The butterfly bear got its name due to the appearance of the caterpillar, which is covered with thick hairs resembling bear fur. Large fur lumps are really more like animal cubs than insects.
Family Features
All bears have relatively large sizes. They have a plump body. The front wings are triangular in shape, most species are colored brightly. Hind wings smaller, often modest in color. A calm or resting butterfly dipper folds its wings with a house, hiding their brightness.
An important feature inherent in the whole family is poisonousness. The blood of these butterflies has a bitter aftertaste - this is for those who did not understand the motley wing signal and nevertheless decided to attack. Most poisonous creatures look catchy, as if warning predators of their own characteristics. It is difficult to digest such prey, it can cause irritation in the digestive system or allergies.
Youth is no worse protected. The caterpillar of the bear butterfly not only has bitter poisonous blood, but its hairs also emit a strong irritating substance. She should not only be chewed, but even touched. Due to this feature, both adult butterflies and caterpillars practically have no natural enemies.
Caterpillar
Before turning into butterflies, the caterpillars have a lot of work to do and fulfill the important task of eating enough for the future. Therefore, they are omnivorous and voracious. Caterpillars eat shrubbery and herbaceous plants, foliage of trees. It harms the plantations.
Before pupation, the caterpillar weaves a loose silky cocoon. It weaves its own hairs into the walls. The pupa inside the cocoon is motionless.
Bear Butterfly Lifestyle
Bears are common throughout the world. Entomologists know about 11 thousand species representing the family of dipper. At least 60 species of these butterflies live in the European part of Russia.
Most of the bears are nocturnal or evening , but there are certain species that are awake in the afternoon, although there are such a minority.
It is noteworthy that the bears do not have a developed oral apparatus. Adult sexually mature individuals - adults - do not eat food.
Bear Madam
In the middle lane, the lady bear mrs. Is very common. It is quite large, wingspan reaches 5.5 cm.
These butterflies live in shady and humid places in June and July. They inhabit ravines, riverbanks, forest glades and glades. Caterpillars eat leaves of shrubs and herbaceous plants: willow, blackberry, wild strawberry. Pupation occurs in spring.
Ursa Kaya
Nocturnal moth butterfly Kaya. Representatives of the species are very beautiful. The wingspan up to 8 cm makes them one of the largest in our country.
The front wings of the Kaya bear are coffee brown, with white constrictions. On the hind red wings are large black and blue peas.
Kayi bears live in late summer. Their black furry caterpillars appear in the fall, tolerate winter, and in summer turn into butterflies. At the moment of danger, the caterpillars fold into a ring, protecting all their important organs, exposing the poisonous hairs out. Caterpillars weave their cocoons under snags, dumped tree trunks.
American polar bear
The beautiful snow-white butterfly dipper with a furry head is actually a formidable pest for agriculture and forestry. This species originally from North America in the middle of the last century came to Europe, from where it spread throughout Ukraine, the south and west of Russia, penetrated into Turkmenistan and other countries of the Middle East. Experts believe that this could not have happened due to natural reasons and the butterflies got to the mainland with goods transported across the Atlantic.
White moth, as this butterfly is sometimes called, has medium sizes, its wingspan does not exceed 3.6 cm. Ecologists and the quarantine service take measures to prevent the further spread of this pest.
Leopard bear
This butterfly flies in the eastern United States. Its wingspan reaches 8 cm, which makes it one of the largest representatives of the family.
Ursa Bear
A common species of hebe damsels is found in the steppe zone. This bear is a rural butterfly, it can be found at night, from May to July.
The wingspan of Heba reaches 5.5 cm. Her front wings are light, with dark constrictions. Hind wings red, decorated with dark spots.
Gloomy cave butterfly
The Trans-Caspian gloomy bear is a very unusual butterfly. The name she owes and unprepossessing appearance, and lifestyle. This insect spends most of its life on the walls of caves and stalactites growing on them. At night, this butterfly gets out of the shelter and often flies up to the tourist camps, attracted by the light of bonfires. It is noteworthy that the caterpillars and pupae live far from the caves, preferring the steppes covered with wormwood and herbs.
This species is still poorly understood. And other representatives of the bear family of butterflies keep many secrets.