants for the caterpillars is very diverse. Large, thick caterpillars accumulate nutrients, on which adult butterflies live, since they themselves do not have developed oral apparatus and do not feed throughout their short life.
In India, the species is bred artificially. From the threads of huge (palm-sized) cocoons, high-strength woolly farg silk of natural beige-brown shades is produced on a non-industrial scale. For residents of Taiwan, cocoons often replace wallets.
Sailboat antimah
Papilio antimachus is not considered the largest butterfly in the world, but it is the largest diurnal species in Africa. In this species, the males are larger, the wingspan of which sometimes reaches 25 cm. The average size is 18-23 cm. Such a significant distance between the front wings is created due to their highly elongated apices. Antimah swallowtails are brightly colored creatures with brownish, ocher, orange and red tonal tints of the general background and a dark, almost black pattern.
The first specimen (male) brought to England and given a scientific description dates back to 1775, it was caught in Sierra Leone. Only a hundred years later, a second sample was obtained and found its way to Europe. The first female Papilio antimachus caught was brought to members of Lord Banker Rothschild's expedition by the natives in 1882.
The butterfly's habitat on the African continent is quite wide; it can be found in tropical rainforests. However, the species is one of the few. Males often accumulate in large colonies on plant flowers. Females prefer dense tree crowns and practically do not descend or fly out into open spaces.
This nocturnal insect is considered the most beautiful and longest of all the large butterflies in the world. Even the females of the Madagascar comet, larger and more massive than the males, have a wingspan that does not exceed 18 cm. But their lower corners of the hind wings are excessively elongated. In males, hypertrophied narrow “tails” reach 16 cm, which in total with the rest of the wing length is more than 30 cm. In females, the “tails” are twice as wide and shorter (8 cm).
It's not just its unusual trail that makes the Madagascar comet attractive. Its bright yellow color is decorated with “eyes”, one on each wing, a rich brown color with a black “pupil” dot in the center. The coloring is complemented by wavy brown-red lines, brown-black spots at the tops of the wings and a black border on the lower wings.
Argema mittrei is endemic, found only in the tropical rainforests of Madagascar. In the country, the species is bred in captivity for sale to collectors. In 1995, a 500 ariary banknote was issued in Madagascar, where, among other endemics of the country, the Madagascar comet is depicted.
Sailboat Maak
Not the largest butterfly on the planet Papilio maackii - largest representative detachment found in Russia. Lives on o. Kunashir, in Primorye, Amur region, Southern Sakhalin. The wingspan of females is 13.5 cm, males - 12.5 cm.
Maak's swallowtails have a very beautiful rainbow coloration. Males are distinguished by iridescence from malachite green to cobalt blue. In females, the color varies depending on the subspecies.
Tizania agrippina (lat. Thysania Agrippina) is one of the largest moths. It belongs to the Noctuidae family. The most unusual thing is that a representative of this family belongs to the largest butterflies in the world, while all other moths have a wingspan of no more than a few centimeters. Sometimes she is called the White Witch.
In the semi-darkness, the silently rushing Agrippina can be confused with a flying bird, because its wingspan ranges from 22 to 31 cm.
Description
Looking at a butterfly, you involuntarily compare it with big birds. On the light background of the wings there is a clear pattern of alternating light and dark stripes and strokes, creating the illusion of plumage. These so-called feathers have a slightly metallic sheen. The marginal line is sinuous.
The color of butterflies varies from dark to light tones. The lower part of the body is brown with white spots. In males, the abdomen has a blue-violet sheen. The simple pattern on the wings of Tisani agrippina imitates the texture of tree bark and allows the butterfly to easily camouflage itself among vegetation.
One of the largest specimens was caught in Central America in Costa Rica. The length of its front wing reached 148 mm, and the wingspan was 270 mm. The butterfly with a wingspan of 280 mm was brought from Brazil.
Spreading
Tizania agrippina is called the South American tropical, therefore, the habitat of the White Witch is in humid equatorial forests South and Central America.
This species is on the verge of extinction. Large-scale deforestation and drainage of peat bogs have led to a disastrous decline in the population. In Brazil, he is taken under state protection.
Reproduction
ABOUT life cycle butterflies are still little known. There is an opinion that the caterpillar of Tisania agrippina feeds on the leaves of plants belonging to the genus Cassia from the legume family (hay leaves).
The length of the caterpillar is about 16 cm. Surely, like all butterflies, the White Witch lays eggs, they develop, going through all stages. A huge butterfly emerges from the pupa.
At the end of the 17th century, entomologist and engraver from Germany Maria Merian (1647-1717) made detailed description and depicted the classic cycle of metamorphosis in an engraving. She used the Tisani agrippina species as an example.
It is almost impossible to see the White Witch during the day. It camouflages itself on trees at a height of more than 3 meters. Having spread out her huge wings, she completely merges with the light background of the trunk. The frightened butterfly, deftly maneuvering, flies to another suitable tree and merges with its trunk.
The moth agrippina is the largest butterfly in the world. Depending on the specimen, its wingspan is 25..29 cm.
What does it look like
The main background of the wings is light gray and brown, decorated original pattern in the form of spot-smears, dark brown stripes and ornate patterns in the frame. Different individuals of this species are variable in color: some have a more brown pattern than others, dominating the light background. The color of the body in the lower part is dark brown with white splashes, in males with a silver-blue sheen.
The life of this species of cutworm has not been fully studied; scientists can only say with confidence that the insect is nocturnal and feeds on the foliage of the cassia bean tree.
The Agrippina cutworm lives in South and Central America and Mexico. It belongs to a small genus, therefore this species is classified as an endangered species.
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The largest specimens
The moth agrippina is rightfully considered the largest butterfly. According to various literature sources, which provide slightly different data on wingspan. The named values range from 25 to 31 cm. However, the authors do not cite sources of information. However, there are two recorded cases of the capture of the Agrippina cutworm.
The first case occurred in Costa Rica, where an individual was caught: forewing length 14.8 cm, total span 28.6 cm. The second case occurred in Brazil in 1934, largest scoop had a wingspan of 29.8 cm.
However, well-known entomologists made a reservation that the presented butterfly specimens did not have their wings spread properly (according to the standards of entomological collections, the lower edge of the front wings should form an angle of 90 degrees with the body), so the wingspan was artificially increased. In toga, having reconstructed the correct location of these individuals, it turned out that their span was no more than 27.. 28 cm.