Meadow butterfly pestrus - contrast black and white

In Eurasia, Africa and Australia, the genus Pestruska is widespread. These are small and medium sized butterflies with colorful wings. A typical color is a dark background with contrasting white spots and bandages. Of 147 species of pestles in Russia, ten are found. The meadowsweet pest butterfly lives in deciduous forests and forest-steppes. Adults often flock to puddles, moist areas of the soil to replenish the supply of trace elements.

Morphological description of the species

The meadowsweet pestle butterfly (Neptisrivularus) is one of the representatives of the nymphalidae family. The official species name has several synonyms - common pestle, nigella, tapeworm tame. The Latin name rivularus translates as a trickle. The front wings are elongated, with a convex outer edge, their length is 18-29 mm. The hind pair of wings is wide, rounded, with a wavy edge.

The outer side of the wings is painted black or dark brown. On the front wings of a butterfly, a pattern of white spots. On the back there is a white wide band. The inner surface of the wings is variegated, the main background is brown or reddish. The common pestle has a slender body, a thin abdomen. The head is wide, the eyes are hemispherical, facet type. Antennae of medium length with a fusiform club.

Information. Butterflies can be easily distinguished by gender - in females, the wingspan is larger and the white bandages are wider.

Distribution area

The meadowsweet pest species lives on a vast territory, including Europe and Asia, before Japan. Butterflies are found north of the tropical zone. They are typical insects in France, Italy, Switzerland, Eastern Europe, Mongolia, in the north of China, in Korea. The northern border of settlement runs along the southern part of Belarus and Poland. Butterflies are found locally in the south of Russia, in the Caucasus. Lepidoptera live in the mountains, rising to a height of 1,500 m above sea level.

Lifestyle

The habitats of the common pestle are the edges of broad-leaved forests, bushes, ravines and slopes of beams. An important factor in existence is the proximity of a body of water - a stream, stream or lake. Adults feed on the flowers of common privet, Dubrovnik, on the fruits of pears. Nectar is not the only component of their diet; butterflies drink moisture enriched with microelements and feed on excrement.

Females are shy, prefer to stay in the crowns of trees. Night hours are spent hiding in the bush. Fly slowly. Males differ in territorial behavior. They divide the habitat into separate areas and jealously guard the boundaries of their property. Usually, butterflies develop in one generation, but under favorable conditions, a second generation appears in the southern regions. The first generation is active from May to July, the second - from the end of July to August. Adult years in wooded mountainous regions are observed from May to August.

Information. The domed bunting does not tolerate a dry climate. On hot days, when the soil dries up, it drinks dew on the grass.

Reproduction and development

Females are larger than the male, therefore, during mating, they carry a mated partner.After fertilization, the female lays eggs one at a time on the outside of the leaves of the feed plants. The offspring develops on the meadowsweet, honeysuckle, Volzhanka vulgaris, spirea loosestrife.

Common pestle eggs have the shape of a ball with a diameter of 1.2 mm, their surface is covered with recesses and hairs. Embryo development time is one week. The length of the spawning track is 2.5 mm. First of all, she eats the eggshell, and then proceeds to the construction of a shelter. The caterpillar folds a young leaf, securing it from the inside with silk threads. Pestle larvae are selected daily from the house for food, and then returned back. A thread stretching from the shelter helps them find their way.

The caterpillar is reddish-brown; on the back and sides there are light stripes. The head is large. The body is covered with light short hairs. There are several growths on the back. Before wintering, caterpillars are active at night. In September-October, after the second molt, the caterpillar begins to prepare for wintering. She leaves the old house and builds a new shelter. It is wrapped in a large sheet, like in a sleeping bag, clogs all the holes.
In the spring of next year, the caterpillars leave the house and live openly, feeding on open buds during the day. At the last fifth age, they reach a length of 20 mm. Before pupation, the caterpillar stops feeding, with the end of the abdomen attached to the branch, hanging upside down. The pupa is light brown, 15 mm long, has two processes. Pupa phase 7-8 days.

Close European species

In terms of color, appearance and developmental features, scientists distinguish three species similar to the meadowsweet pestle:

1. Sappho Pestrus or Darkwing - the upper part of the wings is brown or black with a pattern of white spots and bandages. On the rear wing, the band is in two rows. Females are larger than males, white stripes on their wings wider. Butterflies are common on the Balkan Peninsula, Eastern and Central Europe, the lower belt of the Carpathians at an altitude of up to 500 m. In the Czech Republic, Poland and Belarus, the species is considered extinct. Habitats - glades, roadsides of forest roads, riverbanks. Caterpillars feed plant - rank. Adult summer time from June to the end of August. The caterpillar winters, pupates at the end of May. The species is included in the Red Book of the VSOP and the Moscow Region.
2. Small Ribbon or Camilla - An average day butterfly with a wingspan of 45-60 mm. The main color is black-brown, at the base of the wings with a bluish tint. There is an intermittent white band. It lives in Europe, the Caucasus, Turkey, Primorye, Korea, Japan. It occurs in broad-leaved and mixed forests on the banks of water bodies.
   
   Butterflies live separately, without leaving their usual habitats. In the mountains they are found at an altitude of 1600 m. They develop in two generations. The first flies in June-July, the second - August-September. Males gather in groups on the banks of streams, rotten fruit and excrement.
3. Bluish Ribbon - Butterfly with front wing size up to 31 mm. The outer side of the wings is black-brown with a white band and small marginal spots. In males, a beautiful blue tint is observed, in females it is absent. It lives in the south of Europe, the Caucasus, the Crimea, Asia Minor, Iran. It settles in the open woodland, near water bodies. Feels great in the mountains at an altitude of up to 2000 m. Flies from July to August, develops in one generation. Feed plants are various types of honeysuckle. Adults feed on the flowers of umbrella plants.

In Crimea, the species of meadowsweet species is listed in the Red Book. The reduction in the number of butterflies is caused by large-scale forest treatment with chemicals. Spraying insecticides protects greenery from pests, but harmless insects die in parallel. To preserve the population of butterflies, it is necessary to stop processing chemicals with their habitats. The species Neptisrivularus is not only protected in Russia; it is listed in the Red Book of Poland.