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The hives butterfly is one of the brightest and most colorful representatives of daytime butterflies. It got its name due to its food preferences. These insects not only feed on nettles, but also often sit on the leaves of this plant, without fear of being stung. Sometimes they are called “chocolate girls”. These creatures have unusually beautiful and delicate wings.
Origin of the species and description
Photo: Hives
The wren (Aglais urticae, Nymphalis urticae) belongs to the Holarctic genus of day butterflies Aglais, originating from the family Nymphalidae. The specific epithet urticae comes from the word nettle, and Aglais is the ancient Greek goddess of grace Aglaia. Depending on their habitat, there are several subspecies of urticaria:
- Aglais urticae var. chinensis;
- Aglais urticae var. connexa;
- Aglais urticae var. baicalensis;
- Aglais urticae var. urticae;
- Aglais urticae var. polaris;
- Aglais urticae var. kansuensis;
- Aglais urticae var. excimia;
- Aglais urticae var. stoetzneri;
- Aglais urticae var. turcica.
The insect's closest relative is the spotted wren. Externally they are absolutely identical. Their only difference is a large discal spot. It is located on the front wings and is connected to the veins. This species is not so numerous and is less common.
Interesting fact: The Scots called this subspecies “devils”; in Japan, on the contrary, hives are considered a symbol of an innocent young soul and immortality. The ancient Romans believed that these were not insects, but bouquets of flowers torn by a gust of wind, personifying love, success, beauty, and prosperity.
Butterfly behavior can predict the weather. If the flight is intermittent and restless, it means it will start raining soon. Chocolate girls sense a change in humidity levels in the near future and try to quickly find a cozy place to hide and wait out the bad weather.
Butterfly Urticaria. Description of the species
05/16/2017 From time immemorial, people have been prejudiced towards butterflies, considering them a symbol of the soul and immortality. There is no negative image of this insect in any culture in the world, since the butterfly has always been associated with a symbol of love, beauty, success and prosperity.
It seems that it was not in vain that the Ancient Romans believed that butterflies were actually flowers that were torn from the stem by a sharp gust of wind. Buddhists also treat these insects with deep respect, because according to legend, it was to the butterfly that the enlightened Buddha addressed his sermon.
According to the beliefs of many Japanese, the butterfly symbolizes a young innocent girl, and the white moth is a symbol of the bright soul of a person who has left this world. Insects fluttering around each other are associated with family happiness, so the main ceremonial processions and holidays in Japan always begin with a ritual dance, which they call the “ Butterfly Dance.”
", thus expressing joy, prosperity and the strength of life.
Christians personified concepts such as life, death and resurrection with the image of a butterfly, so sometimes icons depicted the baby Jesus holding a colorful moth in his hand, which is a symbol of rebirth and resurrection.
The main food of flying daytime butterflies is nectar, which they obtain by sucking the sweet juice of flowers using a long spiral proboscis. In search of food, insects fly from one plant to another and pollinate them, carrying delicate pollen on their wings, thanks to which butterflies occupy an honorable second place among insect pollinators (since the first place belongs to bees and hornets).
There are a number of plants in the world whose nectaries are located quite deep in the inflorescences, so they can only be reached with the help of long proboscis, which many species of butterflies possess, so pollination of flowers prevents many rare plants from disappearing from the face of the earth.
But not all butterflies are useful and harmless, as it seems at first glance, since often their larvae (caterpillars) are dangerous pests of many cultivated plants.
It so happened that scientists called these delightful fluttering creatures the unattractive word “ lepidoptera.”
”, but they obviously know better.
Butterfly Urticaria
(
lat. Aglais urticae
) is a diurnal insect from the family
Nymphalidae
, which has about twenty genera and more than five hundred different species.
The urticaria, like most butterflies, feeds on flower nectar.
You can meet this insect anywhere: in the forest, in the park, on a lawn outside the city or near new buildings. During inclement weather, the butterfly finds shelter under the roofs of houses, in caves, in tree hollows, in secluded places, under canopies and ledges of buildings.
Name Urticaria
comes from the word nettle (
Urtica
), due to the fact that this plant is the parent plant for the butterfly and forms the basis of the food supply of the insect larvae (caterpillars).
A butterfly in the imago stage (adult insect) looks very bright, elegant, and festive, and female butterflies are practically no different from males.
The length of the front triangular wings of urticaria reaches two and a half centimeters, and their total span is almost six centimeters. The outer edge of the wing is jagged and has a sharp protrusion. The color of the wing of the nettle is picturesque, dark, in burgundy-red shades with three large dark spots. At the very tip of the wing there is a white spot, and along the outer edge of the wing there is a row of bluish teeth in the shape of a crescent. A wide, light ocher stripe runs across the wing and across the entire back.
The female wren produces two to three generations of offspring, laying eggs in the form of small barrels. An adult insect lays eggs in groups of one hundred to two hundred pieces and does this exclusively on the lower part of the leaves of nettle or stinging nettle ( Urtica dioica
), or burning (
Urtica urens
). The eggs are yellow.
The urticaria caterpillars that emerge from embryos have small spine-like growths that are completely covered with small short bristles. The larvae have a dark, almost black body color and two yellow stripes on the side. Throughout the entire period of growth, the caterpillars go through several stages of development, due to which they molt several times, and with each new phase they increase in size more and more.
The first generation of young caterpillars appears in May-June, the second in July-August. The larvae live and feed on broods, without leaving the boundaries of their group, and only after reaching the last instar (just before pupation) do they begin to lead an independent lifestyle.
As soon as the adult caterpillar reaches the appropriate age and size, it stops feeding and looks for either some kind of shelter, or pupates directly on the food plant, where it builds a cocoon from thin threads secreted by special glands.
The pupa has an angular body structure, its color is dark brown with gold splashes. It is attached to the base in a secluded place and hangs upside down, clinging to the stems of plants, to picket fences on the fence, to the walls of outbuildings. In order to securely anchor itself in its shelter, the pupa secretes a special adhesive substance, thanks to which it is firmly held in place.
The pupal stage lasts approximately two weeks, after which metamorphosis occurs and the subsequent emergence of an adult insect ( imago
).
Urticaria refers to wintering butterflies. Male urticaria die in the fall, and fertilized females overwinter in various shelters (most often in the attics of houses, in unheated rooms), where they are in a state of torpor, so that in early spring, with the onset of the first warmth, they wake up and begin their years.
During wintering in severe frosts, the body of the butterfly can completely freeze, but the insect, nevertheless, does not die, and comes to life with the onset of warmth.
Appearance and features
Photo: Butterfly hives
The chocolate butterfly is a medium-sized insect. The wings of butterflies are dark orange, brick red. Their length is 20-25 mm, span - 40-60 mm. On the forewings there are three black spots alternating with yellow. There are large dark spots on the front wings, the top is light. There are small spots on the back ones. Females are practically no different from males.
Interesting fact: The wings of chocolate makers are very delicate and fragile. If a moth suddenly flies into a room, people try to help the insect and release it outside. In most cases, such actions damage the wings of the butterfly and it cannot fly normally.
Each of the wings has a sharp protrusion, the edges are wavy. At the base of the hind wings there are brown scales on a brown background, followed by a bright orange stripe. Along the outer edge of the wings on a black background there is a pattern of light blue crescent-shaped spots.
The inside is brown with light spots. Each individual has a unique pattern, like human fingerprints. In winter, when hibernating, butterflies fold their wings and look like a dry gray leaf. The abdomen and chest are dark brown with brown hairs. The antennae of the moth are club-shaped.
Chocolate girls have three pairs of legs located on the chest. The family has a characteristic distinctive feature - the front legs are so short that they do not participate in the process of walking. They don't have claws. They serve for a soft landing. Chocolate girls move on their middle and hind legs.
The hives butterfly caterpillar is black with a yellow stripe on top. There are small green spines with bristles all over the body. In the pupal stage, the moth is wrapped in a cocoon, on top of which there are horns, which some people associate with a devil.
So we figured out what a hives butterfly looks like. Now let's find out where the hives butterfly lives.
Hives
| In the photo there is a hives butterfly |
The urticaria (Aglais urticae) is a diurnal butterfly from the nymphalid family.
This orange butterfly lives in the vast expanses of Eurasia. The urticaria butterfly got its name due to the fact that the butterfly caterpillar loves to eat nettles. Urticaria is found in meadows, fields, forest edges and clearings, along the banks of rivers, ditches and lakes, flies through gardens and dachas, and in mountainous areas it can rise high into the mountains to a height of several kilometers. Where there are a lot of nettles, nettle butterflies are often found there. Nettle and urticaria are two inseparable friends. Description of the butterfly. The wingspan of the butterfly is 45-50 mm. Male and female wrens have almost the same wing coloration. Butterfly wings are multi-colored with a complex pattern. Bright orange colors close to red predominate. Other colors include light yellow, black, blue, brown of various shades, beige and white. Overall, the wren is a medium-sized, brightly colored butterfly.
Upper side of wings. The color of the wings on the upper side is bright, with bright orange colors predominating. Along the edge of the wings of the hives there are small bright blue eyes. The color of the wings near the body is mainly brown. On the front wings there are 3 black spots in the center of the upper wing, 3 yellow spots - 1 in the center and 2 spots at the edge of the upper wing between 3 black spots. At the very corner of the upper wings there is a small bright white spot.
Underside of wings. The color of the lower surface of the wings consists of brown, light yellow and white colors. The body has dark brown wings. On the lower wings this dark brown color is replaced by a lighter brown color, on the upper wings it is replaced by a light yellow color.
Urticaria lifestyle. The flight of hives butterflies occurs from April to August. The nettle lays its eggs on the underside of nettle leaves. There are many eggs in the clutch, 100 or more. Hives eggs are yellow. Soon the first caterpillars appear. Urticaria caterpillars are small, the body is colored with longitudinal stripes of black and yellow. Most often, this striped caterpillar can be found on nettles of various types. Urticaria caterpillars mainly eat nettles of various types and give preference to it, but from time to time they try hemp and hops, as well as some other plants. Often caterpillars live on nettles in a group and do not spread far. There you can also find urticaria pupae on the nettles, where the caterpillars often pupate. After two weeks of pupal development, urticaria butterflies emerge. Butterflies overwinter in various types of shelters, mainly under the bark of trees, in crevices and hollows of trees. In search of shelter for wintering, butterflies often fly onto balconies and attics of residential buildings, and penetrate into basements and other rooms and caves.
Where does the hives butterfly live?
Photo: Shokoladnitsa
These insects, along with the cabbage white and peacock's eye, are one of the most common species living in Europe. The range extends to the coast of the Arctic Ocean. Chocolate girls can be found in China, Japan, Asia Minor and Central Asia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Siberia, Korea, and in the countries of the former CIS.
You can see urticaria, like its brothers, in parks, squares, meadows and fields, gardens, forest edges and other flowering areas. Moths prefer quiet and peaceful places to noisy cities. They don't like bad weather. If you feel the approach of a strong wind or rain, chocolate butterflies look for where to hide - in tree hollows, basements, attics of private houses, verandas.
You can also meet chocolate makers high in the mountains. In the Alps, this species was found at an altitude of 3 thousand meters, and in the Himalayas - 5 thousand meters above sea level. At the pupal stage, cocoons can be seen everywhere: on tree branches, leaves and stems of flowers, on fences and gates, and benches.
Butterflies do not fly away for the winter, but hide from cold weather and frosts under the bark of trees, in the basements of houses, caves, and sometimes on balconies. Urban individuals choose places closer to human houses, so that in case of bad weather it is easier to find shelter.
Habitat of urticaria butterflies
The urticaria butterfly is most common in central Russia. You can see it not only in the field, but also in forests, parks, squares and on quiet city streets. Urticaria prefers to live in quiet places, well sheltered from strong winds. When it starts to rain, the butterfly seeks shelter in tree crevices, hollows, and often under the roofs of residential buildings or indoors (verandas, barns, high-rise buildings, etc.). Urticaria has very delicate wings, and people often damage them when trying to help the “chocolate girl”, trying to let her out.
What does the hives butterfly eat?
Photo: Chocolate Butterfly
Thanks to their long black proboscis, moths obtain food in the form of nectar from plant inflorescences. At the caterpillar stage, chocolatiers are very fond of eating nettle leaves, which served as the main criterion in choosing the name for the butterfly. Also, insects are not averse to eating:
- Dandelion;
- Blackberries;
- Marjoram;
- Thistle;
- Primrose;
- Elecampane.
Imago (adults) are not as picky eaters as caterpillars. The choice of the latter comes down to using:
- Stinging nettle and stinging nettle;
- Hops;
- Hemp.
The newly hatched caterpillars weave together a common web and eat young leaves. When one plant runs out of greenery, the young growth moves to the next one. As soon as a butterfly is born from a pupa, it immediately goes in search of flowers.
Interesting fact: Moths are not averse to drinking fermented birch sap.
At the end of summer, lepidoptera begin to feed especially actively. To maintain the vital activity of a small insect during the cold season, the body of hives needs to stock up on lipids. Flower juice helps them a lot with this.
While butterflies are looking for nectar, they fly from one plant to another, pollinating them. Their wings contain delicate pollen, which they carry to flowers. Thanks to this, they take second place in the ranking of pollinating insects. Only bees are ahead of them.
Sometimes during the February thaws, moths wake up from hibernation ahead of time and fly into houses or apartments. Until spring, the insect can be kept at home, feeding it with a solution of sugar or honey. To do this, moisten a cotton swab with syrup and place it on a saucer. 10-15 minutes of feeding per day is sufficient for hives.
What do insects eat?
The main source of nutrition for butterflies is flower nectar.
They look for it on the following plants:
- dandelion;
- marjoram;
- primrose;
- thistle;
- blackberries
The insect's diet includes hops and hemp. It often drinks birch sap.
Caterpillars feed on beneficial elements from nettle leaves. The chocolate plant is sensitive to dry periods. If there is little rainfall, its population decreases. Poor nutrition provokes weakness and slow development of the insect.
It is noteworthy that urticaria itself is part of the diet of rodents and birds, frogs and water snakes, vipers and lizards.
Features of character and lifestyle
Photo: Hives
The wren butterfly is one of the first spring butterflies. Summer begins with the appearance of the first rays of the sun. During the day they are busy pollinating flowers and searching for food; at night they hide in shelters. Up to two generations are replaced per year, depending on the climate. You can see the insect until September.
Chocolate makers are very dependent on weather conditions. During drought, their numbers decrease significantly. The lack of precipitation directly depends on the availability of water, nitrogen and nutrient minerals in the leaves of plants. Lack of substances weakens the caterpillars and slows down their development.
Interesting fact: Chocolate girls can distinguish colors, unlike other insects. This helps to find the necessary objects.
In favorable conditions, the species can exist for up to 9 months. Compared to other moths, which can expect to live only a few days, wrens are truly long-lived. With the onset of cold weather, they do not freeze, but hibernate, like bears.
Lepidoptera do not fly away anywhere, but remain to winter in their native lands. At temperatures of 21 degrees below zero and below, butterflies freeze through, but do not die. Their metabolism slows down and energy is used sparingly. With the first rays of the sun they thaw and come to life. After wintering, they lay eggs and soon die.
The story of the hives butterfly
A message about the hives butterfly will tell you what it eats, how long it lives and why the butterfly was called the hives butterfly. The report on the hives butterfly contains interesting facts.
The story of the hives butterfly
The hives are one of the most famous butterflies.
Wren butterflies are very beautiful and bright. They live all over the world and drink the juice of fruits and daisy and aster flowers.
The hives butterfly looks very elegant. Its reddish-brown wings are covered with striking black spots, and the outer edges of the wings are decorated with small teeth and framed by a bright blue border. The wingspan of the hives reaches up to 5 cm.
Three generations of wrens can grow in one summer. A female butterfly can lay more than 150 yellow eggs . After ten or fifteen days, the caterpillars hatch from them.
The last generation experiences the autumn cold, during which the hives hide from the cold and fall into a state of torpor. When frosty days begin, the butterfly freezes, but does not die. The first rays of the spring sun bring the butterfly back to life, and it leaves its shelter. But the butterfly usually overwinters in attics, sheds or other places. With the arrival of spring, the spring butterfly again looks for a reliable place in which it can calmly wait for the time when the nettle appears and it will be possible to think about its offspring.
Butterfly urticaria: why is it called that?
The butterfly is called the nettle butterfly because its caterpillars feed on nettle leaves and lay eggs there.
What does the hives butterfly eat?
The butterfly feeds depending on the stage of its development. The adult butterfly is content with nectar, and its larva, which is a caterpillar, feeds on nettle leaves. Since the butterfly develops thanks to nettles, it was called urticaria.
How long does a hives butterfly live?
Butterfly urticaria life expectancy is up to 9 months.
A butterfly in the wild has a lot of enemies, so it has little chance of living long.
What comes out of the hives butterfly pupa?
A butterfly emerges from a pupa. Most butterflies overwinter as pupae, and only in the spring does a butterfly emerge from the pupa. And the urticaria butterfly emerges from the pupa in the fall, so it spends the winter as a butterfly!
Butterfly hives interesting facts
In Scotland they are called "Devil's Butterflies".
If the urticaria butterfly begins to hide in clear, calm weather in places protected from wind and drafts, and sometimes flies indoors, expect a thunderstorm or heavy rain in 2-3 hours.
Hives love fermented birch sap.
They can live in mountains in the Alps above 3000, and in the Himalayas more than 4500 thousand
meters above sea level.
Butterflies' taste buds are located on their paws, i.e. standing on the plant, they can taste it.
Social structure and reproduction
Photo: Butterfly hives
Having awakened from hibernation, refreshed and gathered strength, insects begin to reproduce. In the morning, males look for food, bask in the sun, and then begin searching for a female in the afternoon. There are practically no clashes over territory.
The male flies up to the female from behind and emits a specific buzz. The next few hours will be spent in mating games. Most often, the mating process occurs in nettles. After fertilization, the female lays her future offspring on the inside of the plant.
There can be from 100 to 200 green or yellow oval eggs. Laying time is up to one and a half hours. Under favorable conditions, embryos develop within a week. Baby caterpillars stay together in one brood, and do not spread throughout the plant.
The small caterpillars are born only 1.2 mm long. At first they are green in color, with spots and black hairs. While growing up, they molt 4 times. The body of adult caterpillars is black with yellow stripes. Having shed for the last time, the individuals crawl around the bush.
They look for a place to pupate and attach vertically to a stem or leaf, forming a golden-red pupa approximately 2 cm in size. It remains in this state for about 2 weeks. After this period, the shell breaks and a butterfly is born. She needs to sit still for a few minutes so that her wings get stronger and she can fly away.
Natural enemies of the hives butterfly
Photo: Shokoladnitsa
Like all insects, this species of butterfly has many natural enemies. Among them are amphibians in the form of frogs; reptiles – steppe vipers, lizards, snakes; birds - marsh harrier and many others; small rodents.
To protect themselves from enemies, chocolate makers have protective coloring on the inside of their wings. When they fold their wings, the camouflage color from the outside resembles a dry leaf. But often it does not save the butterflies, and the birds, having declassified their camouflage, eat them, sometimes up to half of the wintering ones.
There is also a chance of being attacked by parasites. Hymenoptera insects, such as flies, can lay eggs on plant leaves, which are then eaten by caterpillars. The larvae will grow in the caterpillars' bodies and eat the organs from the inside. After a painful death, up to 100 riders can crawl out of the body of the future butterfly.
It can be difficult to catch chocolate, so individuals at the egg, pupa or caterpillar stage are most vulnerable. Birds constantly feed their chicks hundreds of caterpillars a day. Birds account for about 20% of the caterpillars eaten. Birds grab feeding or resting moths, rub them against a tree so that the wings fall off, and eat only the body.
Caterpillars can become prey for beetles, dragonflies, mantises, etc. Spiders can catch butterflies in their webs or lie in wait in flowers. Humans play an important role. Due to the destruction of landscapes, chocolate makers are losing their habitats. When harmful insects are destroyed, many butterflies die from poisoning.
