Butterfly chervonets fiery - sparkle in green grass

On the edges of forests and alpine mountain meadows, you can see a small bright butterfly, flickering like a flame in the grass. Her light orange wings flutter over summer flowers. This is a representative of the family Lycaenidae - the butterfly chervonets fiery. Once looking at it, it becomes clear the choice of the name of the species. In insects, sexual dimorphism is clearly visible - males are monotonous in color, and females are mottled.

Morphological description

Fireweed (Lycaenavirgaureae) or Fireweed - a small butterfly from the family Lycaenidae. Wingspan up to 40 mm. The front wings are triangular in shape, the hind ones are rounded. The outer surface of the wings is shiny. The family is characterized by sexual dimorphism. Males of the fiery red are distinguished by orange wings with a black border around the entire perimeter. Females are lighter, the main color is orange-brown. The front wings are covered with black spots. At the base of the hind wings are brown fields, along the edge there are a number of black dots.

As can be seen in the photo above, the body of butterflies is a red chervonets covered with brown and brown hairs.

The large eyes of the facet type are naked. Chervonetse caterpillars are short and convex. The length of the body does not exceed 20 mm. The body is covered with short blond hairs. The head is small.

Information. The forelimbs of males are poorly developed and are not used when moving.

Distribution area

Fireworms are found in most of Europe, and are absent only on the Iberian Peninsula. The species is common in Asia, Siberia, the Far East, lives in the Caucasus. It is found locally in some countries of Western Europe. Chervonets lives in Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine. In Russia, they can be found everywhere, except for the steppe part of Stavropol.

Lifestyle & Reproduction

The summer time of adults is from mid-June to the end of August. It occurs in the southern regions until September. Popular habitats: light deciduous forests, clearings, meadows, clearings, gardens. Insects choose wet areas, they can be found near swamps and other bodies of water. They fly into the mountains to an altitude of 1500-2000 m. One generation is replaced per year.

Breeding

The female lays eggs one at a time on the leaves and stem of the feed plant. The offspring of chervonets feed on herbs of the genus Rumex - sorrel sorrel, small sorrel, passerine sorrel. The eggs are white, 0.85 mm in diameter, large cells on the surface. Eggs with a developed embryo overwinter. Caterpillars emerge from eggs in April. The length of the first age is 1.7 mm. From birth, they are yellow-green, the head is black. After molting, light streaks appear on the larva's back, and the head turns green.

In early ages, caterpillars eat up the middle of the leaf and flowers; by the fourth age, they are mistaken for the edges of the leaf plate. Pupation occurs in June. For metamorphosis, the larvae descend to the ground, where they attach to the substrate. The pupa is convex, spotted, and after 12-13 days an adult appears from it.

Interesting fact. The fiery chervonets is imprinted on the silver and gold commemorative coin of Niue Island in 2010.

Close views

The genus Chervontsy combined several species of butterflies of similar color and size. It is easy to confuse the species chervonets fiery with a close relative - an unpaired chervonets (Lycaenadispar).Males with bright red wings, on the front there are two black spots. Female wings are yellowish brown with many black dots. Insects prefer wet meadows and bolts. Settle locally along the banks of rivers and streams. One or two generations develop annually. Caterpillars overwinter. Chervonets unpaired - an endangered species in many European countries.

Butterfly chervonets spotted is also called multi-eyed spotted. Species Lycaenaphlaeas distributed over a large territory - Europe, North Africa, the temperate zone of Asia to Japan, North America. The front imago is orange-red, with a wide black border around the edge. Pattern in the form of spots close in shape to a square. Hind wings brown with orange band around the edge. The underside of the front wings is orange, and the hind wings are brownish with dark scales. Some individuals have a short tail.

In the north of the range, butterflies live in the tundra, in the rest of the territory in forests, clearings, clearings, wastelands. Not afraid to fly into the gardens. Two generations develop in the middle lane, one in the north and three in the south. Green caterpillar with red and yellow stripes. It feeds on sorrel, highlander, oregano. Winters caterpillar.

Human economic activity leads to a reduction in the natural habitat of the fiery chervonets. The butterfly entered the IUCN Red List as a species, the amount of which is close to the status of the threat of extinction.