Insect butterfly: beautiful and sometimes dangerous

Photo of butterflies

Butterfly: description of the insect

The ancient Slavs believed that insects were the souls of dead people, so they were revered. They were given the appropriate name, the translation of which into modern Russian sounds like “old woman”.

Name: Lepidoptera, Butterflies, Moths
Latin: Lepidoptera Linnaeus

Class: Insects - insecta
Squad: Lepidoptera

	Habitats:	everywhere except the Arctic
	Features:	representatives differ in color, size and lifestyle
	Benefit or harm:	a type of insect that both helps and harms the economy

Body structure

The insect itself has two main parts - a body covered with chitin and wings. In turn, the body consists of several parts.

Wings

The shape, length and structure of the wings may differ depending on the species. They are covered with small scales of different colors and shapes, which are visible in macro photography.

Shades can change, they are not only an element of decor, but also a means of protection, a kind of camouflage. The size of the butterfly is also calculated by the wingspan. They can reach from 2 mm to 31 cm.

Distribution and lifestyle

Monarchs migrate east for the winter.

Butterfly insects flutter almost all over the planet. The habitat excludes only the glaciers of Antarctica. They flutter in the highlands and in the flowering valleys.

The lifestyle of many animals is nocturnal, but many live and live during the day. In winter, some butterflies hide in cracks in the bark of trees. But there are species that survive the cold in the egg or larva stage.

Food

Nutritional preferences may vary depending on the type of animal. This:

Some butterflies do not have a proboscis, so they eat only what they have accumulated. The caterpillar stores, pupates and turns into a beautiful moth. But the life span of this species is not long, a few days.

Reproduction and life cycle

Butterfly life cycle.

The butterfly stage is not the entire life cycle, but its final stage. Before this, the insect passes three more stages:

• egg, up to 15 days;
• larva, gnawing caterpillar;
• chrysalis, a cocoon in which a thick caterpillar turns into a fluttering butterfly.

The full cycle of life and the features of each stage are described in the article here to register:.

Butterfly classification

In the order of Lepidoptera, which include butterflies, there are more than 150 thousand various kinds. Therefore, it is not possible to clearly divide into types. There are 4 main suborders.

1. Primary tooth moths, the smallest representatives, all representatives with a gnawing type of mouth apparatus.
2. Proboscis butterflies, representatives with dark or brown scales.
3. heterobatmia, which represent a separate family of 10 different representatives.
4. Proboscis, the largest and most diverse suborder, striking in its size and species.

Butterflies - friend or foe

Gardeners are very ambivalent about these insects. It's fair to consider the pros and cons of being around these creatures.

Conclusion

The appearance of a butterfly does not always indicate its purity and purity. Some species can significantly harm agriculture.