Wine Brazhnik - a lifestyle of rare butterflies and caterpillars

Butterflies are one of the most beautiful representatives of the fauna. Moths from the family of hawks eat nectar, they flutter over the flowers like a hummingbird. Watching the amazing creatures of nature brings naturalists real pleasure. Unfortunately, the number of hawks is constantly decreasing, many species are listed in the Red Book. The thoughtless extermination of insects, the use of pesticides and the destruction of the natural environment make them rare guests in Russia. Wine hawthorn with a delicate olive pink color is found in the middle zone of the country. To change people's attitude to these insects, you need to learn more about their lifestyle.

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Wine Hogweed belongs to the genus Deilephila. These are large and medium butterflies with a wingspan of 40-80 mm. Representatives of the species are divided into three groups by size.

Deilephilaporcellus

Small wine barrag is widespread in the Palearctic. The wingspan of a moth is 40-55 mm. The body is pink, the front wings are yellow-olive with wide pink fields along the edge. The hind wings are pink with a buffy band. Flies in May-August. The larva is dark brown with black hatching; the horn is absent. Often found in southern Russia, does not migrate.

Interesting fact. As a protective mechanism, caterpillars can relax muscles, simulating death.

Deilephilaelpenor

Middle Hogwax - an olive butterfly with a pink pattern. The base of the hind wings is black. Wingspan 50-70 mm. The head, chest and abdomen of an olive-green moth. Pinkish stripes on the back around the abdomen merge into one longitudinal line. Antennae thickened, grayish pink. The eyes are large, complex, covered with scales. Insects have excellent vision, they see objects in low light.

Information. Brazhniki fly at a speed of up to 50 km / h. The wind interferes with them in flight and while eating on flowers. With a wind force of 3 m / s, insects do not fly out for feeding.

Insects are common in Europe, including the south of the Urals. Found in Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, India, Korea, Japan and China. It lives in gardens, at the edge of the forest, roadsides. It lives on bushes of honeysuckle, flowers of petunias, killer whale. Moths living in gardens and parks pollinate 5-10% of nearby trees and shrubs.

Attention. Middle wine barrage is listed in the Red Book of Karelia and the Belgorod Region as a rare species.

The caterpillar of a wine hawthorn can be green or dark brown, almost black in color. On the 4-5th segment of the body there are round eyes of black color with a white border. The caudal horn is short, black at the base, white tip. Due to the large size of 70-80 mm, the caterpillars make a terrifying impression on people. In fact, they are not dangerous. Even to plants, the larva does not cause serious harm.

In case of danger, the caterpillar of the wine-brewer is able to inflate a body segment with eyes. She pulls her head in, takes the pose of the sphinx, tearing her front legs off the surface. In this case, it becomes like a snake. Given the impressive body size, enemies such as birds prefer not to engage in battle.

Hippotioncelerio

The largest representative of the species reaches a size of 70-80 mm. The color of the elongated body and wings is olive-brown. A gray-blue longitudinal line is visible along the entire body from the head to the end of the abdomen. On the wings, patterns of dark strokes and wide light stripes. Caterpillars grow to 90 mm. The color is green or brown, on the sides there are bright dots and a longitudinal white stripe. The horn is long, straight, brown at the end. The first segment of the chest has a black eye spot, the second is white. What eats the caterpillar of a wine hawthorn? The tropical species in choosing a diet is not original, its larvae live on bedstraws, lilacs, bindweed and other plants. Butterfly is common in warm countries - Africa, Central and South Asia. Migrates to the south of Europe in the summer season, flying huge distances, does not winter. At home, it gives up to five generations a year.

Lifestyle & Reproduction

Butterflies summer time from May to August. They are active in the evening until midnight. Moths feed on flowers and mate. Depending on the region of habitat, they give from one to five generations. For plants that open buds in close time, they are excellent pollinators. In the mating season, they often fly to light sources.

Interesting fact. Brazhniki are excellent flyers, they travel thousands of kilometers during migration. Butterflies are able to hang in one place, eating nectar of flowers, move vertically up and down.

Butterflies are insects with complete transformation. This means that in their development they go through several alternating stages:

• egg;
• larva (caterpillar);
• pupa;
• imago (butterfly).

A fertilized female lays separately or paired round eggs on the leaves and stems of fodder plants. The masonry is green with a glossy surface. The embryo develops 7-10 days. Young larvae of yellow or light green color. As they grow older, most become gray-brown with black touches. This stage lasts about a month.

The caterpillar of a wine-brewer can be beneficial and harmful. It depends on her diet. The larva that settled on weeds helps get rid of grass without weeding. The insect is not harmful to agriculture. Fodder plants of Brazhnik - flowers and ovary of bricks (Ivan tea), bedstraws, and untouched. In rare cases, it feeds on grape leaves.

Having reached the fifth age, the larva descends to the ground and prepares for pupation. She selects a place at the foot of the plant on which she ate, and forms a cocoon. Pupa brown, length 40-45 mm. Overwinter in the litter or topsoil.

Hornworms are an integral part of nature, the ban on their capture of butterflies and the destruction of habitats helps to preserve these beautiful representatives of the fauna.