Butterfly admiral - a beautiful and tireless traveler

On hot summer days at the forest edges, in gardens or along the road, you can see bright butterflies fluttering over the flowers. Unusual velvety black color with red bandages attracts attention. This is admiral butterfly. The Latin name is no less interesting - Vanessaatlanta. The species designation "Atlanta" has ancient Greek roots. That was the name of the heroine of myths, who defeated all rivals in running. The admiral butterfly does not run, but flies perfectly. She is an active migrant, flying thousands of kilometers in search of comfortable habitats.

View description

The admiral butterfly belongs to the nymphalidae family, the genus of Vanessa. The length of the front wing of the insect reaches 30 mm, wingspan 50-65 mm. Vanessaatlanta fluorescent butterfly with a wavy outer edge of the wings and a prominent protrusion on the front wing. This structure is characteristic of the genus Vanessa. The upper edge of the wings is dark brown or brown. At the apex of the fore wing, a noticeably elongated white spot is seen; near it is a chain of light spots of various shapes and sizes.

The red band is clearly visible in the photo, which obliquely crosses the middle of the front wing of the admiral's butterfly. At the outer edge of the hind wings, a strip of similar coloration passes. It contains 4-5 black dots in a row. In the corner of the hind wing there is a blue elongated spot. The back side of the wings is covered with a motley mosaic pattern of red, white, gray and brown stains. On the front wings, the main pattern is complemented by blue rings and stripes.

The body of the insect is brown or black, the chest is covered with long brown hairs. The head is inactive, large facet eyes are located on the sides. Admirals distinguish many colors: blue, green, yellow, but do not notice red. Small bristles grow around the organs of vision. Between them in the frontal part are articulated antennae. For admirals, they end in an expanded mace. In the lower part of the head is the oral apparatus in the form of a proboscis. In a calm state, it coils. Proboscis butterfly sucks nectar in the throat.

The thoracic section consists of three segments, each of which carries a pair of walking legs. The forelimbs of the nymphalide family are covered with thick setae that act as the organ of touch.

Type name origin

Why is the butterfly called admiral? Red stripes on the dark background of the wings resemble stripes on the admiral's uniform. Oblique scarlet bandages resemble ribbons worn by fleet commanders over their shoulders.

Distribution area

Butterfly Vanessaatlanta distributed throughout Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, North Africa. The insect was brought to North America and New Zealand. Admiral is found on the Azores and Canaries of the Atlantic Ocean. It settles in woodlands, floodplain meadows, parks and gardens. It occurs in mountainous regions at an altitude of up to 2.5 thousand meters. In Russia, the admiral is widespread in the Volga-Don, Karelian, Ural, East Caucasus, Central European and other regions.

Lifestyle

The description of the admiral’s butterfly will be incomplete if you don’t talk about the features of her lifestyle. The insect belongs to heat-loving species, spends winter only in the southern regions. During migration, moths rise to a considerable height, where they are picked up by the wind and carried in the right direction. This saves insect energy. The summer begins in May-June, lasts until the end of September. One, sometimes two generations are replaced in a year. The second generation has a darker color of the wings.
The English name for the insect RedAdmiral (red admiral) accurately characterizes the unique coloring of the butterfly. A mobile view can be found in any unexpected places - on the riverbank, in a city park, on a farm. Admirals are active on sunny days in clear weather. On rainy and windy days, they hide in a shelter.

Information. Vanessaatlanta often rests on the trunks of oaks or larch trees. Butterflies put wings behind their backs and completely merge with the bark of trees. Camouflage coloring hides them from predators.

Lepidoptera - insects with complete transformation. They pass through all stages of development: an egg, a larva (caterpillar), a chrysalis, and an imago. How long does admiral butterfly live? In favorable conditions, it is a long-lived - the insect lives 9-10 months. For a part of the allotted time, she is in hibernation, it is the presence of diapause that explains her continued existence. A fertilized female hibernates in order to lay eggs immediately the next year after awakening. In the North and in the Center of Europe, admirals do not remain in the cold period. They go on a seasonal southward migration. It is less noticeable than summer, when a large amount of imago settles in gardens and parks rich in food.

Migrants that appeared in the summer give birth to local plants. Young butterflies fly in July-August. They are not shy, with careful handling they can sit on clothes or hands. It is easy to distinguish between arriving and local admirals by the state of their wings - among travelers they are shabby and faded. For the wintering period, moths are looking for a reliable refuge where you can hide not only from the cold, but also from enemies. Females hide under the bark of trees, fallen leaves, are clogged in the cracks. During sleep, they risk being eaten by birds or rodents.

General warming and mild winters have led to a change in the behavior of the admiral's butterfly. Not all individuals go to wait for the cold season in hot Africa. Some remain in temperate latitudes. This decision is fully justified, because many insects die during overcoming distances of thousands of kilometers.

Power Features

What does the admiral butterfly eat? Adults prefer to drink nectar of Asteraceae plants:

• cornflower;
• thistle;
• ivy;
• blackberry;
• scabious;
• asters.

At the end of summer, moths get the opportunity to expand the diet due to overripe sweet fruits. They drink the juice of bursting peaches, plums, pears.

Interesting fact. Admirals prefer rotten and fermented fruits.

Breeding

Vanessaatlanta moths are characterized by courtship and courtship. During the breeding season, males show territorial behavior. They occupy good areas where the feed plant grows, and drive out competitors. Each has an area of ​​10 by 20 m. Moths patrol their own area, flying around the perimeter. Admirals often circle over the hills to notice from afar and intercept a flying female. The male flies for the partner for a long time, seeking her favor. Mating takes several hours. During this period, insects do not respond to external factors and are in a vulnerable position.

Interesting fact. Territorial males, aggressively chasing rivals of their species and other butterflies from their site, display peaceful behavior during feeding on flowers or fruits.

The fertilized female lays one egg on the upper part of the leaves of fodder plants:

• thistle (Carduus);
• Stinging nettle (Urticadiolica);
• stinging nettle (Urticaurens);
• hops (Humuluslupulus).

Masonry takes a long time. Periodically, the female breaks off and flies off to eat nectar from the nearest flowers or tree sap. Often there is a situation when several admirals lay eggs on one nettle bush at once.

Offspring development

Initially, they are light green, with the development of the embryo acquire a dark color. The eggs are small, 0.8 mm in size, and difficult to see with the naked eye. After a week, a larva appears. What does the admiral butterfly caterpillar look like? When it appears from the egg, it is green, the body is covered with bristles. The head is large, black and shiny. The larva size is 1.8 mm. Caterpillars live separately, they build original houses from folded leaves fastened by a web. The shelter is left only for food. After molting, a new house of a larger size is arranged.

Information. A few folded leaves of the dioica nettle are a clear sign of the presence of an admiral's larva.

As it grows, the color of the caterpillar changes. There are instances of yellow-green, brown or black. The body is completely covered with small white dots, branched spikes and growths. On the sides are light yellow stripes. Admiral butterfly caterpillar runs 5 ages. It takes about 1 month. The first four ages take 3-4 days, the fifth is the longest. The adult caterpillar grows to 35 mm. On her body are seven longitudinal rows with sharp spikes. The last stage of the larva takes 10 days.

At the end of development, the larva stops feeding. She gnaws the base of the leaf so that the house hangs on the stalks of the petiole. Inside this structure, the caterpillar pupates upside down. Pupa length 22–23 mm; coloration gray or brown with silver inclusions. The duration of the phase depends on the temperature. At + 30 ° C, the imago appears after 6-7 days, if the indicator drops to + 11-18 ° C - the time increases to 18-45 days. A young butterfly emerges from the pupa. Its wings are small and take time to spread.

Home Content

Lovers of fauna as a pet plant various insects, including butterflies. Lepidoptera is best taken at the age of the caterpillar. The insect is placed in an aquarium or a plastic container filled with fodder plants. From above the container is covered with a mesh that provides air access. Food is replaced every day. Periodically, the leaves are sprayed with water. During pupation, the humidity should be 80-09%.

For young adults, it is necessary to equip a place for spreading wings. A vertically located branch will do. How long does Admiral butterfly live at home? Do not expect that the insect will linger in your house for a long time. The life of moths is short, even in safe conditions, he will live no more than 3-4 weeks. The pet will need a certain temperature and humidity, as well as nutrition.

The diet of domestic butterflies includes a solution of honey and fruit juice. Making syrup is quite simple - dilute a teaspoon of honey in 6 servings of water. You can offer the insect juicy cut fruits (banana, plum, peach). A butterfly just needs to touch the honey solution with a foot to define it as food.

It is interesting to watch the butterfly dinner. She sits on the edge of the saucer and drops a long proboscis into the sweet liquid. After 5-15 minutes, the food ends. It is enough to feed the moth once a day.

Related view

The butterfly lady is called the pink admiral and thistle. Her Latin name is Vanessacardui. Insects belong to the same genus (Vanessa) and the family (Nymphalids). The size of the wings is 47-65 mm, the color is light red with a pinkish tinge. On a bright background, a pattern of black and white spots and bandages. The butterfly is known for its long-distance hops. This species hibernates in North Africa, and with the onset of heat migrates to Europe and Asia. Some individuals were found in Iceland. Thistles were spotted in the Kamchatka nature reserve.

Guests from the south breed in summer at temperate latitudes.They lay one egg each on fodder plants: coltsfoot, nettle, yarrow, thistle. In the fall, adults return to Africa.

Insect protection

The downsizing of Vanessaatlanta required protective measures. In 1997, the insect was listed in the Red Book of Russia. Several favorable years made it possible to replenish the number of nymphalids. Security measures remained only in the Smolensk region. Negative factors affecting insects are deforestation, plowing of meadows, and chemical treatment of gardens. At the moment, admirals are not in danger of moth extermination. Colonies are actively replenished due to insects migrating from the south. Admiral butterfly is considered one of the most beautiful species in Europe.