News and SocietyNature

Butterfly of the sub-salaries: description, life cycle, habitats. Swallow machaon

The butterfly of the sub-world received its name in honor of the famous ancient Greek doctor Podaliria, the hero of myths. This species belongs to the family of sailing ships.

Habitat

In search of food the butterfly flies along the slopes of ravines, foothills, glades, forest edges. Can fly into the gardens and parks, rich in flowering trees and shrubs.

Due to the fact that sailboats (butterflies) migrate for long distances in search of a home, they can be found in North Africa, the Middle and Middle East, the Caucasus, and also in hot regions of Europe. In the warm season, these insects can be seen in Scandinavia and the British Isles.

In the Crimea, the butterfly lives in the mountains and in the flat areas. Preference is given to sites with shrubby vegetation.

Butterfly butterfly: description

The abdomen is narrow and long. The forehead of the butterfly is strongly lowered. Figure on the wings, the range of which reaches 7-9 cm, is the same for females and males. The main color is cream, on which are three long and two short transverse wedge-shaped bands of a grayish hue. Fore wings measuring 3 to 5 cm along the edge are trimmed with a black frill. On the hind wings are black tails, as well as two gray wedge-shaped strips and bright blue spots. The edge of the wings is bordered by stripes of brown and black hue, on which there is one blue spot. The females of these butterflies are larger than males.

Varieties of submaliria

The coloring of the insect wings can vary depending on the subspecies.

The butterfly of the subalilar is like a ship floating on a watery surface. It can be found in alpine meadows. Distinctive features of a butterfly of this species:

  • Wide strips of black color;
  • Small size of the wings;
  • Relatively short tail on them.

There are several more subspecies:

  • Iphiclides podalirius virgatus. It has a white color of wings.
  • Iphiclides podalirius feisthamelli. The subspecies resides in Portugal and Spain. Male males have pale yellow fore wings with an orange-yellowish border.

Swallow machaon

This butterfly, unlike the subaliria, has another pattern of wings and a length of tail. This name was given to the insect by Swedish scientist K. Linnaeus. The first generation of butterflies has a more pale color. On their wings a dark figure is visible. In very hot weather, scientists noted the appearance of smaller specimens. Insects of the summer generation are characterized by a brighter color and a larger size. Machaon forms more than 30 subspecies. It belongs to the same family as the subaliries. In the northern part of Europe, sailfishes (butterflies) develop mainly in one generation. They fly from July to August. In the south of Europe, two generations are distinguished, which fly from April to October. The life span of an adult is about three weeks.

Life Cycle and Reproduction

Development of the butterfly (subaliria) occurs in two generations. The first is born after May 10 and actively flies during the month, the second - from July to August.

The male attracts the female with beautiful bright wings, fluttering next to her. Before laying eggs, a female specimen carefully looks for the plant from which it will feed, and lays one egg on the reverse side of the leaf. Eggs of a butterfly are dark green with a reddish top, bordered by a pair of yellowish rings. After a short period of time, their color changes, becoming bluish with a pattern of black. The shape of the egg is slightly globular. There is an embryo in a mesh fragile shell. From six to seven days the stage of maturation lasts. For all life the female lays up to one hundred and twenty eggs.

The caterpillar has an elongated shape, its length is about 3 cm. Development occurs from May to April of the following year. They feed on caterpillars in the early morning and at night with leafs, gnawing them around the edges. In the afternoon they are in a state of rest, resting on the leaves with the help of a woven pillow. At moments of danger, the special glands produce a specific odor that repels predators.

For pupation, caterpillars sprawl over huge distances in search of a suitable place. This process occurs in a dense bush, near the rhizomes or in the crevices of tree trunks. The summer pupa has a greenish color with small veins, which resemble the leaves of the fodder plant. Winter - a dark yellow or brown shade, disguised as a color of dry leaves. The winter period of the pupae is carried out by attaching to the fodder plant.

What does the butterfly eat?

The caterpillar of this species favors fruit trees for this purpose:

  • Apple tree;
  • Cherry;
  • Plum;
  • peach.

The butterfly eats on the flowers of the following plants:

  • Viburnum;
  • Honeysuckle;
  • A snake;
  • Broom;
  • Scabioses;
  • Kurchatov;
  • Cornflower.

In recent years, there has been a decrease in the number of subaliries. The reason - the use of a large number of chemical agents for the destruction of pests in the fields, as well as the cutting of fruit trees.

Butterfly deli is under protection in the reserves of Russia and Ukraine. Places where the number of individuals is large, are in entomological reserves. Here, grazing cattle is limited and the amount of pesticides used is reduced.

This species of butterflies is listed in the Red Books of Russia, Ukraine and Poland.

Similar articles

 

 

 

 

Trending Now

 

 

 

 

Newest

Copyright © 2018 en.birmiss.com. Theme powered by WordPress.