Of all the representatives of the fauna living on earth, there is hardly an even more mysterious and beautiful creature than a butterfly. No insect undergoes so many transformations before appearing in its true form. Butterfly life can be divided into four stages: egg, caterpillar, pupa, butterfly.
And it is the fourth phase of the butterfly’s life that causes so many enthusiastic looks and exclamations. There are a great many species of this insect: from small one-day moths to huge butterflies living in the tropics. Some of them are absolutely harmless, but there are those that cause significant damage to agriculture, destroying the harvest of tomatoes, cabbage and other crops. This article will focus on such a familiar moth as a chocolate butterfly. It is very common in our latitudes, and, of course, you have seen it more than once in the country - in the country or in the forest.
Chocolate Butterfly
The second name for this lepidoptera is urticaria. The butterfly got its first name (chocolate) because of its color. The wings of the butterfly are brown-orange in color, on the edge of which there is a border of pale blue crescent-shaped spots. They give the insect a particularly elegant look. And the second (urticaria) - because the feed plant of this butterfly is exclusively nettle. Males in color differ little from females. Eggs are laid by those butterflies that managed to winter. To do this, they are clogged in the cracks, often winter in basements, in the attics of houses, as well as in caves. Eggs (pale yellow) the butterfly lays in the thickets of nettles on the underside of the leaf (200-300 pieces each).
Caterpillars have a dark, almost black color, yellow stripes pass along the body. Before their pupation, they do not spread far from each other and intensively absorb nettle leaves. As soon as the caterpillars gain enough nutrients, the third stage of the butterfly’s life begins - the chrysalis. A caterpillar weaves a cocoon around its body and is in it until a butterfly forms. A doll hangs upside down. Cocoons of these butterflies can often be seen on the walls of houses and on fences.
Chocolate butterfly: habitat and longevity
It is known that a chocolate butterfly (photo is presented in the article) lives in almost all of Eurasia and Europe. These butterflies are very fond of flying at the forest edges, in gardens and parks. They are also found in the mountains at an altitude of about 3000 meters. The question arises of how many chocolate butterfly butterflies live . The lifespan of these beauties varies from several weeks to several months. The fact is that over the summer several generations of butterflies are formed. Some of them winter in secluded places, and then live all summer, laying their eggs.
Signs
If a butterfly flies into your house, then this is considered a very good sign, since on its wings it brings happiness. There is a belief that if you catch a butterfly and, gently holding it in your palms, make a wish, then it will come true. But after do not forget to let her go free.