Secrets of large insects: butterfly sailboat. Types of butterflies in Russia Admirals - they are also not only strict, but also beautiful
Madagascar comet or Madagascar Saturnia (Argema mittrei) - This representative of the peacock-eye family in nature can only be seen on the African island, after which it is named. Another name is found - Moon moth.
The longest butterfly in the world is also called comet butterfly: because of the 14-16 cm forked "tail".
Let's take a closer look at them...
Like its close relatives from the peacock-eye family, Madagascar Saturnia is distinguished by a small retracted head (with a double-crested antennae in the male), a bright color and a thick body covered with fluffy hairs.
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On each wing the size of a palm there are large eye spots. Peacock-eyes- one of the largest butterflies in the world. Wingspan 160-200 mm.
Photo 4. 
These insects do not feed: they live off the nutrients accumulated in the caterpillar stage. A unique butterfly lives only 2-3 days.
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The color of the wings is bright yellow. Each wing has one large brown eye with a black dot in the center. Wing apices with brown-black spot. A narrow gray-black border runs along the lateral edge of the lower wing. A reddish-brown wavy pattern runs along the wings.
Photo 6. 
Lower wings with tails up to 13 cm long in males. The male's antennae are large and feathery. In the female, the forewings are wider and more rounded. The tails on the hind wings are shorter, up to 8 cm long, and about 2 times wider than in males. The abdomen of the female is large, barrel-shaped. The apical yellow patches on the tails of the hindwings quickly break off and can only be seen in young butterflies.
Photo 7. 
On the Madagascar successfully breed these magnificent butterflies on special farms.
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Here I will show three photos - caterpillar and swallowtail butterfly (Latin name Papilio machaon). This large butterfly belongs to the Sailboat family ( Papilionidae) and is considered one of the most beautiful in our mid-latitudes.
Large (with a wingspan of up to 9 centimeters), bright yellow with black stripes and spots, with a red spot, a blue band and elongated tails on the hind wings, the butterfly flies so gracefully, swiftly and easily, like a bird, that you can just admire. The difference between its flight and other butterflies is exactly the same as the difference between the flight of, for example, an eagle and a sparrow. The first soars high in the sky, and the second "flickers" in the bushes. This butterfly stands out in beauty from the rest, for the most part small and grayish world of moths. And it is also rare and listed in the Red Book.
These photos, but large (as for photo wallpapers), can be viewed here:
- http://bp21.org.by/p/wall1/lepid_pap1.jpg (204 Kb)
- http://bp21.org.by/p/wall1/lepid_pap2.jpg (237 Kb)
- http://bp21.org.by/p/book/bpwh59.jpg.jpg (169 Kb)
In early September, the wife weeded carrots in the garden, came and said that she had found on a piece of paper large, green and VERY BEAUTIFUL swallowtail caterpillar. She is in the first picture (photo 1). Swallowtail caterpillars feed on various wild plants of the umbrella family, but are often found on carrots and dill grown by humans. A week ago, just before the cold weather, I see that the caterpillar is no longer there - it crawled away somewhere to pupate. It’s a pity I didn’t see it, it might die when we dig up the garden in the spring. Swallowtail pupae, attached to the stalk of a herbaceous plant or shrub, winter near the ground and only in May butterflies emerge from them. They lay their eggs, the caterpillars feed, and in early August the second generation of butterflies comes out. They lay their eggs, the caterpillars pupate in September, the pupae hibernate and ... further in a circle.
Butterfly photography(photos 2 and 3)… I took these photos differently than usual, which I will show later. I'll reveal a secret. This butterfly hatched at home from a found and fed caterpillar, which I kept in a glass jar. Before releasing the butterfly into the wild, I put the jar in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, so to speak, "froze" the butterfly. And when she, numb from the cold, was taken out into the bright sun and planted on a flower, she spread her wings wide with all her strength in order to quickly warm herself in the warm sun (photo 2). Therefore, it seems that it is as if from a collection. But no, she's alive. Having warmed up, the butterfly lowered its wings, after a couple of seconds it fluttered and ... flew away to become one with Nature. It was at this moment, before the flight, that I photographed her, so beautiful, (photo 3).
In total, there are about 550 species of this wonderful family in the world fauna, and almost all of them live in warm regions of the globe. In Belarus there is only one species, the common swallowtail. In the south of India, on the islands of the Indian Ocean and in Africa, there is a real kingdom of sailboats. Only there, under the rays of the hot tropical sun, do they reach their full beauty and grandeur. For example, in the wild forests of tropical Africa, the Antimachus sailboat reaches a wing size of 23 cm.
How to save this beautiful butterfly? . Do not underestimate or mitigate damage from what is stated in the paragraph above. But the most important thing is to love them as a small piece, part of a beautiful and divine nature. And then a person will begin to realize that not only he wants to live on Earth, but also all the rest of life.
Georgy Kazulko
Bialowieza Forest
(Please write your feedback, thoughts, ideas, questions, comments or disagreements in the comments below or send to my email address:
- The wings are painted so unusually that it cannot be confused with any other butterfly in the world. Outwardly, the male and female are very similar to each other.
The range of the daytime peacock eye covers all of Europe (except for the northernmost regions) and temperate latitudes of Asia.
Butterflies hibernate in basements, attics, in caves... Overwintered individuals fly in March - May, and a new generation appears in July - August.
The butterfly got its name because of the bizarre spots in the lower corner of the wings, which are similar to the shape of the eye. In general, the color of the Peacock's eye varies from bright red to deep brown. All this is artistically diluted in black with beautiful patterns and stripes.
There is also a nocturnal Peacock eye, which differs from its congener in darker colors and brown spots. Its outstretched wings reach up to 15 centimeters in length. At night, the Peacock Eye is much more like a bat than a butterfly.
Apollo
Daytime butterfly, listed in the Red Book. There is a butterfly in the Urals, in Siberia and the mountains of the Caucasus. One of the reasons for this choice of terrain is nutritional habits, Apollo prefers thickets of stonecrop and hare cabbage, which are found mainly in mountainous areas.
The butterfly has a bright beautiful color, it is clearly visible in the open area. Apollo is easily recognizable by its large wings with black and red spots. Depending on the location of the spots, more than 600 forms of this species are distinguished.
Butterflies can be found from June to August. Apollo flies slowly, imposingly, often gets tired, sits on flowers.
Apollo is a real "sissy", the butterfly needs good environmental conditions in order to survive. Bright sun and plenty of food are among the most necessary.
Admiral
Adults of the white admiral have black wings with white stripes. This contrast of colors helps to sort of "break" the wing line, thereby camouflaging the butterfly from predators. Their wingspan is approximately 60-65 millimeters. The flight is very interesting, elegant, consisting of short periods of flapping followed by a long hover.
Red Admiral. This is a well-known brightly colored butterfly. This species constantly lives in warmer places, but migrates north in spring, and sometimes back in autumn. This large butterfly is easily recognizable by its bright dark brown with red and black wing pattern. Caterpillars feed on nettle leaves, adults drink nectar from the flowers of plants such as buddleia (which is also called butterfly bush because of this) and can feast on overripe fruits.
In northern Europe, it is one of the last butterflies to be seen before the onset of winter: it appears near a faint fire and feeds on the nectar of autumn flowers on warm days. The red admiral is also known for the fact that when he overwinter, he becomes darker in color than individuals who have not yet survived the winter. The butterfly can also fly out on sunny winter days, for the most part this applies to southern Europe.
mourning house
For many people, their first childhood impressions of butterflies were formed when they met a large, spectacular, memorable mourning place. And for some future entomologists, these impressions turned out to be so strong that they determined the subsequent choice of profession.
With the predominance of dark color on the wings of the mourning woman, her names are also associated in other languages. So. Americans call her mourning cloak "mourning robe", and the French - deuil - "mourning", "sorrow". Perhaps this was also taken into account by K. Linnaeus, who in 1758 named the butterfly antiopa - after the daughter of the Theban king Niktey, who, even by the standards of ancient Greek myths, had to endure many troubles and sufferings.
“Dark coffee, shiny, lacquered, its wings seem velvety in abundance of colored dust, and to the very abdomen or torso they seem to be covered with moss or thin reddish hairs. The edges of the wings, both upper and lower, are trimmed with a pale yellow, fawn, rather wide jagged border, carved with scallops ... and along the fawn border, on both wings, bright blue spots are placed ... "S. T. Aksakov
Hives
The specific epithet of the scientific name, urticae, comes from the word urtica (nettle) and is explained by the fact that nettle is one of the fodder plants of caterpillars of this species.
Males differ little from females in coloration. Wings are brick-red dorsally, with a number of large black spots separated by yellow gaps near the costal margin; at the top of the front wing there is a small white spot. The basal half of the hind wing is brown-brown, the outer half is brick-red; there is a sharp border between these areas. On the outer edge of the wings there is a row of blue crescent-shaped spots. The lower surface of the wings is brownish-brown, a wide yellowish stripe runs across the front wing.
It is found everywhere in Russia, except for the Far North.
mother-of-pearl
Large mother-of-pearls from the genus Argynnis often fly together and are clearly distinguishable mainly on the underside of the hindwings. Males of large forest mother-of-pearl (A. paphia) with blackouts along the longitudinal veins on the front wings, females are red or greenish-gray above. The bottom of the hind wings of this species has transverse light bands. Mother-of-pearl aglaya (A. aglaja) from below with bright silvery spots, in mother-of-pearl adippa (A. adippe) these spots are dimmer, and there are a number of eyes along the edge. All these species develop on violets.
A large and beautiful mother-of-pearl daphne (Neobrenthis daphne) is rare in the Baikal region and is listed in the Red Book, but a close view of the meadowsweet mother-of-pearl (N. ino) is very commonplace in meadows and glades
Forest mother-of-pearl (male) 
golubyanki
A very large family, including butterflies of small size (wingspan 27-28 mm), many of which have a shiny, metallic color. A distinctive feature of the pigeons are the shortened front legs. Most European pigeons are blue, although males are often brown. Among the pigeons, there are those in which the rear pair of wings has characteristic outgrowths ("tails"), for which they are called "tails". The family also includes chervonets, bright orange on top. In Russia, there are several hundred species of pigeons from more than fifty genera. Doves fly through meadows, forest edges and clearings. Caterpillars feed on the leaves of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. Caterpillars of some species pupate in anthills.
Golubyanka Icarus 
Golubyanka forest or Poluargus 
Belyanki
A family of diurnal butterflies with predominantly white wings and a pattern of yellow, orange and black spots and fields, club-shaped bands, rounded triangular forewings and ovoid hindwings.
Cabbage butterfly 
Swallowtail
The great naturalist Carl Linnaeus named this butterfly in honor of the mythical hero of the Trojan War, the famous doctor Machaon, who alleviated suffering and saved the lives of many wounded soldiers.
Machaon is found throughout the country, with the exception of the Far North.
On the bright yellow wings of the swallowtail, blackened veins and a wide black border with a wavy inner and jagged outer edges stand out. A band of blue sputtering runs along the border, especially bright on the hind wing, and along the outer edge there is a band of yellow spots-holes. The root region of the forewing is black with a yellow coating. The hind wing is decorated with a bright red rounded spot and a black tail.
The caterpillar is not picky in food: it feeds on plants of the families Umbelliferae, rue, Compositae and Lamiaceae. Swallowtail hibernates in the pupal stage.
In most of its range, the swallowtail gives two generations a year, and only in its northernmost regions - one. Butterflies of the first generation fly in May - June, and the second - in July - August.
Sericin montela
Sericin montela is one of the amazing Ussuri relics. The butterfly has been preserved here since ancient times, since the territory of Primorsky Krai has never been subjected to complete glaciation; is rare. The background color of the female's wings is dark brown. Its front wing is crossed by thin dark yellow and ocher yellow bands of various lengths. The flight of these butterflies is very slow, even sluggish. They always stick to thickets of caterpillar's forage plant - kirkazon, growing in some places along the banks of rivers, streams and at the foot of hills.
The wings of the male are white. The pattern of the forewing consists of black, mostly elongated spots, as well as darkening along the edge of its apex. The rear wing is decorated spectacularly. At its front edge, a red elongated spot in a black frame usually stands out. At the back corner there is a bright red short band, the outer side of which is adjacent to blue spots in a black frame. The hind wing is completed by a long thin brown-brown tail.
tailed maak
This largest diurnal butterfly in Russia surpasses many tropical relatives in its beauty. It is hard to believe that the distribution area of this wonderful sailboat extends to 54 ° north latitude, where Tynda and the north of Sakhalin are located.
The female is larger than the male, its wingspan reaches 135 mm, while that of the male is 125 mm. A green dotted coating evenly covers the entire dark brown front wing of the female. The nature of the pattern of its hind wings is the same as that of the male, but its luster is muted, and red-violet hues appear in the marginal wavy border along with green-blue. Females are much more variable than males. It is difficult to find two identical butterflies among them.
A significant part of the black front wing of the male shimmers with a green dotted coating, which thickens closer to the edge into a rarefied emerald-blue border. The area free from green sputtering shines with magical black silk: it is covered with the finest and most delicate fragrant black hairs - androconia. Hind wings with a wavy edge and long tails shine, iridescent, with a blue-green ornament
Two generations of P. maackii appear annually: spring moths are medium-sized, light and bright, and summer ones are twice as large and darker.
Tail-bearer Maaka lives in the Middle Amur Region, Primorye, North Korea, Manchuria, and the Kuril Islands. In these places, butterflies are often found in broad-leaved and mixed forests, less often in spruce-fir. They also fly into taiga settlements. During the period when subalpine plants bloom, butterflies rise to mountains up to 2000 m above sea level: looking for food, they fly around treeless peaks in a circle.
Sometimes in Primorye one can observe how this huge dark butterfly, like a bird, rushes over a forest road, majestically flapping its powerful wings. On hot days, dozens of tail-bearers sit around roadside puddles, fluttering with flashing emerald greens and blue wings. Disturbed, they take off in a dark cloud, from which drops of water, golden under the sun, rain down, shaken off by butterflies. Unforgettable, fabulous spectacle!
Oleander hawk moth
The color of the oleander hawk moth - one of the most beautiful not only in Russia, but also in the world - is dominated by bright grassy-green colors. Therefore, it is very difficult to see him when he sits in foliage or grass.
The vast distribution area of the oleander hawk includes all of Africa, India and the countries of the Middle East lying between them. There are reports that they even made it to Hawaii. In the tropics, butterflies fly all year round. From Africa and the Middle East, butterflies penetrate into southern Europe, they live on the European continent and to the north. In Russia, they are most often found on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. The farther north, the less often they appear, although occasionally these wonderful flyers can be seen both in the Baltic states and on the Kola Peninsula.
The main fodder plants of caterpillars are oleander, periwinkle, vine; they may also feed on some other plants.
The narrow forewings are decorated with a complex pattern of intricately curved green and brownish-lilac stripes of various shades. The hindwings are purplish-gray with a broad green outer margin. The color and pattern of the wings are in harmony with the coloring of the butterfly's body.
Representatives of the sailboat family are rightfully considered the brightest and largest butterflies. They attract attention with an unusual combination of colors and the original shape of the wings. Butterfly sailboat can catch the eye of a curious observer anywhere in the world. About 20 species live in Russia, some are listed in the Red Book. One of the interesting features of sailboats is the tails on the hind wings. This detail distracts the attention of birds, saving the life of a butterfly.
Family Description
Sailboats or cavaliers (Papilionidae) combined medium and large butterflies. The wingspan of the representatives of the family is 65-280 mm. Individuals with striking dimensions of the body and wings live in the tropics. In Palearctic species, the wing pattern consists of black margins, bands, and spots on a yellow or white background. Dilute the palette with red and blue spots. The head is round, the eyes are faceted, naked. Antennae short club-shaped. Walking legs are well developed.
Forewings triangular, hindwings oval. The outer edge is wavy, in many species there are outgrowths in the form of tails. A characteristic feature of the family is that the hind wings have a cutout, therefore they do not adhere to the abdomen. All butterflies are active during the day, in sunny weather. Most produce one generation per year, in the southern regions - two.
Interesting fact. Sailboat Apollo Hanington lives in the Himalayas at an altitude of 5-6 thousand meters above sea level.
All representatives of the family of sailboats are divided into three subfamilies:
A huge family of sailboats is divided into genera. One of them is Papilio or tail-bearers. The group includes almost 200 species of butterflies, including swallowtail, Maak's sailboats, zalmoxis, Alexanor, Corsican. This genus includes the sailboat antimach, the largest butterfly on the African continent. Its wingspan is 20-23 cm. Unlike many species, males are larger than females, in some cases they reach 25 cm. The main background of the wings is orange or ocher, the pattern is formed by dark brown stripes and spots.
Sailboat antimach
caterpillars
The larvae of the species are as varied as the adults. They differ in size, color, choice of fodder plants. But all the caterpillars of the sailboat butterfly are united by an interesting anatomical feature. They have an unusual organ - a fork-shaped sac-shaped gland. It is called osmetrium and is located in the prothoracic segment. In case of danger, the caterpillar puts forward orange horns. A secret with an unpleasant pungent odor is secreted from the gland. Osmetrium is used by early instar larvae. Adult caterpillars do not put forward glands. In addition to sailboats, only the Corydalis butterfly has a similar organ.
Swallowtail caterpillar
Distribution area
The family of sailboats lives all over the world in 6 geographical areas. The largest specimens are found in the tropics. Sailboats can be found near the border of the Arctic Circle and high in the mountains.
Butterflies sailboats photo with names
One of the largest families of Lepidoptera insects with almost 600 species includes many interesting specimens.
The world's largest diurnal butterfly with a wingspan of 28 cm. Its homeland is the tropical forests of the island of New Guinea. The species has pronounced sexual dimorphism. The female is much larger, her color is dominated by brown and cream. The male, up to 20 cm in size, has narrow blue-green wings. The number of butterflies is limited, due to the destruction of natural habitats, they have become an endangered species.
Queen Alexandra's Birdwing
Apollos
Many representatives of the Apollo species of the Parnassius genus are listed in the Red Book of Russia and European countries. A diurnal butterfly with a wingspan of 65-90 mm is found on dry edges of pine forests, clearings, and alpine meadows. They settle in the mountains of Europe, the southern part of Scandinavia and the Urals, in Transcaucasia, Southern Siberia, and Mongolia. The main color of the wings is white, a gray stripe runs along the outer edge. Black spots are noticeable on the upper pair of wings, and red spots on the lower pair with a white middle. Caterpillars develop on stonecrops.
Apollo
Interesting fact. A disturbed butterfly falls on its back, scratches its legs and makes a hissing sound.
Swallowtail
Papiliomachaon is the most common type of sailboat in the European part of the Russian Federation. The wingspan for males is up to 80 mm, for females - up to 95 mm. On a bright yellow background, the front wings are covered with a pattern of black spots and veins. Along the edge is a black border with light dots. The coloration of the hindwings is characterized by blue and yellow blotches, as well as a red eye at the inner corner. Swallowtail subspecies live in the south of Siberia, in the Amur region, on Sakhalin, in Japan. In the north of Europe, one generation appears per year, and in Africa - three. The lifespan of adults is about 3 weeks.
Swallowtail
The caterpillar is green with black stripes and orange spots. Forage plants: hogweed, parsley, dill, celery.
Sailboat Rumyantsev
The butterfly was discovered by the Russian naturalist I. Eshsholz. Its name is dedicated to Count Rumyantsev, who financed the scientific expedition. The habitats of the butterfly sailboat Rumyantsev are the Philippines, Java, Indonesia, Borneo. The wingspan of the butterfly is 12-14 cm. The front wings of males are black with silver-gray scales along the veins. On the hind wings, the coating is blue-gray. A garland of bright pink or yellow spots runs along the lower edge. Females are much more attractive, the black background of the wings is diluted with crimson areas at the base. In many specimens, the inner part of the hindwings is white with black veins, with pink spots along the bottom. Caterpillars feed on perennial plants of the genus Kirkazon.
Rumyantsev's sailboat
Butterfly Papiliopalinurus or sailboat palinur lives in the tropics - Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia. For their bright green color they are called emerald princesses. The size of the insect is 8-10 cm. The wings are black, but some of the scales are green. In the middle are wide oblique stripes of light green. The tails on the hind wings are widened. On the underside of the wings, a contrasting gray-brown color. The larvae feed on citrus fruits.
Butterfly palinour
Tailed Maak
The sailboat Maaka is the largest butterfly in Russia among Lepidoptera, active in the daytime. The species owes its name to the Russian naturalist, explorer of the Siberian expanses Richard Karlovich Maak. The wingspan of adults is 12-14 cm. Their coloring seems to be blue-green. For a rare shade and red spots at the end of the hind wings, the insect was nicknamed the blue swallowtail. The forewings are composed of black and green scales. Along the edge is a wide, blurry transverse strip of a light green hue. The hindwings are green with a blue tint of black bands.
Sailboat Maaka
The coloring of the females of the Maaka tail-bearing butterfly is diverse, it is difficult to find two identical specimens. Usually the front wings are black or brown, without green scales. Red spots are pronounced on the hind wings at the outer edge. Insects live in Transbaikalia, the Amur region, Sakhalin, Central Asia, Japan, South Korea. Settle in broad-leaved and mixed forests. Males gather in groups of several dozen individuals on the wet banks of rivers. The females keep to themselves. Forage plants are Amur and Sakhalin velvet. Disturbed caterpillars put forward the odorous gland of osmetria from behind their heads. The butterfly is listed in the Red Book of the Sakhalin Region.
caterpillar
An interesting fact is that the Maaka butterfly gives two generations per year, adults born in summer are 1.5 times larger than spring relatives and have a darker color.
The Sercinmontel butterfly is the only member of the Sericinus genus. She lives in Primorsky Krai, China and the Korean Peninsula. The wings of the male are white, on the front the pattern consists of black spots and darkening in the upper part. At the end of the hind wings there is a large red spot with a brown border. The tails are noticeably elongated. The females have brown wings with yellow wavy bands. The edge of the hind wings is covered with red and blue spots. Butterfly size - 65-70 mm. Females fly poorly, spend a lot of time in the grass. Forage plant Kirkazon. The species is listed in the Red Book of Russia, the limiting factor is the destruction of the food supply.
Sercinmontela
Sailboat Ulysses
Butterfly sailboat Ulysses lives in tropical rainforests and on hills up to 800 km. It is found in northern Australia, Indonesia, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. Females are shy, more active in the afternoon. Males gather near water bodies and replenish their reserves of minerals by sucking water from moist soil. The background color of the wings is black. The area from the base almost to the edge of the wings is occupied by blue or blue fields. The tails of the hind wings are widened at the edges. Protective coloring on the underside of the wings is brown. The marginal buffy spots on the hindwings emphasize the light edging. Forage plants of caterpillars belong to the rue family.
Ulysses sailboat
Interesting fact. Males of the sailboat ulissa actively react to blue objects, mistaking them for females. This is used by butterfly catchers, they wave the bait, then cover the flying sailboat with a net.
Sailboat Kotzebue
Butterfly owes its name to the commander of the Russian research vessel "Rurik" Otto Kotzebue. The insect is found in the Philippines. 5 subspecies of the insect are known. The scientific name of the Kotzebue butterfly is Pachliopta Kotzebua. Its wingspan reaches 13-15 cm. The body of the sailboat is red with black spots. This is a warning signal for birds about the poisonousness of the insect. The main color of the velvety wings is black. Females have white transverse bands. On the inside of the hind wings, a scattering of red spots resembling a heart shape. At home, the butterfly is called the "velvet scarlet rose." The lifespan of adults is 7 days.
Sailboat Kotzebue
Papilio Lowi
Butterfly sailboat Catch or Asian swallowtail lives in Borneo, the Philippines and Indonesia. The insect is named after the English naturalist Sir Hugh Low. The butterfly belongs to medium species with a wingspan of 11-12 cm. The main color of the wings is black, with gray stripes interspersed on the front. There are red areas at the base of the wings. In the color of females there are beige, orange and purple tones. They sit on flowers spreading their wings, demonstrating their beauty to the world.
Papilio Lowi
Caterpillars of this species feed on citrus plants of the rue family. The life span of adults is one week. Often he buys beautiful butterflies to keep at home; with good care, the Lovi sailboat lives 2-4 weeks. They feed on orange juice and a 10% solution of natural honey.