Most people associate butterflies with summer and flowers. There is no such person in the world who has never seen this miracle of nature. And many are interested in the question: “What types of butterflies are there and how many families do these beautiful creatures have?”.

This article will answer all questions.

All about butterflies

Butterfly- This is an insect of the arthropod type, the order of Lepidoptera.

The ancient Slavs believed that the souls of the dead inhabit butterflies, so they treated these insects with special respect.

Appearance and structure

Butterfly consists of two sections:

  • Body covered with chitinous layer.
  • Two pairs of wings, which are covered with scales and pierced with veins in the transverse and longitudinal direction. The pattern on the wings depends on the species. The wingspan, depending on the species, can be from 3 mm to 310 mm.

Body structure:

The appearance of a butterfly can serve to protection insect from enemies. Indeed, due to the coloring, some butterflies merge with environment and become invisible.

Types of butterflies with a brief description

Butterflies have more than 200 families, only a small part of the most popular are listed below:

Whites:

Cocoonworm family

Butterflies belonging to this family are large or medium in size. The body is powerful, covered with villi. This family is more like moths than butterflies. The front fenders are different. big size compared to the rear. The antennae are like brushes. They live in groups on woody plants. Some species are very harmful to forestry.

pigeon family

It has more than 5 thousand species, some of which are listed in Red Book. All species of this family are small in size with bright colors. Males are brighter in color than females. The color of the coat depends on the species and can be bright blue or brown. For example, the Icarus pigeon has a bright blue color.

A distinctive feature of all pigeons are the spots located on the lower wings. Dovetails do not harm, and sometimes even benefit by scaring away insect pests.

parsley family

This family contains over 1200 species. Most species can be found in tropical countries, but a small part lives in Russia. Pestryanka have interesting coloring. On a shiny black or dark blue background, there are spots of bright red or bright yellow. But there are also species with a single color.

The appearance of the insect warns that it poisonously and, when threatened, emits a poisonous liquid with a pungent odor. In size, the butterfly can reach up to 50 mm in length. They are mostly diurnal, but are occasionally seen at night. It feeds on the leaves of legumes.

Volnyanki

These butterflies are very harmful to forestry. It has over 2700 species. The butterfly is of medium size. One of the most known species is an gypsy moth. This insect got its name because of the significant differences in the size of the male and female.

For example, males have a wingspan of 45 mm, the female has 7.5 cm. And also males are much darker than females. In males, the wings are painted dark brown with black transverse waves. The female is gray-white with dark waves.

Butterflies have a velvety texture and black color with a span of 50–60 mm. In the corners of the front wings there are white spots, which are separated by a strip of red. The same stripe is located on the edge of the lower wings.

A beautiful European diurnal insect. The wingspan is 150 mm. The whole color is red-brown in color with a bizarre pattern similar to a peacock eye. On the upper wings in the corners there is one spot.

And on the lower each wing there is one black spot, in the middle of which there is another blue spot. Those spots that look like eyes scare away enemies butterflies.

Velvet

The color of this diurnal butterfly is quite modest. It has a brown or red color with a pattern of white and black rings. It feeds on grasses of wild plants and loves shade.

Machaon belongs to the family sailboats and listed in the Red Book. Coloring happens different colors, but the most beautiful is the swallowtail, which has a yellow color. On the wings, a wide black stripe with moon-shaped spots along the edges is visible. The hind wings have an elongated tail of blue color with blue-yellow spots. There is a red spot in the bottom corner.

There are many more species that you can talk about endlessly and write several volumes of books. This article contains only the smallest part of them.

  • The wings are painted so unusually that it cannot be confused with any other butterfly in the world. Outwardly, the male and female are very similar to each other.
This wonderful butterfly is also interesting in that the colors of its color change if a newly formed chrysalis is exposed to high or low temperatures.
The range of the daytime peacock eye covers all of Europe (except for the northernmost regions) and temperate latitudes of Asia.
Butterflies hibernate in basements, attics, in caves... Overwintered individuals fly in March - May, and a new generation appears in July - August.
The butterfly got its name because of the bizarre spots in the lower corner of the wings, which are similar to the shape of the eye. In general, the color of the Peacock's eye varies from bright red to deep brown. All this is artistically diluted in black with beautiful patterns and stripes.



There is also a nocturnal Peacock eye, which differs from its congener in darker colors and brown spots. Its outstretched wings reach up to 15 centimeters in length. At night, the Peacock Eye is much more like a bat than a butterfly.

Apollo


Daytime butterfly, listed in the Red Book. There is a butterfly in the Urals, in Siberia and the mountains of the Caucasus. One of the reasons for this choice of terrain is nutritional habits, Apollo prefers thickets of stonecrop and hare cabbage, which are found mainly in mountainous areas.
The butterfly has a bright beautiful color, it is clearly visible in the open area. Apollo is easily recognizable by its large wings with black and red spots. Depending on the location of the spots, more than 600 forms of this species are distinguished.
Butterflies can be found from June to August. Apollo flies slowly, imposingly, often gets tired, sits on flowers.
Apollo is a real "sissy", a butterfly needs good conditions external environment in order to survive. Bright sun and an abundance of food are among the most necessary.

Admiral


Adults of the white admiral have black wings with white stripes. This contrast of colors helps to sort of "break" the wing line, thereby camouflaging the butterfly from predators. Their wingspan is approximately 60-65 millimeters. The flight is very interesting, elegant, consisting of short periods of flapping followed by a long hover.



Red Admiral. This is a well-known brightly colored butterfly. This species lives permanently warm places, but in the spring it migrates to the north, and in the fall - sometimes - back. This large butterfly is easily recognizable by its bright dark brown with red and black wing pattern. Caterpillars feed on nettle leaves, adults drink nectar from the flowers of plants such as buddleia (which is also called butterfly bush because of this) and can feast on overripe fruits.
IN northern Europe this is one of the last butterflies to be seen before the onset of winter: it appears near a weak light and feeds on the nectar of autumn flowers on warm days. The red admiral is also known for the fact that when he overwinter, he becomes darker in color than individuals who have not yet survived the winter. The butterfly can also fly out on sunny winter days, for the most part this applies to southern Europe.

mourning house


For many people, their first childhood impressions of butterflies were formed when they met a large, spectacular, memorable mourning place. And for some future entomologists, these impressions turned out to be so strong that they determined the subsequent choice of profession.
With the predominance of dark color on the wings of the mourning woman, her names are also associated in other languages. So. Americans call her mourning cloak "mourning robe", and the French - deuil - "mourning", "sorrow". Perhaps this was also taken into account by K. Linnaeus, who in 1758 named the butterfly antiopa - after the daughter of the Theban king Niktey, who even by the standards ancient Greek myths had to go through a lot of hardship and suffering.
“Dark coffee, shiny, lacquered, its wings seem velvety in abundance of colored dust, and to the very abdomen or torso they seem to be covered with moss or thin reddish hairs. The edges of the wings, both upper and lower, are trimmed with a pale yellow, fawn, rather wide jagged border, carved with scallops ... and along the fawn border, on both wings, bright blue spots are placed ... "S. T. Aksakov

Hives


The specific epithet of the scientific name, urticae, comes from the word urtica (nettle) and is explained by the fact that nettle is one of the fodder plants of caterpillars of this species.
Males differ little from females in coloration. Wings are brick-red dorsally, with a number of large black spots separated by yellow gaps near the costal margin; at the top of the front wing there is a small white spot. The basal half of the hind wing is brown-brown, the outer half is brick-red; there is a sharp border between these areas. On the outer edge of the wings there is a row of blue crescent-shaped spots. The lower surface of the wings is brownish-brown, a wide yellowish stripe runs across the front wing.
It is found everywhere in Russia, except for the Far North.

mother-of-pearl


Large mother-of-pearls from the genus Argynnis often fly together and are clearly distinguishable mainly on the underside of the hindwings. Males of large forest mother-of-pearl (A. paphia) with blackouts along the longitudinal veins on the front wings, females are red or greenish-gray above. The bottom of the hind wings of this species has transverse light bands. Mother-of-pearl aglaya (A. aglaja) from below with bright silvery spots, in mother-of-pearl adippa (A. adippe) these spots are dimmer, and there are a number of eyes along the edge. All these species develop on violets.
A large and beautiful mother-of-pearl daphne (Neobrenthis daphne) is rare in the Baikal region and is listed in the Red Book, but a close view of the meadowsweet mother-of-pearl (N. ino) is very commonplace in meadows and glades

Forest mother-of-pearl (male)

golubyanki


A very large family, including butterflies of small size (wingspan 27-28 mm), many of which have a shiny, metallic color. hallmark pigeons are shortened front legs. Most European pigeons are blue, although males are often brown. Among the pigeons, there are those in which the posterior pair of wings has characteristic outgrowths ("tails"), for which they are called "tails". The family also includes chervonets, bright orange on top. In Russia, there are several hundred species of pigeons from more than fifty genera. Doves fly through meadows, forest edges and clearings. Caterpillars feed on the leaves of trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants. Caterpillars of some species pupate in anthills.

Golubyanka Icarus

Golubyanka forest or Poluargus

Belyanki


A family of diurnal butterflies with predominantly white wings and a pattern of yellow, orange and black spots and fields, club-shaped bands, rounded triangular forewings and ovoid hindwings.

Cabbage butterfly

Swallowtail


The great naturalist Carl Linnaeus named this butterfly after the mythical hero. Trojan War the famous physician Machaon, who alleviated suffering and saved the lives of many wounded soldiers.
Machaon is found throughout the country, with the exception of the Far North.
On the bright yellow wings of the swallowtail, blackened veins and a wide black border with a wavy inner and jagged outer edges stand out. A band of blue sputtering runs along the border, especially bright on the hind wing, and along the outer edge there is a band of yellow spots-holes. The root region of the forewing is black with a yellow coating. The hind wing is decorated with a bright red rounded spot and a black tail.
The caterpillar is not picky in food: it feeds on plants of the families Umbelliferae, rue, Compositae and Lamiaceae. Swallowtail hibernates in the pupal stage.
In most of its range, the swallowtail gives two generations a year, and only in its northernmost regions - one. Butterflies of the first generation fly in May - June, and the second - in July - August.

Sericin montela


Sericin montela is one of the amazing Ussuri relics. The butterfly has been preserved here since ancient times, since the territory of Primorsky Krai has never been subjected to complete glaciation; is rare. The background color of the female's wings is dark brown. Its front wing is crossed by thin dark yellow and ocher yellow bands of various lengths. The flight of these butterflies is very slow, even sluggish. They always stick to thickets of caterpillar food plant - kirkazon, growing in some places along the banks of rivers, streams and at the foot of hills.



The wings of the male are white. The pattern of the forewing consists of black, mostly elongated spots, as well as darkening along the edge of its apex. The rear wing is decorated spectacularly. He has leading edge usually a red elongated spot in a black frame stands out. At the back corner there is a bright red short band, the outer side of which is adjacent to blue spots in a black frame. The hind wing is completed by a long thin brown-brown tail.

tailed maak


This largest diurnal butterfly in Russia surpasses many tropical relatives in its beauty. It is hard to believe that the distribution area of ​​this wonderful sailboat extends to 54 ° north latitude, where Tynda and the north of Sakhalin are located.
The female is larger than the male, its wingspan reaches 135 mm, while that of the male is 125 mm. A green dotted coating evenly covers the entire dark brown front wing of the female. The nature of the pattern of its hind wings is the same as that of the male, but its luster is muted, and in the marginal wavy border, along with green-blue, red-violet hues appear. Females are much more variable than males. It is difficult to find two identical butterflies among them.



A significant part of the black front wing of the male shimmers with a green dotted coating, which thickens closer to the edge into a rarefied emerald-blue border. The area free from green sputtering shines with magical black silk: it is covered with the finest and most delicate fragrant black hairs - androconia. Hindwings with a wavy edge and long tails shine, iridescent, with a blue-green ornament



Two generations of P. maackii appear annually: spring moths are medium-sized, light and bright, and summer ones are twice as large and darker.
Tail-bearer Maaka lives in the Middle Amur region, Primorye, North Korea, Manchuria, on the Kuril Islands. In these places, butterflies are often found in broad-leaved and mixed forests, less often in spruce-fir. They also fly into taiga settlements. During the period when subalpine plants bloom, butterflies rise to mountains up to 2000 m above sea level: looking for food, they fly around treeless peaks in a circle.
Sometimes in Primorye one can observe how this huge dark butterfly, like a bird, rushes over a forest road, majestically flapping its powerful wings. On hot days, dozens of tail-bearers sit around roadside puddles, fluttering with flashing emerald greens and blue wings. Disturbed, they take off in a dark cloud, from which drops of water, golden under the sun, rain down, shaken off by butterflies. Unforgettable, fabulous spectacle!

Oleander hawk moth


The color of the oleander hawk moth - one of the most beautiful not only in Russia, but also in the world - is dominated by bright grassy-green colors. Therefore, it is very difficult to see him when he sits in foliage or grass.
The vast distribution area of ​​​​the oleander hawk includes all of Africa, India and the countries of the Middle East lying between them. There are reports that they even made it to Hawaii. Butterflies fly in the tropics all year round. From Africa and the Middle East, butterflies penetrate into Southern Europe, they live on the European continent and to the north. In Russia, they are most often found on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. The farther north, the less often they appear, although occasionally these wonderful flyers can be seen both in the Baltic states and on the Kola Peninsula.
The main fodder plants of caterpillars are oleander, periwinkle, vine; they may also feed on some other plants.
The narrow forewings are decorated with a complex pattern of intricately curved green and brownish-lilac stripes of various shades. The hindwings are purplish-gray with a broad green outer margin. The color and pattern of the wings are in harmony with the coloring of the butterfly's body.

Scoops are unusual night butterflies. How many varieties of scoop exist in nature and what do they look like? Our photos and description of the insect will tell you about this.

Scoops or night bats - a large family Lepidoptera. There are more than 35 thousand species of scoops. About 1800 species live in Europe, and more than 1500 species in Russia. Scoops are found in various parts of the world. Any climate is suitable for their life. Scoops feel great in deserts, mountains and tundra conditions.

Scoop Description

There are large types of scoops and very small ones. At large species the wingspan can reach 130 millimeters, but there are also such small species that have a wingspan of no more than 10 millimeters.

Morphological features of the scoop

The head of the scoop is round, the forehead is characteristically convex, in some individuals, on the contrary, there are depressions on the forehead.

In females, the antennae have a simple structure, they are filiform or comb-shaped, sometimes they can be framed by fluffy cilia. The structure of the antennae of males is more complex.

Scoops living in the mountains have elliptical or kidney-shaped eyes. Some species of individuals have simple eyes. The proboscis is well developed, in a calm state it is twisted. In some species, the proboscis is reduced. The surface of the proboscis is covered with "taste cones".

Among scoops there are "bloodthirsty" exceptions - individuals live in the tropics that feed on the lacrimal glands of mammals and their blood. Only males are bloodthirsty, they have a reinforced proboscis. In females, the proboscis is undeveloped, so their diet is more “dietary”, they extract juice from fruits and plants.


Owls are night butterflies.

The palps of scoops can be short or elongated. The head, thorax, and abdomen are often covered with scales and hairs. In addition, scoops may have tufts of hairs.

Spurs are often located on the shins, other species have claws and spikes. The shape of the wings is almost triangular, sometimes it can be elongated, and rarely rounded. At certain types scoop wings are long and narrow, such wings allow butterflies to fly long distances. At mountain views the wings are short, and sometimes they can be completely reduced.


The body of the scoop is full, covered with thick hairs. On the wings there is a pattern of spots, the spots are rounded, wedge-shaped and kidney-shaped. Some species have spots of silver and golden hues on the wings. Hind wings can be yellowish, blue, red and white. Scoops that live in a climate with a colorful nature often have a peculiar pattern on their wings and body.

Scoop development

There is a wide variety of scoops, so life cycle different species vary greatly.

Caterpillars have up to 6 instars, during which up to 5 molts pass. Northern and mountain varieties generally have a two-year life cycle. Caterpillars pupate in the ground litter, in the soil or in plant tissues. Mostly pupae hibernate, but caterpillars of middle or older age can also hibernate. In warm areas, cutworms develop continuously, several generations are formed per year. In winter, they plunge into a "cold stupor".

The eggs are hemispherical in shape. The surface of the eggs is cellular or ribbed. Female moths lay their eggs on the ground. The fecundity of females can reach about 2 thousand eggs.


The caterpillar has a naked body, but it may have primary setae, and in some cases secondary setae. The body color of the caterpillars is green, yellow or brown. There are longitudinal stripes on the body. Sometimes on the segment of the abdomen can be located false legs. Scoop caterpillars are active at night, and during the day they lead a hidden lifestyle. In some species, caterpillars are predators; they additionally feed on scale insects and scale insects.

Harm from scoops

Scoop caterpillars are divided into intrastem, gnawing and leaf-eating. Most caterpillars feed on plant sap, some species eat plant litter, mosses and lichens. In addition, caterpillars damage fruits, flowers, and sometimes eat grains in storage. Scoops are agricultural pests.

exclamation owl

These pests spoil potatoes, onions, carrots, peas, corn, beets, lettuce, turnips, sunflowers and strawberries. They destroy tubers and roots, after which the plants die.


The larvae of the exclamation armyworm spend most of their time in the ground, but at the top they can feed on leaves. The wingspan of an adult owl is 30-40 millimeters. The color varies from dark brown to light gray.

Alfalfa armyworm

These scoops are pests of agricultural plantings. Lucerne scoops live throughout the territory of the Russian Federation. They damage plantings of soybeans, flax, corn and alfalfa.

The wingspan of these butterflies reaches 38 millimeters. The wings are gray-green in color.

The pupae of alfalfa scoops spend the winter in the soil. The flight of adult butterflies takes place in May-June. Scoops living in forest-steppe zones, develops 2 generations.

stem cutworm

These scoops damage crops of cereal crops. Stem cutworms live in steppe zone Siberia. These pests damage rye, wheat, corn and oats.

Butterflies scoop of this species in length reach 38 millimeters. The wings are yellowish-white, a light stripe runs through the center. The pupae are black-brown in color, they are 15 millimeters long.

Caterpillars of stem scoops gnaw through the bases of the stems, settle down inside the stem and suck out the juices of plants. From such wrecking, the plants dry out, and the ears do not ripen.

The flight of stem scoops takes place in June-July. Females lay eggs of medium size, in oviposition their number reaches 130 pieces. In one season, one generation of stem scoop develops.

spring scoop

This type of scoop damages cereal crops. Spring scoops live in the steppes and forests of Russia. Pests devastate plantings of barley, oats, wheat and corn. In length, these butterflies reach 34 millimeters.

The wings are rusty-brown in color and may have an orange or white blotch. Females lay about 500 eggs. The spring cutworm has one generation per year.

Pea cutworm


The butterfly measures no more than 42 millimeters. Forewings blackish-brown. There are transverse lines on the wings. The caterpillars are yellow in color, the body size of the caterpillars reaches 4 millimeters.

Flight at pea scoops takes place in June-September. These butterflies feed on succulent plants. One female lays up to 400 eggs. The caterpillars eat the leaves. 2 generations develop per year.

sage scoop

These butterflies are pests of essential oil crops. Sage scoops are found wherever there is sage, lavender, mint, and other similar crops.

The wingspan of a butterfly reaches 40 millimeters. The forewings are yellow-gray, the hindwings are lighter.

The flight of these butterflies takes place in April-July. The fecundity of females is up to 600 eggs. Caterpillars damage leaves, ovaries, buds and pedicels. They begin to damage plants from top to bottom. 3 generations develop per year.

Scoop bluehead

Blueheads damage fruit crops. They live all over Russia. Harm is caused to pears, apple trees, cherries, cherries, apricots, mountain ash, poplar, almonds, oak, blackthorn, hawthorn and hazel.

Butterfly sizes reach 50 millimeters. The wings of these scoops have a purple hue, they are dotted with brown spots and lines. The dimensions of the caterpillar reach 34 millimeters. The pupa is 17 mm long. This type of scoop has one generation per year.

Yellow-brown early armyworm

This type of scoop is especially harmful to fruit crops. Early scoops live almost throughout Russia. Pests damage raspberries, apple trees, cherries, pears, plums, peaches and various forest species.

Butterflies in length reach 35 millimeters. The color of the front wings is yellowish with a white stripe, the hind wings have a fringe. The body length of the caterpillars reaches 40 millimeters, and the pupae - 15 millimeters.


Females of early scoops bring up to 900 eggs. Caterpillars of these scoops destroy ovaries and leaves.

scoop gamma

These pests are polyphagous. They are widespread in Russia everywhere. Gamma cutworms damage field crops such as beets, potatoes, flax, hemp, legumes and the like.

Butterflies are up to 48 millimeters in size. The forewings can be purple to gray shade, they have a spot in the form of a "gamma", hence the name. These scoops fly during the day and feed on flower nectar. One female brings 500-1500 eggs. In a year, 2 generations of scale scoops can develop.

Butterflies are like flying flowers, which in their beauty cannot be compared with any other insect on the planet. It is incredibly difficult to imagine how such a complex and unique beauty can be obtained from a vile caterpillar.

Butterflies were collected by many famous people such as Vladimir Nabokov, Ivan Pavlov, Mikhail Bulgakov, Nikolai Bukharin, Walter Rothschild. Vladimir Nabokov named 20 newly discovered species of butterflies. His collection consisted of 4324 thousand. Subsequently, he gave it to the Zoological Museum of the University of Lausanne.

Let's see the most beautiful butterflies of our planet together. This butterfly is a representative of the Saturniidae family (Peacock-eyes, or Saturnia):


The largest wingspan belongs to the Brazilian butterfly Agrippina - 30 cm.



The smallest wingspan encountered by researchers is in Acetoseia from England and Radiculosis from canary islands- 2 mm. Queen Alexandra's ornithoptella is rare view butterflies that are in danger of extinction. The female of this butterfly is slightly larger than the male. (The life of these insects lasts no more than 3 months).


Maak's sailboat is the largest diurnal butterfly living in Russia. It is also called the tailed poppy and the blue swallowtail. The name of this species is associated with the naturalist Richard Karlovich, Maak, who long time studied Siberia and the Far East.


The largest night butterfly in Europe and Russia is the Peacock-eye pear. Its wingspan reaches 15 cm.


This is the Madagascar Comet, or, as it is also called, the Lunar Moth. The largest butterfly on the planet, if measured in length.

Peacock-eyed Atlas, she is also called the prince of darkness. One of the largest butterflies in the world. The wingspan reaches 26 cm.


Urania Madagascar. The habitat of this butterfly, with a wingspan of 10 cm, is Madagascar.


Checkerboard atalia.


Some butterflies live only a few days, but the monk butterfly can live 6 months. She can cover 1000 km without stopping.


The tail is royal.


This year, in the very heat, at the very height of summer, an incredible number of butterflies, usually not very common, and even some time ago located in the Red Book, appeared. Velvety dark to black, with a bright orange-red wing stripe and white spots, they circle with the same large peacock eye over meadow flowers. It is thanks to this red stripe, reminiscent of stripes, that the butterfly was named admiral(lat. Vanessa atalanta). They flutter over meadow flowers, sit down to drink nectar, but with pleasure they will taste the bursting fruit or the juice flowing out on the wounds of trees. When a butterfly sits on a flower with wings spread, it stands out as a bright spot on the green carpet of grass. But as soon as she folds her wings, sitting on a tree, as thanks gray pattern it completely merges with the bark. The Latin specific epithet of the butterfly Atalanta is taken from Greek mythology, where Atalanta, the heroine of the hunt for the Calydonian boar, ran faster than all people on Earth. And indeed, butterfly admiral in many parts of its range, it makes huge, many thousands of kilometers flights, for example, from Europe to North Africa.

Admiral(lat. Vanessa atalanta) is a diurnal butterfly from the Nymphalidae family. The wingspan reaches 5 - 6.5 cm. The color of the wings is dark brown, sometimes almost black, with bright red stripes and white spots at the top of the front wings. Widespread numerous species, the range of which covers extratropical Eurasia, North Africa, islands Atlantic Ocean, North America, Guatemala, Haiti and New Zealand. Caterpillars feed mainly on nettles and thistles. The species is an active migrant.

The specific epithet Atalanta ( Greek mythology) goes back to Atalanta, the heroine of the hunt for the Calydonian boar, who ran faster than all people on Earth. Daughter of the king of Arcadia, Iasias (Ias) and Klymene. Her father, wishing to have only sons, threw the girl away on Mount Parthenius, and she was raised by a bear until Atalanta was picked up in the forest by hunters. Regarding the origin of the generic name Vanessa, there are several versions. According to one of them, it came from the eponymous female name. According to another version, the name is consonant with the ancient Greek version of the word "Phanessa", which means the demiurge deity. This version is most likely unlikely. In fact, the name of the deity in the original sounds like "Phanes" (Russian version of Phanet). The name of the genus was given by the Danish entomologist Johann Christian Fabricius, who mainly used the names of ancient deities when naming new taxa. English title insect Red Admiral (red admiral) accurately characterizes the unique coloring of the butterfly.

The length of the front wing is 26 - 34.5 mm. The wingspan reaches 50 - 65 mm. The body is dark brown or black. The upper side of the wings is blackish or dark brown. At the top of the front wing, a small tooth stands out along the outer edge. The front wings are crossed by a bright orange-red band, above which a large elongated white spot and a chain of five to six bright white spots of various sizes stand out. In the anal corner of the hindwing there is an elongated blue spot in a black rim. On the outer edge of the hind wings there is a wide orange-red marginal band, on which 4-5 black spots are located. In the posterior corner of the hind wing there is a double blue spot in a dark rim in the anal corner of the wing.

The underside of the wings is less bright, but more variegated. It is brownish-brown, with a variety of reddish and white spots and gray stains. From below on the forewings, the pattern of the upper side is repeated, which is complemented by blue rings in the central cell. The underside of the hindwings is brownish, with an intricate marble-like pattern formed by dark strokes and sinuous lines. There is also a light spot at the anterior edge of the hind wing.

Antennae with sharply widened club. The eyes are covered with numerous small bristles. The outer margin of both wings is wavy, with one more prominent projection on the M1 vein on the forewings. The discal vein is present on both wings. The central cell on the hind wings is closed. Outer margin of hindwings without prominent protrusions. The tibiae and tarsi of the forelegs are covered with relatively long dense hairs.

This butterfly is not only pretty, she is a big travel lover. Representatives of this species of insects make huge flights from Europe to North Africa in order to lay eggs here and die in the name of the appearance of new offspring. In the spring, already young butterflies set off on their way back, despite the fact that many of them are destined to die on the way. However, butterflies living in the southern part of Europe are in no hurry to leave their native places, but wait out the winter in tree crevices or under the bark. The spring sun makes the butterfly leave its shelter and start preparing for a romantic meeting in order to have time to acquire offspring.

How long does an admiral butterfly live? In favorable conditions, it is a long-liver - the insect lives 9-10 months. For part of the allotted time, she is in hibernation, it is the presence of diapause that explains her continued existence. The fertilized female hibernates in order to next year immediately after waking up, lay eggs. In the North and in the Center of Europe, admirals do not remain in cold period. They go on a seasonal migration to the south. It is less noticeable than in summer, when a large number of adults settle in gardens and parks rich in food.

Migrants that appeared in the summer give offspring on local plants. Young butterflies fly in July-August. They are not shy; if handled carefully, they can sit on clothes or hands. It is easy to distinguish between arrived and local admirals by the condition of the wings - among travelers they are shabby and faded. For the wintering period, moths are looking for a reliable shelter where you can hide not only from the cold, but also from enemies. Females hide under the bark of trees, fallen leaves, clog into cracks. While sleeping, they run the risk of being eaten by birds or rodents.

General climate warming and mild winters led to a change in the behavior of the Admiral Butterfly. Not all individuals go to wait out the cold season in hot Africa. Part stays in temperate latitudes. This decision is fully justified, because many insects die while covering distances of thousands of kilometers.

An adult butterfly admiral feeds on nectar, tree sap, fruits and berries. Like all its relatives, this butterfly goes through several stages of its development. Therefore, the nutrition of a caterpillar hatched from an egg differs significantly from that of a formed individual. The caterpillar wraps a leaf of hops or nettle around its body, defending itself and at the same time using these leaves as food. A satiated caterpillar gradually turns into a chrysalis, from which, after a certain period, an adult beauty butterfly flies out.

The fodder plants of the admiral's caterpillars include: Carduus sp. - plants from the genus Thistle, Humulus lupulus - Common hop, Urtica dioica - Dioecious nettle, Urtica urens - Stinging nettle.

The female butterfly lays one egg on host plants. mating season the insect falls in the spring. From May to August, a caterpillar develops, the color is noticeable, yellow stripes on the sides, various inclusions and spikes. They curl up into a tube on the leaves of nettle, thistle, turning into a chrysalis. The caterpillar makes a protective canopy of leaves, which it then feeds on. The butterfly emerges from the pupae by the end of summer. Two generations of butterflies are usually hatched per year.

Admirals are characterized by courtship and mating games. During the breeding season, males show territorial behavior. They occupy good areas where the fodder plant grows and drive away competitors. Each has a territory of 10 by 20 m. Moths patrol their own area, flying along the perimeter. Admirals often circle over the hills to spot and intercept a passing female. The male flies for a long time for a partner, seeking her favor. Mating takes several hours. During this period, insects do not respond to external factors and are in a vulnerable position. Territorial males, aggressively chasing rivals of their species and other butterflies from their territory, demonstrate peaceful behavior while feeding on flowers or fruits.

The species is subject to dynamic fluctuations in abundance and in some years is observed in very in large numbers. Is an active migrant. Populations in the forest belt of Eurasia partially, and in the north of the range entirely, are replenished with migratory individuals from the south. The species is included in the Red Book of the Smolensk Region, previously it was included in the Red Book of Russia (1997) (category 4). On the this moment the species is excluded from the Red Book of Russia.