Relatively bright butterfly burdock in its appearance is similar to urticaria. Their color is almost the same, but they differ only in that the burdock is a little lighter, there are dots on the edges of its wings.
The article presents photos and characteristics of a butterfly lady.
Butterfly Overview
It should be noted that these butterflies are the only insects that can be enjoyed endlessly. These are amazingly delicate and fragile creatures. They differ in a variety of colors and patterns, similar to unusual fluttering flowers. And what is most striking is the fact that an ordinary caterpillar can transform so much that it turns into such a charming creature.
Butterflies are one of 34 insects. They belong to the kingdom of animals and to the type of arthropods. Their number is more than 350,000 species. Among them there are both daytime and nighttime representatives.
Description
Butterfly burdock belongs to the genus Vanessa from the family of nymphalids. Her Latin name is Vanessa cardui, and in Russia she is known as a thistle or thistle wing-wing.
In length, it is slightly more than 30 millimeters, and the wingspan reaches 65 millimeters. Against the background of its bright orange wings, symmetrical white and black spots are noticeable. The color intensity decreases towards the back. In the front there is a border in black and white, and in the back there are individual bright points.
The antennae of the butterfly are thin and long antennas that thicken at the end. The front legs are slightly shortened, the burdock is often “washed” with them.
Distribution area
Thistle butterflies are very widespread. They can not be found only in Antarctica and in the countries of South America. Its northern boundary of distribution reaches the tundra. But in the high latitudes of this area the butterfly does not breed. It winters in the southern parts of Europe.
One well-known fact should be mentioned - sometimes a butterfly thistle flies on the northern islands of Svalbard, Iceland and Kolguyev.
Preferred Butterfly Residences:
- forest edges;
- roadsides along the roads;
- marginal sections of fields;
- plots of gardens and cottages;
- grass meadows;
- slopes of mountains and hills;
- coastal areas of water bodies.
Butterflies of thistles can be found everywhere where nettle and thistle grow. They can even get to mountainous areas, where heights reach 2000 meters, however, they give preference to plain sunny and dry areas, avoiding dense and dark forests.
Breeding
Females lay one egg on the leaves of fodder plant species. Caterpillars usually build shelters for themselves from several folded leaves, which are fastened together by silk. In such a "refuge" they eat a hole between the leaf veins. During the whole life span, one caterpillar builds about 8 such "shelters". Pupation also occurs there. The pupa attaches to the sheet with its head down. At this stage, the insect is within 2-3 weeks, then a beautiful butterfly comes out of it.
Fodder plants of caterpillars: stinging nettle, yarrow, thistle, cultivated soybean, dioica nettle, ordinary coltsfoot. In the northern regions, caterpillars develop almost on nettles, thistles, and field artifacts.
Description of butterfly ladybugs for children
In the summertime, you can often see fluttering beautiful butterflies in the air, sitting on the flowers of various plants. Among them are orange, which (like many other varieties of these insects) sit on flowers and drink nectar. This is a diurnal butterfly, the name of which comes from the Latin word Carduus, which translates as thistle. And this plant is one type of feed for the caterpillars of this butterfly. This butterfly is called a thistle or burdock.
It is painted in a brownish-pink or reddish color, there are black spots on the edges of the wings. Butterfly burdock (photo presented in the article) - one of the most famous among the butterfly travelers traveling long distances for wintering. Living in Europe, winter in sunny Africa - south of the Sahara desert. It should be noted that during the wintering period they are not half asleep (like some species, for example, monarchs), but move quite actively, feed and even breed. With the advent of spring, huge flocks of burdock, overcoming the Mediterranean Sea and the Alps, rush north. Moreover, along the way, some butterflies settle in the territories beyond the mountains, and some move further north. Thus, by mid-May, such surprisingly fragile creatures reach the northern regions of Belarus, England, Germany and even Scandinavia.
Butterflies fly in flocks from south to north across Europe to give life to a new generation, they die after that. In a day they can fly about 500 kilometers at a speed of 25 km / h. They can fly even at night. It is amazing that such tender and fragile creatures have such endurance, and they also know where to fly.
It may be interesting for children that these small creatures (like huge elephants) feed through the trunk, although they have very small sizes.
Benefit and harm
If we talk about the harmful effects of butterfly thistles on the surrounding nature, then this impact can be considered insignificant. Thistle caterpillars to a greater extent affect weeds, and in small volumes.
At the same time, freezing in some areas of entire generations of these insects leads to a reduction in butterflies as a species. This fact makes us think about taking measures to protect them. For example, in the Smolensk region of Russia, a lady-throated woman has been listed in the local regional Red Book since 1997.