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Black caterpillars on nettles. Black hairy caterpillar with a white stripe and red spots - sorrel armyworm

A caterpillar is one of the stages of butterfly development.

Before becoming a beautiful butterfly or moth, it is in the larval or caterpillar stage. The life of a caterpillar is very short, but very interesting.

Description, characteristics

A caterpillar is the larva of any insect from the order Lepidoptera. The sizes of the caterpillars are different: it can be from a few millimeters to 15 cm. Touching some of them is life-threatening. They can be poisonous.

The caterpillar's body has a head, thorax and abdomen. There are several pairs of limbs on the chest and abdomen. The whole body has several rings separated by grooves. By pulling up the rings, the caterpillar moves and moves its legs.

The caterpillar breathes through the stigma. There are several of them on the body. The head and chest have a hard shell. The rest of the body is soft and loose. The head is formed from several rings fused together. The shape of the head can be round, rectangular, core. The parietal parts can protrude forward and even form “horns”.

The mouthparts of caterpillars are highly developed. They can chew through any materials and obtain food for themselves using their external jaws. Inside there is an apparatus for chewing food with salivary glands. The eyes have a simple structure. There are several pairs of eyes on the head. Sometimes merged into one large eye. The entire body of the caterpillar is covered with hairs, scales, warts and other projections.

Types of caterpillars

There are as many species of caterpillars as there are species of butterflies and other lepidoptera.
Cabbage butterfly caterpillar. It grows up to 3-4 cm. It is yellow-green in color with black spots on the back and long white hairs.
Surveyor. It looks like a thin brown twig. The limbs are not developed, it moves in “loops”.
Big harpy. It reaches a size of 6cm and is green in color. There is a purple spot on the back. There is a pink “frame” around the head. The limbs and horns on the body are striped black and white. When defending, it sprays a caustic substance.
Peacock eyes. The largest representative. Grows up to 12cm. has a bluish-green color. Instead of hairs, there are horn-shaped outgrowths all over the body.
Dipper caterpillar. It is black and yellow in color and has tufts of hairs.
Silk caterpillar. Any caterpillar can produce silk, but only the silkworm was domesticated by humans several centuries ago. The caterpillar is called a silkworm. She has color white with many blue warts. At the end of the cycle it changes color to yellow. The caterpillar develops and lives for about a month. While pupating, it spins a cocoon of threads up to 1500 m long. The color can be white, pink, yellow, green. To obtain natural silk, the doll is kept for a couple of hours at a temperature of 100C. This temperature makes it easier to unwind the cocoon and use silk in production.

Poisonous caterpillars

Coloring allows you to distinguish a poisonous caterpillar from a “peaceful” one. The brighter the color. It is all the more likely that the caterpillar is poisonous. Contact with it for a person can cause teething, redness of the skin, shortness of breath, various pains and develop diseases.

Coquette caterpillar. Lives in Mexico. Very similar to a hamster. Fluffy brown beauty 2-3cm long. on contact may cause chest pain and shortness of breath.
Saddle Caterpillar. It has a bright color: the back is poisonous green and has a large brown spot in the middle. The head and end of the abdomen are brown with thick horns. There are coarse hairs on the body. There is strong poison at the ends of these hairs.
Lazy cleaver. Lives in Uruguay and Mozambique. Short length caterpillars 3-4 cm long. They are black and white in color with green tufts of stiff, milky-green hairs. Her poison may disrupt nervous system, cause bleeding of internal organs.
Burning rose. The main color is yellow, with red and blue stripes. Thick horns have spikes with poison. Upon contact, the spines break off and a rash appears on the skin.

Caterpillar development

Its development can last very quickly, or it can drag on for several decades. When hatching from an egg, the caterpillar undergoes several stages. Some of them are accompanied by significant changes, molting and other metamorphoses. The caterpillar itself grows and reaches adult size.

Some species moult several times and change color. This is typical for caterpillars silkworm. At the end of their life period, they look for a place to pupate and prepare their home.

stinging rose caterpillar photo

Caterpillars molt and are characterized by molting. Depending on the species, the caterpillar can molt from 2 to 40 times. Most often, during its life span, the caterpillar molts 4-5 times. The record holder for the number of molts is the moth. She can molt up to 40 times, with females doing this even more often.

The caterpillars that shed the least are miners. Only 2 times. The reasons for molting may be the crowding of an already grown larva in an old body. According to scientists, molting is accompanied by the fact that respiratory system does not grow with the caterpillar and changes only with new “skin”. The larvae's head contains a pheromone, which sends signals to shed its skin.

Where do caterpillars live?

The limited mobility of the caterpillar does not allow them to move quickly and change their habitat. Most often, caterpillars live on the ground, leaves, and plants. Some species live underwater. Depending on their lifestyle, there are secretive caterpillars and openly moving ones. Hidden species include those that practically do not appear on the surface of the earth, but are located in the bark, underground.

They are divided into the following representatives:

Leafworms. They live in the leaves of trees, making a tubular house.
Carpophagous. They live in the fruits of plants and berries.
Xylophagous. They live inside tree trunks, under the bark.
Subterranean larvae live underground
Aquatic caterpillars live in bodies of water.
Miners. They live in roots, leaves, and buds.
Future butterflies lead an open lifestyle. They live where they feed: on the leaves of flowers and plants.

What do caterpillars eat?

Most caterpillars are vegetarians. They prefer plant leaves, roots, and flowers. Some make their way to their treats and lay eggs there. These pests include moths. She loves honey. At night, the moth sneaks into the hive and lays eggs in the honeycombs. The hatched larvae eat the wax and honey.

In general, the caterpillar is very voracious. To become a pupa, she must gain mass. The apple moth caterpillar can eat all the leaves on the apple tree and not “get enough.” If there are no other trees nearby, it pupates even when “hungry”.

There are also exotic foods depending on the type:

Cork moths feed on algae and fungus in wine barrels and beer vats;
Moth caterpillars live on the sloth's body and eat its algae that grows on its fur;
Moths eat ants' building material - paper;
Caterpillars of cutworms and blueberries eat ants, while the ants adore the juice that it produces and live together;
Predatory caterpillars feed on small insects and other caterpillars.

Fighting caterpillars: means and methods

Caterpillars can harm human crops and devour their lands. To preserve the harvest, some control methods are used. Sometimes he uses everything in turn:

Collection of caterpillars. Every day, collect colonies of caterpillars, destroy pupae and eggs.
Chemicals. Industry and botany create various compositions to preserve crops and get rid of unwanted visitors. This method is good at the beginning. Afterwards the caterpillars get used to the drugs.
In fields and large areas, birds do this job. They love to eat caterpillars. By building birdhouses, you can get rid of non-friends.
Infusions of herbs and foliage. Tomato tops, tobacco, chamomile, wormwood, herbs, and potatoes have good effectiveness.

Caterpillars are eaten by humans throughout their existence. More than 20 species of caterpillars are used as food
From the pupae of caterpillars of some species they prepare medicinal tinctures
The Chinese use caterpillars infected with a special fungus in treatment and Tibetan medicine.
The caterpillar blends in perfectly with its environment
All caterpillars produce silk during their lives.
In the Arctic, the caterpillar lives up to 13 years, hibernating before each winter.

The caterpillar takes its place in nature. Her life seems unnoticed and short. But without her we would never see beautiful butterflies. Many species feed on caterpillars, especially birds. The unusual color allows it to camouflage itself or warn the enemy of a threat.

A caterpillar is the larva of a butterfly, moth or moth - insects from the order Lepidoptera.

Caterpillar - description, characteristics, structure and photo. What does a caterpillar look like?

Torso

The length of the caterpillar, according to the variety, varies from a few millimeters to 12 cm, as in individual specimens of the Saturnia butterfly (peacock eye).

The caterpillar's body consists of a clearly visible head, thoracic, abdominal sections and several pairs of limbs located on the chest and abdomen.

Head

The caterpillar's head is represented by six fused segments, forming a hard capsule. Between the forehead and eyes the area of the cheeks is conventionally distinguished; at the bottom of the head there is the occipital foramen, which looks like a heart.

A round head shape is typical for most caterpillars, although there are exceptions. For example, many hawk moths have a triangle-shaped head, while other species have a rectangular head. The parietal parts can protrude strongly above the head, forming a kind of “horns”. Small antennae, consisting of 3 consecutive joints, grow on the sides of the head.

Oral apparatus

All caterpillars are distinguished by a gnawing type of mouthparts. The upper jaws of the insect are well formed: their upper edge contains teeth designed for gnawing or tearing food. Inside there are tubercles that perform the function of chewing food. Salivary glands converted into specific spinning (silk separating) machines.

Eyes

The eyes of caterpillars are a primitive visual apparatus containing a single lens. Typically, several simple ocelli are located one behind the other, in an arc, or they form 1 complex eye merged from 5 simple ones. Plus 1 eye is located inside this arc. Thus, caterpillars have 5-6 pairs of eyes in total.

Torso

The caterpillar's body consists of segments separated by grooves and is covered in a soft shell, which provides the body with maximum mobility. The anus is surrounded by special lobes that have varying degrees development.

The insect's respiratory organ, the spiracle, is a stigma located on the chest. Only in species living in water are the spiracles replaced by tracheal gills.

Most caterpillars have 3 pairs of thoracic limbs and 5 pairs of false abdominal legs. The abdominal limbs end in small hooks. On each thoracic limb there is a sole with a claw, which the caterpillar retracts or protrudes when moving.

There are no completely naked caterpillars: the body of each is covered with various formations - outgrowths, hairs or a well-grown cuticle. Cuticle growths are star-shaped, spines or granules that look like small hairs or bristles. Moreover, the bristles grow in a strictly defined way, characteristic of a particular family, genus and even species. The outgrowths consist of raised skin formations - tubercles, similar to flat, round or oval warts and spines. Caterpillar hairs are represented by thin individual threads or tufts.

Life in a cocoon

To survive during the period of “inactivity” and defenselessness, the caterpillars find a suitable leaf, branch or tree trunk to which they can quietly “stick” with a strong silk thread, which they secrete from the abdomen.

To understand how a caterpillar turns into butterflies, you should delve into its ability to properly prepare yourself for this.

Having stuck to the selected surface, the caterpillar hangs on the silk thread and begins to wrap it around its body. This happens gradually, but what is important is that when wrapped, the caterpillar gives its cocoon an appearance similar to a leaf, bud or stem of the plant it has chosen.

The resemblance is so obvious that only a very observant eye can detect a cocoon on its surface. This is done so that the defenseless caterpillar is not found and eaten.

How a caterpillar turns into a butterfly inside a cocoon can only be seen by filming with special equipment in laboratory conditions. This process is so slow and secretive that it is impossible to observe it in nature.

The reserves that the caterpillar has managed to deposit in its body are quite enough for the strength to metamorphose into a butterfly.

Types of caterpillars - photos and names

Among the great variety of different caterpillars, the following varieties are of greatest interest:

Cabbage caterpillar or cabbage butterfly caterpillar(cabbage whiteweed) (lat. Pieris brassicae) lives throughout the territory of Eastern Europe, northern Africa to Japanese islands, and also introduced to South America. The caterpillar is 3.5 cm long, has 16 legs and has a light green body covered with black warts and short black hairs. Depending on the weather, the caterpillar stage lasts from 13 to 38 days. These caterpillars feed on cabbage, horseradish, radishes, turnips, turnips and shepherd's purse. They are considered the main pest of cabbage.

Moth caterpillar (surveyor)(lat. Geometridae) is characterized by a long thin body and undeveloped abdominal legs, due to which it differs in an original way movement - bends in a loop, while pulling the abdominal legs towards the pectoral legs. The family includes more than 23 thousand species of moths distributed throughout the world. All types of caterpillars of this family have well-developed muscles, and therefore are able to attach themselves vertically to plants, perfectly imitating broken branches and petioles. The color of the caterpillars is similar to the color of foliage or bark, which additionally serves as an excellent camouflage. They eat tree needles, currants and hazel.

Great Harpy Caterpillar(lat. Cerura vinula = Dicranura vinula) lives throughout Europe, Central Asia and northern Africa. Adult caterpillars grow up to 6 cm and are distinguished by a green body with a purple diamond on the back, bordered by a white outline. In case of danger, the caterpillar inflates, takes a threatening pose and sprays out a caustic substance. The insect remains in the caterpillar stage from early summer to September, feeding on the leaves of plants from the willow and poplar families, including the common aspen.

Redtail caterpillar(bashful woolly foot) (lat. Calliteara pudibunda) is found in the forest-steppe zone throughout Eurasia, as well as in Asia Minor and Central Asia. The caterpillar, up to 5 cm long, is pinkish, brown or gray in color. The body is densely covered with individual hairs or tufts of hair, at the end there is a tail of protruding crimson-colored hairs. This poisonous caterpillar: When it comes into contact with human skin, it causes a painful allergy. These caterpillars eat leaves different trees and shrubs, especially preferring hops.

Silkworm caterpillar(lat. Bombyx mori) or silkworm. Lives in East Asia: in northern China and Russia, in the southern regions of Primorye. The caterpillar is 6-7 cm long, its wavy body is densely covered with blue and brown hairy warts. After 4 molts, completing the 32-day development cycle, the color of the caterpillar becomes yellow. The food of the silkworm caterpillar is exclusively mulberry leaves. This insect has been actively used in sericulture since the 27th century BC. e.

Corrosive woodworm caterpillar(lat. Zeuzera pyrina) from the woodworm family. Found in all areas European countries, except Far North, as well as in South Africa, Southeast Asia and North America. It overwinters twice, during which time it changes color from yellow-pink to yellow-orange with black, glossy warts. The length of the insect is 5-6 cm. Caterpillars live inside the branches and trunks of various trees, feeding on their juices.

Lady Bear Caterpillar(lat. Callimorpha dominula) or female bear lives in the territory of the Eastern, Western Europe and in southeast Asia. It overwinters once and is distinguished by its black and blue color with yellow stripes and spots. Lives on nettles, geraniums, willows, raspberries, strawberries, and feeds on them.

Swallowtail caterpillar(lat. Papilio machaon) lives throughout Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America. One of the most colorful caterpillars: at first black, with scarlet warts, and as it grows it becomes green with black transverse stripes. Each stripe contains 6-8 red-orange spots. The disturbed caterpillar secretes an odorous orange-yellow liquid. It feeds on carrots, celery, wormwood, parsley, and sometimes alder leaves.

The smallest caterpillar in the world is a member of the moth family. For example, clothes moth caterpillars (lat. Tineola bisselliella), which have just emerged from eggs, reach a length of only 1 mm.

The largest caterpillar in the world- This is the caterpillar of the peacock eye atlas (lat. Attacus atlas). The bluish-green caterpillar, as if dusted with white dust, grows up to 12 cm in length.

Poisonous caterpillars - description, types and photos.

Among the caterpillars there are quite poisonous specimens, so a bite from such a caterpillar or accidentally touching it can cause unpleasant sensations. Typically, such contact results in pain at the site of contact, redness and swelling of the skin, and less commonly, an itchy rash may appear. There are frequent cases of drowsiness, headache, gastrointestinal upset, increased blood pressure and temperature. In a word, don’t be fooled by the bright and spectacular appearance these creatures - sometimes they are dangerous.

The most famous poisonous caterpillars, ready to defend themselves from enemies and protect their food from attacks with the help of a “poisonous cocktail,” include:

Coquette caterpillar (lat. Megalopyge opercularis)
Saddle caterpillar (lat. Sibine stimulea)
Caterpillar “stinging rose” (lat. Parasa indetermina)
Spiny oak slug caterpillar (lat. Euclea delphinii)
Caterpillar of the black bear (lat. Tyria jacobaeae)
Traveling silkworm caterpillar (lat. Thaumetopoea pityocampa)
Hickory bear caterpillar (Lophocampa caryae)
Lazy clown caterpillar (lat. Lonomia obliqua)
Saturnia Maya caterpillar (lat. Hemileuca maia)
Volyanka caterpillar (lat. Orgyia leucostigma)

Poisonous caterpillar(lat. Megalopyge opercularis) is an insect that looks quite cute and resembles a miniature furry animal. However, this caterpillar is one of the most poisonous caterpillars found on the North American continent and Mexico. The color of the “fur coat”, under which the poisonous spines are located, varies from light gray to golden or red-brown. The length of the caterpillar does not exceed three centimeters, the width of the body is 1 cm, but even such modest dimensions make it very dangerous. After contact with an insect, within a couple of minutes, acute throbbing pain and noticeable redness of the skin, even bruising, appear at the site of contact. Later, painful enlargement of the lymph nodes, shortness of breath and chest pain occur.

Saddle Caterpillar(lat. Sibine stimulea) - a caterpillar of bright green color, both ends of the body are brown, the middle of the body has a brownish spot enclosed in a white edging, which gives this area a resemblance to a saddle. The length of the caterpillar living in the Northern and South America, is 2-3 centimeters, two pairs of fleshy horns-processes are equipped with hard hairs, which contain quite strong poison. The prick of these furry stings causes severe pain, swelling of the skin, rash and nausea lasting several days.

Poisonous caterpillar “lazy clown”(lat. Lonomia obliqua) - an insect that lives en masse in Uruguay and Mozambique, has the most powerful natural toxin known today. The caterpillar can reach 6-7 centimeters in length, has a greenish-brown color, and accumulates venom in its spruce-shaped shoots. It loves shade, so the caterpillar usually lives in the foliage of trees, but often moves into residential courtyards. As a result of contact with this insect, painful hemorrhages appear on the skin; the caterpillar's venom can affect internal organs, causing renal colic, bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, pulmonary edema and even nervous system disorders.

Fighting caterpillars: means and methods.

Many types of caterpillars are pests and eat fruit trees, fruits and vegetables.

There are many methods to combat caterpillars, grouped into 3 main groups:

mechanical means of combat with caterpillars traditional methods consist of manually collecting and shaking off caterpillars from plants, as well as cutting off wintering clutches. A proven method is to catch caterpillars using trapping adhesive belts and various traps with bait liquid.
biological control methods aimed at attracting natural enemies caterpillars, primarily birds. To do this, comfortable conditions for their nesting are created in the gardens (birdhouses, nest boxes, feeders) and, if their numbers are small, the caterpillars are completely destroyed.
chemical control methods with caterpillars are considered the most effective, but they cause addiction in caterpillars, so poisonous drugs (biological and chemical) should be alternated. Rovikurt, Karbofos, Lepidocide, Kilzar, and Karate are considered to be excellent products.

If the invasion of caterpillars is not significantly threatening, you can try decoctions and infusions of plants as a control: black henbane (against the cabbage caterpillar), hemlock (against all leaf-eating caterpillars), as well as red elderberry and peppermint.

Entomophagy, or the eating of insects, has flourished since prehistoric times. Caterpillars of more than 80 genera of butterflies occupy a place of honor on gourmet menus. Caterpillars are eaten raw or fried, dried on hot coals, boiled, salted, and added to omelettes and sauces.
The silkworm has a huge economic importance for a number of silk producing countries. Indeed, from 100 kg of cocoons it is possible to isolate 9 kg of silk thread.
The coloring of any caterpillar to one degree or another imitates the conditions environment and is the best means of camouflage and protection.

Video

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Caterpillar - description, characteristics, structure and photo. What does a caterpillar look like?

Torso.

The length of the caterpillar, according to the variety, varies from a few millimeters to 12 cm, as in individual specimens of the Saturnia butterfly (peacock eye).

The caterpillar's body consists of a clearly visible head, thoracic, abdominal sections and several pairs of limbs located on the chest and abdomen.

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Head.

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Oral apparatus.

All caterpillars are distinguished by a gnawing type of mouthparts. The upper jaws of the insect are well formed: their upper edge contains teeth designed for gnawing or tearing food. Inside there are tubercles that perform the function of chewing food. The salivary glands are transformed into specific spinning (silk-secreting) glands.

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Eyes.

Torso.

The insect's respiratory organ, the spiracle, is a stigma located on the chest. Only in species living in water are the spiracles replaced by tracheal gills.

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Caterpillar development.

Depending on the species, the caterpillar can develop from several weeks to several years. Caterpillars of northern butterfly species do not have time to complete their development cycle in one season, so they hibernate (diapause) until next summer. For example, a butterfly, living in the Arctic Circle, can remain in the caterpillar stage for up to 12-14 years.

During its development cycle, the caterpillar undergoes not only significant age-related changes in the size and color of the body, but also striking metamorphoses. For example, the transformation of an almost naked caterpillar into a furry one or vice versa.

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Caterpillars molt.

Each caterpillar molts several times during its entire period of existence. Miner caterpillars are susceptible to the least number of moults (2 times). The standard number of molts is 4, although some species molt 5 or 7 times. Unfavourable conditions environment cause a sharp increase in the number of molts, for example, a clothes moth caterpillar can molt from 4 to 40 times. It has also been observed that females molt more often than males.

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Silk caterpillar.

Each caterpillar secretes silk, which it uses to move around and attach to surfaces. When a caterpillar crawls along a branch, the finest silk trail trails behind it. If it falls from somewhere, it will definitely hang on its silk thread.

Silk separation occurs due to the spinning apparatus of the caterpillar, consisting of a spinning papilla-tube located on the sclerite.

The resulting silk fiber emerges from the opening of the labial glands and then undergoes a pressing process that gives the fiber a ribbon shape. The fibers of the caterpillar are secreted by a pair of glands and in the outlet duct of the glands they are glued together with a special sticky substance. The mechanism of hardening of silk fibers is not well understood, but the theory of hardening by drying has been rejected because the silk of aquatic caterpillars hardens directly in water.

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Most caterpillars live on land, although some species develop underwater (broad-winged moths). And Hawaiian moth caterpillars live both on land and in water, being adapted to exist in any environment.

In accordance with their living conditions, caterpillars are divided into 2 categories: secretive and leading a free lifestyle.

Secretive caterpillars include the following varieties:

leafworms - develop in curled tree leaves;
frugivores (carpophagous) - live in fruits;
drillers (xylophagous) - live inside the trunks, shoots and roots of trees;
miners - make passages and inhabit the structure of leaves, petioles, buds and peel of fruits;
gall formers - provoke pathological growth of plant parts damaged by them;
underground caterpillars - live in the ground;
aquatic caterpillars - live in water.

The second type of caterpillars, which live freely on the plants they eat, make up the majority of caterpillars of large species of butterflies.

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What do caterpillars eat?

The hatched caterpillar first devours the shell of the egg in which it developed, and then proceeds to its main diet.

Most caterpillars are herbivores (phytophages) and feed on green mass and fruits of plants. According to the food supply, caterpillars are divided into 4 types:

polyphagous - indiscriminate caterpillars that eat any vegetation, for example, the caterpillars of most moths;
oligophages prefer plants of a certain family or genus. For example, swallowtail caterpillars eat only umbrella plants;
Monophages consume a single type of vegetation. Thus, silkworm caterpillars feed only on mulberry leaves;
xylophages do not eat anything except wood, and constitute a small variety of caterpillars - mainly glass beetles and wood borers.

The transitional form is considered to be a variety of caterpillars that eat lichens and tinder fungi. This category includes representatives of the genus of true moths. For example, the granary moth caterpillar thrives on poisonous ergot.

A few species of caterpillars are keratophagous by nature and eat elements of animal origin: horny substance, hair, wool and skin. Vivid examples are caterpillars of furniture, carpet and clothes moths. Caterpillars of true moths eat only wax, and bee moths eat honey.

Predatory caterpillars are the smallest group: most cases of predation occur when the population density is high and there is a lack of usual food. For example, cotton bollworm and bear moth caterpillars are carnivorous and attack their own kind, weakened and diseased caterpillars.

Caterpillars of the narrow-snouted and raspberry moths, as well as the sun moth, which feed on scale insects, are considered natural predators. Predatory blueberry caterpillars eat aphids, and moth caterpillars are exclusively insectivorous and are distinguished by a rich set of hunting devices for catching their victims.

There are species of caterpillars that live in symbiosis with ants - for example, some varieties of blueberries. These caterpillars live in the anthill and control the behavior of ants by chemical means, secreting a special sweet liquid, or by acoustic means, making special sounds that attract ants.

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Types of caterpillars - photos and names.

Among the great variety of different caterpillars, the following varieties are of greatest interest:

The cabbage caterpillar or cabbage butterfly caterpillar (cabbage white butterfly) (lat. Pieris brassicae) lives throughout Eastern Europe, northern Africa to the Japanese islands, and was also introduced to South America. The caterpillar is 3.5 cm long, has 16 legs and has a light green body covered with black warts and short black hairs. Depending on the weather, the caterpillar stage lasts from 13 to 38 days. These caterpillars feed on cabbage, horseradish, radishes, turnips, turnips and shepherd's purse. They are considered the main pest of cabbage.

The moth (land surveyor) caterpillar (lat. Geometridae) is characterized by a long thin body and undeveloped abdominal legs, due to which it has an original method of movement - it bends in a loop, while pulling the abdominal legs to the pectoral legs. The family includes more than 23 thousand species of moths distributed throughout the world. All types of caterpillars of this family have well-developed muscles, and therefore are able to attach themselves vertically to plants, perfectly imitating broken branches and petioles. The color of the caterpillars is similar to the color of foliage or bark, which additionally serves as an excellent camouflage. They eat tree needles, currants and hazel.

The great harpy caterpillar (lat. Cerura vinula = Dicranura vinula) lives throughout Europe, Central Asia and northern Africa. Adult caterpillars grow up to 6 cm and are distinguished by a green body with a purple diamond on the back, bordered by a white outline. In case of danger, the caterpillar inflates, takes a threatening pose and sprays out a caustic substance. The insect remains in the caterpillar stage from early summer to September, feeding on the leaves of plants from the willow and poplar families, including the common aspen.

The red-tailed caterpillar (lat. Calliteara pudibunda) is found in the forest-steppe zone throughout Eurasia, as well as in Asia Minor and Central Asia. The caterpillar, up to 5 cm long, is pinkish, brown or gray in color. The body is densely covered with individual hairs or tufts of hair, at the end there is a tail of protruding crimson-colored hairs. This is a poisonous caterpillar: upon contact with human skin, it causes a painful allergy. These caterpillars eat the foliage of various trees and shrubs, especially preferring hops.

Silkworm caterpillar (lat. Bombyx mori) or silkworm. Lives in East Asia: in northern China and Russia, in the southern regions of Primorye. The caterpillar is 6-7 cm long, its wavy body is densely covered with blue and brown hairy warts. After 4 molts, completing the 32-day development cycle, the color of the caterpillar becomes yellow. The food of the silkworm caterpillar is exclusively mulberry leaves. This insect has been actively used in sericulture since the 27th century BC. e.

Caterpillar of the corrosive woodworm (lat. Zeuzera pyrina) from the woodworm family. It is found in all European countries except the Far North, as well as in South Africa, Southeast Asia and North America. It overwinters twice, during which time it changes color from yellow-pink to yellow-orange with black, glossy warts. The length of the insect is 5-6 cm. Caterpillars live inside the branches and trunks of various trees, feeding on their juices. raspberries, strawberries, and feeds on them.

The swallowtail caterpillar (lat. Papilio machaon) lives throughout Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America. One of the most colorful caterpillars: at first black, with scarlet warts, and as it grows it becomes green with black transverse stripes. Each stripe contains 6-8 red-orange spots. The disturbed caterpillar secretes an odorous orange-yellow liquid. It feeds on carrots, celery, wormwood, parsley, and sometimes alder leaves.

The smallest caterpillar in the world is a member of the moth family. For example, clothes moth caterpillars (lat. Tineola bisselliella), which have just emerged from eggs, reach a length of only 1 mm.

The largest caterpillar in the world is the Atlas peacock caterpillar (lat. Attacus atlas). The bluish-green caterpillar, as if dusted with white dust, grows up to 12 cm in length.

One of the biggest natural wonders- the transformation of a fat and clumsy caterpillar into a butterfly. Moreover, the butterfly is not always more beautiful than its larva - some caterpillars are so unusual, brightly colored and have a bizarre shape that the butterfly, especially if it is nocturnal, looks like an ugly duckling next to it.

This review contains magnificent photos illustrating what caterpillars of some species look like and what kind of butterfly they turn into. There are also some Interesting Facts about these incomparable creatures of nature.

1. Brahmin Moth

Brahmei butterflies are found in the East - in India, China, Burma, and are also common on some islands of Japan.

This is a nocturnal species of butterfly; they fly at night and sleep during the day with their wings spread. Butterflies and caterpillars are poisonous, so they have no enemies.

2. Peacock eye cecropia (Hyalophora cecropia)

The caterpillar is very poisonous, so with all its bright color it shows that it is better not to touch it. The tubercles have a rich color and additionally have dots, like those of poisonous ladybugs.

The peacock eye is the largest moth America - size larger than palm.

3. Spicebush Swallowtail

At first glance, this creature looks more like a fish or lizard than a caterpillar. Huge false eyes scare away predators. In addition, during its life of a couple of months, the larva changes color - the egg hatches chocolate brown with large white spots, then becomes bright emerald, and before pupation - orange with a red belly.

The black-blue velvet butterfly is common in North America; in some places it gathers in colonies of hundreds of thousands of specimens.

4. Black Swallowtail

The caterpillar of the black swallowtail is very bright and noticeable - so that predators do not covet it. Although in fact it is quite edible.

This is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful European butterflies. During the flight, you can see how the color of the wings of the black swallowtail shimmers.

5. Tailed Emperor Butterfly (Polyura Sempronius)

This is not a dinosaur, but a soft imperial caterpillar. Its size is up to 2 cm, and the shell visually enlarges the baby and scares the birds.

The “tailed emperor” is found only in Australia and feeds on nectar from only one plant.

6. Dalcerida (Acraga coa)

The Dalcerida caterpillar appears glassy and transparent.

At the same time, the butterfly itself is very shaggy, brick-colored. Refers to moths. Lives in tropical forests Mexico.

7. Moth (Acharia Stimulea)

This strange creature of an incomprehensible color, with a bright green blanket - very dangerous creature. Each shoot secretes poison, and even one touch to the caterpillar can put an adult in the hospital.

And the butterfly is an ordinary night moth, almost invisible.

8. Witch moth caterpillar (Phobetron pithecium)

A real caterpillar witch! Lives in orchards of both American continents. It is also called the “slug monkey” for unusual way movement - she crawls along one leaf, and jumps to another leaf.

Witch butterflies are also quite spectacular and large. They are nocturnal.

9. Greta Oto, or Glass Winged Butterfly

The caterpillar of the incredible Greta butterfly looks ordinary and does not attract attention.

But the glass butterfly with transparent wings looks simply amazing. This species lives in Mexico and throughout South America.

10. Large harpy, or spotted forktail (Cerura vinula)

Both the caterpillar and the harpy butterfly itself have a rather terrifying appearance. The growth in the form of a mustache confuses the birds, and they do not risk feasting on this completely edible larva.

The white moth from the Corydalis family is quite large and emits an unpleasant odor, so few people would dare try it.

11. Flannel Moth

This is not a tuft of fur on a bush, but the larva of a flannel moth. Very poisonous creature!!! Under no circumstances should you touch it!

Adult flannel moths appear soft and cuddly, but they are also poisonous. Found in the USA and Mexico.

12. Blue Morpho

This strange furry stick, whose head is unclear and where the tail is, after transformation will become one of the most beautiful butterflies in the world.

The blue Morpho butterfly lives in Central and South America. It is very large - reaches 210 mm in span. The wings have a metallic tint and shimmer when flying. There are 60 varieties of Morpho in all shades of blue.

13. Slug worm (Isochaetes beutenmuelleri)

This gorgeous caterpillar looks like an ornate ice crystal covered with numerous needles. The sight of it seems completely unappetizing to the birds!

And the adult butterfly is an ordinary night woodlice. Distributed throughout North America.

14. Silkmoth (Hubbard's Small Silkmoth)

This is exactly the famous caterpillar that makes silk thread, and people make wonderful fabric from it. These larvae eat only mulberry or mulberry leaves.

The silkworm butterfly is nocturnal.

15. Slug Butterfly (Isa Textula)

The leaf-shaped caterpillar stings with its hairs. She moves very interestingly - in zigzags, leaving noticeable traces.

The butterfly is also quite spectacular, 3-4 times smaller than a caterpillar and flies only at night.

16. Rainbow Blue Swallowtail Butterfly

The rainbow swallowtail caterpillar is a very impressive creature, looking like a horned bull.

A very beautiful and bright large butterfly lives in only one place on Earth - in the Ussuri taiga.

17. Spotted Apatelodes

This one is simply amazing furry caterpillar extremely poisonous. By the way, her head is where there is one “feather”!

The spotted apatelodes moth is very large and buzzes loudly when it flies.

18. Saturnia Io (Automeris io)

Incredible bright green caterpillar with pompoms. Distributed in Canada and the USA. Very poisonous. The Indians used it to lubricate their arrows.

The colorful moth is also quite impressive, especially at night when those “eyes” glow.

19. Butterfly from the peacock-eye family (Attacus Atlas)

This furry miracle is a very rare larva. And all because people caught both them and butterflies en masse for sale.

The size of peacock eyes is impressive - up to 25 cm! The price of a copy reaches a thousand dollars. The atlas peacock eye is found in South-East Asia, China, Indonesia. The largest specimen with a wingspan of almost 27 cm was caught on the island. Java in 1922. This butterfly has no mouth and does not eat anything its entire life.

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