Lemongrass butterfly: features of the life cycle of adults and caterpillars

A family of whites combined day butterflies with light colored wings. In the Palearctic, there are about 150 species. Among the first spring insects, butterfly lemongrass stands out with its bright sunny color. It can be seen in forest glades, in meadows and parks. Some species of whites are named after fodder plants, so the second name of the butterfly is buckthorn.

Description of appearance

Lemongrass or buckthorn (lat.Gonepteryxrhamni) - a butterfly from the family of whites. Her close relatives are pests of vegetable gardens: cabbage and repnita. Lemongrass is not dangerous for cultivated plants, its larvae feed on buckthorn shrubs. Butterflies of medium size, wingspan 52-60 mm. The head is round, the eyes are faceted, bare. Sucking mouthpart. The proboscis is long, spins immediately before feeding. The antennae gradually thicken, ending with maces.

The front and rear wings have an acute angle. Sexual dimorphism of insects is manifested in the intensity of their color. The wings of males are saturated yellow, thanks to them the name of the genus was chosen. The description of the female butterfly lemongrass butterfly is more modest, their wings are pale, greenish-white. In the middle of each wing is an orange speck. Chest and abdomen black, densely pubescent with light hairs. The structure of the legs is typical for insects. Three pairs of light walking legs allow you to move around the plants.

Larva

The buckthorn caterpillar is green in color, in the lower part of the body passes a light longitudinal strip. The body is densely covered with small black dots, on each a dark thin spike. The head is green, the mouth apparatus is gnawing. Walking legs are yellowish.

Related species

According to various sources, the genus of lemongrasses includes from 7 to 14 species. All butterflies have a similar shape and color to the wings. Insects vary in color intensity and size.
Schizandra aminta is the largest representative of the genus. Wingspan 76-78 mm. It lives in China, Taiwan and Laos.

Schisandra aspasia - front wings up to 33 mm, female wings are greenish-white, and males are bright yellow. Butterflies live in the south of the Far East, China and Korea.

Clementine Cleopatra - orange areas that are absent in females are observed on the front wings of males. Wingspan 55-60 mm. The species is common in southern Europe, the Middle East, northern Africa.

Habitat

The yellow butterfly lemongrass can be found in many countries of Europe - Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Norway, Sweden. It lives in North Africa and Asia Minor, Transcaucasia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. In Eastern Europe, the distribution area is up to the Arctic Circle. A distinctive feature of the species is its habitat not in the fields, but near bushes. Butterflies prefer woodlands, clearings, gardens and parks. They also settle in the mountains, climbing 2000 m above sea level. Lemongrasses are excellent flyers, they can migrate in search of comfortable places to stay.

Lifestyle

Krushinnitsa is one of the longest living butterflies in the world and a record holder for life expectancy on the European continent. The adult years begin at the end of March, then every month is observed until October, with the exception of June. At this time, insects have diapause. The peak time of summer is the spring months, when adults are active after hibernation, and August - during this period a new generation of butterflies appears. Unlike many lepidopterans, the adult phase of this species occupies most of its life. The buckthorn, born in August, continues to fly next summer. How long does a lemongrass butterfly live? Her life expectancy is 10-12 months. One generation develops per year.

Adults are active during the day; they fly only in sunny weather. In the spring, they often freeze on branches, placing their wings at right angles to the sun. Insects get warm and get extra energy. In the evening, buckthorn women look for a place to relax, often choose ivy thickets. To carefully consume the forces necessary for a long life cycle, butterflies fall into diapause several times. During this period, the metabolism is inhibited. In favorable conditions, they wake up and eat actively again.
The photo shows that the shape of the wings of the butterfly lemongrass perfectly mimics the leaf of a tree, this feature is important during numerous periods of diapause. Only a good camouflage saves butterflies from numerous enemies. During the winter, buckthorn hides in secluded places, where they can easily tolerate low negative temperatures. To survive the frost in the body of the insect, the concentration of glycerol and polyleptides increases.

Thaws during the cold season can be fatal. Butterflies wake up prematurely and waste their energy on flying over thawed patches. They again have to seek refuge in which they can hide until the end of winter. The best option for hibernation is a high snow cover above the forest litter, where the insect is in a diapause state.

Food

What do lemongrass butterflies eat? Adults collect nectar from flowering plants. They can be seen fluttering from flower to flower. The diet of butterflies includes wild and cultivated plants. In the fields they collect the nectar of a meadow cornflower, calf, barn stock, dandelion, thistle. A long proboscis allows you to get food from plants that are inaccessible to other butterflies. Lemongrasses begin years in early spring, they are one of the few insects pollinating primroses.

Interesting fact. Lemongrasses choose flowers, focusing not on smell, but on color. They prefer red and blue inflorescences.

Forage plants of larvae are various species of plants of the buckthorn family. Among them: buckthorn buckthorn or zoster, buckthorn laxative. Lemongrass butterfly caterpillar feeds on the upper side of the leaves. She is slow and unfriendly. Larvae of the first age appear on the back of the leaves and live undercover for several days. Small caterpillars begin to eat the leaf from the middle, gradually reaching the edge. Just shedding, they are selected on the outside of the sheet plate.

Breeding

Mating time of butterflies falls in the spring. Both sexes winter, so in spring you can see males and females. Male individuals wake up first, they divide the forest glades into separate areas and expect the appearance of partners. The courtship period is accompanied by a marriage ritual. The male flies after the female, chasing her for some time. At the end of the courtship, they sink to the bush, where mating takes place.

Eggs are conical in shape, attached with a sticky secret to the plant in an upright position. The initial greenish color to hatching larvae changes to yellow. The female lays 1-2 eggs on the leaves, buds and stalks of buckthorn. One individual lays 70-100 eggs during the breeding season. Masonry ripens in 1-2 weeks. Young larva 1.5-1.7 mm long. For full development, she will have to go through 5 ages.

After the second molt, tubercles and hairs appear on the body of the caterpillar. A drop of orange liquid appears at the end of each hair in the form of a bead. By the fifth age, the larva grows to 35 mm. Caterpillar development time depends on environmental conditions and temperature. In dry, warm weather, they grow faster, cold and moisture slow down development. On average, four weeks pass before pupation.

Interesting fact. Coloring the caterpillars completely hides them against the background of green plants. The presence of a larva reveals damage to the leaves. Their main enemies are birds and wasp riders.

In July, the larva turns into a chrysalis. It attaches to the bottom of the leaf or stem of the feed plant. The sizes of the cocoon are 22-23 mm, the color is yellow-green, the shape is angular. The pupa develops for two weeks. Before the appearance of the butterfly through the shell, you can see the yellow spot. After exiting the shell, the butterflies need to hang for several minutes in an upright position to spread their wings. A full developmental cycle from egg to imago takes about 50 days.

Despite the limited food plant for caterpillars, the species of lemongrass is not threatened with extinction. Using pesticides and cutting down bushes reduces their numbers, but losses do not significantly affect the total number of butterflies.