Caterpillar is an insect or not, photo, description and characteristics

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Caterpillar - This is the larva (child) of a butterfly and a moth. After about 2-3 weeks, the caterpillar becomes a cocoon, and turns into a pupa after another 2 weeks. Then a caterpillar appears with regrown wings. The caterpillar is well known as a pest, especially in the textile industry. One caterpillar species kills silk in the Far East, it is known as the silkworm.

Who are they?

Unlike worms, with which they are constantly compared, caterpillars are not an independent group of animals. These are insect larvae - one of the forms of development of Lepidoptera, or butterflies. This stage occurs after the "egg" stage and can last from a couple of weeks to several years. Then she becomes a pupa and only then an adult.

The body of all types of caterpillars consists of a head, 3 thoracic and 10 abdominal segments. The eyes are on the sides of the head. They have many limbs. In the area of the thoracic segments there are three pairs of legs, on the belly there are about five of them.

Caterpillars are rarely completely naked. Their body is covered with single or very dense hairs arranged in tufts. Many caterpillar species have cuticle outgrowths that form denticles, granules, and spines.

From the moment it hatches from the egg, the caterpillar begins to change. Often individuals of the larvae of the same species, but of different ages, differ in appearance. As they grow, they molt from two (miner caterpillar) to forty (clothes moth) times.

Butterfly larvae have a special saliva. In air, it hardens to form silk. People have not left this ability unattended and have been breeding caterpillars for centuries to obtain valuable fibers. Carnivorous species are also used to control pests in vegetable gardens, but herbivores can cause damage to the economy.

Description, characteristic

A caterpillar is a larva of any insect from the order of Lepidoptera. The dimensions of the tracks are different: it can be from a few millimeters to 15 cm. Some of them are life-threatening to touch. They are poisonous.

The body of a caterpillar has a head, breast and abdomen. There are several pairs of limbs on the chest and abdomen. The entire body has several rings, separated by grooves. Pulling up the rings, the caterpillar moves and moves the legs

Caterpillar breathing is carried out through 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, pith. The parietal parts can protrude forward and even form "horns".

The mouth apparatus of the caterpillars is highly developed. They can gnaw through any material and get their own food with the help of their outer jaws. Inside there is an apparatus for chewing food with salivary glands. The eyes are simple in structure. There are several pairs of eyes on the head. Sometimes merged into one big eye. The entire body of the caterpillar is covered with hairs, scales, warts and other protrusions.

Types of caterpillars and butterflies

Lepidoptera are common all over the planet, but only in places where there is flowering vegetation. They are rarely found in the cold polar regions, lifeless deserts and bald highlands.There are not too many of them in temperate latitudes, but the tropics have the greatest variety of species.

But how do you determine the type of caterpillar? First of all, attention should be paid to the color, size, number of legs, hair length and other features specific to each type. Caterpillars grow from a few millimeters to 12 centimeters long. Their coloration is often not similar to the coloration of the butterfly they transform into, so it takes experience and knowledge to recognize them. For example, the larva of a large harpy is light green, and the adult is grayish-brown; in the yellow lemongrass, the larvae are bright green.

To understand what kind of caterpillar is in front of you, observing its feeding will help. Many of them (cabbage, she-bear, swallowtail, polyxena) are phytophages and eat flowers, leaves and fruits of plants. Woodworms, castnias, and glassworms feed exclusively on wood and grass roots. Moths and some types of bagworms eat mushrooms and lichens. Some caterpillars prefer wool, hair, horny substances, wax (carpet and clothes moths, fireflies), and predators, for example, scoops, bluebirds, and moths, are rare.

What does the caterpillar eat?

Photo: Red caterpillar

The caterpillar is a herbivore, but the diet of the caterpillar and the butterfly is different. Butterflies use straw-like tongues to drink nectar from flowers, which is an adaptation that occurs in the process when a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. Caterpillars feed mainly on leaves, plants, and flowering plants, and large holes can often be found in the leaves, indicating the presence of a caterpillar.

Fun fact: The caterpillar is a real food machine - a cylindrical bag for digesting plants. During the days or weeks when it is active, the caterpillar will consume its own weight many times, whatever the food it chooses.

For example, a comma caterpillar at a young age feeds on the underside of leaves, but as it grows, it begins to feed on the upper side. The feeding pattern of the blood bear caterpillar is distinctive, giving a shredded appearance to the normal slaughterhouse they feed on. These caterpillars feed in groups, mainly during the daytime, from July to early September. When the leaves of the plant disappear, they sometimes resort to cannibalism.

The caterpillar of the silver hole feeds on oak leaves. After hatching from the egg cluster, the larvae feed together, leaving alone when they grow to large sizes. Caterpillars of the maple lancet, which are up to 40 mm long, sometimes fall from the trees they feed on. The lancet psi caterpillars feed on broadleaf trees and shrubs such as hawthorn, apple, and birch.

Many species of caterpillars are known to be carnivores and feed on various insects. Most caterpillars are herbivores and feed mainly on leaves, although some species feed on all parts of the plant, fungi, and dead animals, including other caterpillars.

Caterpillars in Russia

Our region is not as rich in insects as the hot tropical zones. But in Russia, there are several hundred species of caterpillars. Thick-headed birds, bluebirds, nymphalids, whites, sailboats, rhyodinids and other orders are widespread here.

A typical representative of whites is cabbage. It is found throughout Eastern Europe, eastern Japan, and North Africa. Butterflies of this species are white, with black wings at the tips and two black dots. Their caterpillars are yellow-green with black warts all over their bodies. These are well-known pests that feed on cabbage heads and leaves, horseradish, and rutabagas.

The alkyne sailboat is found mainly in Japan, Korea and China. In Russia, the caterpillars of the species are found only in the Primorsky Territory, and then in its southern part. They live next to rivers and lakes where aristolochia grows.Butterflies lay eggs on this plant, and the caterpillars then feed on their leaves. Alkino caterpillars are brown with white segments in the middle, the body is covered with denticles. Both the adult and the larval form of insects are poisonous, so no one is in a hurry to hunt them.

The hawk moth is one of the most famous species. Blind hawk moths are a rare species. Their butterflies are dark brown in color, and the larvae are light green with red spiracles and white stripes on the sides. Caterpillars appear in July, on the back of the body they have a black horn at the end. They feed on leaves of willows, poplars and birches and pupate in August.

What do caterpillars eat?

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

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

There is also exotic food, depending on the type:

The cork moth feeds on algae and fungus in wine barrels and beer vats;
The moth caterpillars live on the sloth's body and eat algae that grow on the fur;
Fireflies eat the building material of ants - paper;
The caterpillars of the scoop and bluefly eat ants, while the ants adore the juice that it produces and live together;
Predatory caterpillars feed on small insects and other caterpillars.

Poisonous species

Caterpillars often serve as food for other animals. In order not to become someone's food, they have many devices. Some species use a protective or deterrent color, others secrete a secret with an unpleasant odor. Some of them have adopted poison.

Scales, hairs, and needles hidden under the skin of some caterpillars can cause lepidopterism or caterpillar dermatitis. It manifests itself as inflammation, swelling, itching and redness of the contact points and can have serious consequences. Poisonous are the larvae of the oak, unpaired and marching silkworm, megalopig of the operaculus, hickory bear, Saturnia io, cruciferous bear, etc.

The lonomia caterpillar is considered one of the most dangerous. It is found only in South America. Poisoning with her secret even has its own name - lomiasis. Contact with the species lonomia obliqua and lonomia achelous can result in severe internal bleeding and death. Caterpillars live on fruit trees, and plantation workers often become their "victims".

Where do caterpillars live?

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

In accordance with the conditions of existence, caterpillars are divided into 2 categories: secretive and leading a free lifestyle.

Stealthy caterpillars include the following varieties:

leaf twists - develop in twisted leaves of trees;
fruit-eating (carpophagous) - live in fruits;
drillers (xylophages) - live inside the trunks, shoots and roots of trees;
miners - make passages and inhabit the structure of leaves, petioles, buds and fruit rind;
gall producers - provoke pathological growth of damaged plant parts;
underground caterpillars - live in the ground;
aquatic caterpillars - live in water.

The second variety of caterpillars, which live freely on eaten plants, make up the majority of caterpillars of large species of butterflies.

Peacock eye atlas

These butterflies are considered one of the largest in the world.Their wingspan reaches about 25 centimeters. They are common in India, China, countries and islands of Southeast Asia. Their caterpillars are thick and grow up to twelve centimeters in length. Bluish green in the early stages, they turn snow white over time. The body is covered with thick shaggy needles, from the small hairs on them it seems that the caterpillars are covered with dust or snow. They secrete strong phagard silk, and their torn cocoons are sometimes used as wallets or cases.

Lilac hawk moth

A large number of caterpillar species are green. They feed on plants, and this color helps to disguise themselves as the environment. Caterpillars of privet or lilac hawk moth are painted in light green color. On the sides they have short diagonal stripes of white and black, and next to them there is one red dot.

The moth larvae are thick and reach a length of 9-10 centimeters. A white-black outgrowth resembling a horn sticks out in the back of the back of the caterpillars. They live in Western Europe, China, Japan, the European part of Russia and in the south of the Far East, in the Caucasus, southern Siberia and d Kazakhstan. They feed on jasmine, barberry, elderberry, viburnum, currant. They become caterpillars from July to September, and then hibernate twice in the form of pupae.

Interesting Caterpillar Facts

Entomophagy, or insect eating, has flourished since prehistoric times. Caterpillars of more than 80 genera of butterflies occupy an honorable place in the gourmet menu. Caterpillars are eaten raw or fried, dried over hot coals, boiled, salted, added to omelets and sauces.
The silkworm is of great economic importance for a number of silk-producing countries. Indeed, from 100 kg of cocoons, 9 kg of silk thread can be isolated.
The coloring of any caterpillar to one degree or another imitates environmental conditions and is the best means of camouflage and protection.

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Apollo of Parnassus

Black caterpillar species are not very common in nature. Peacock's eye, herbal cocoonworm, Apollo Parnassus can boast of this color. The latter species is named after the Greek god of the arts, Apollo. These butterflies live in Europe and Asia, they are found in Southern Siberia, Chuvashia, Mordovia, Moscow region. They love dry and sunny valleys located at an altitude of 2000-3000 thousand meters.

The adult caterpillars of Apollo of Parnassus are deep black with bright red dots and blue warts on the sides. Behind the head of the larva there is an osmetrium - a gland in the form of small horns. It is usually hidden under the skin and bulges out at the moment of danger, releasing a substance with an unpleasant odor. Caterpillars feed on sedum and rejuvenation and appear only in good sunny weather.

Clothes or indoor moth

This type of caterpillar causes a lot of trouble in the house. They eat cereals, flour, silk and woolen fabrics, and upholstery. Adults - butterflies - are harmful only because they can lay eggs. All the main damage to things is done by the caterpillars, devouring everything they find.

Their bodies are almost translucent and covered with thin beige-brown skin. Among the caterpillars, they are considered the smallest, the sizes of the larvae vary from a millimeter to one centimeter. They stay in the larval stage from a month to two and a half years, during which time they manage to shed up to 40 times. Moths live in the USA, Australia, Europe, Southeast Asia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and many other regions.

Akraga koa, or "gummy" caterpillar

The amazing caterpillars of this species look like something extraterrestrial. Their transparent silvery body looks like it is made of jelly. Due to this, they are called "marmalade" or "crystal". Their body is covered with cone-shaped processes, on the tips of which there are orange dots. Caterpillars are only three centimeters long. They are sticky to the touch, and the substances that their glands secrete are saturated with poison.

The insect lives in the Neotropics - a region covering South and part of Central America. You can meet him in Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, etc. The caterpillar feeds on the leaves of mango trees, coffee and other plants.

Sibine stimulea

The larva of a gray butterfly from the family of slugs has a rather formidable appearance. On the green body there are brown spots along the edges, and in the middle there is a speck with a white border, resembling a saddle in shape.

They grow up to 3 cm during development. At both ends of the body there are two pairs of horns covered with hairs. At the tips of the hairs there are glands that produce a poisonous substance.

The touch causes pain, which is comparable in strength to a bee sting. A rash appears at the site of touch, accompanied by headache and nausea. This rash will last for two days. She defends herself with her poisonous horns, and she herself eats many species of plants.

Swallowtail

Swallowtail is another insect named after the hero of mythology. This time it is an ancient Greek doctor. About 40 subspecies of swallowtail are known. All of them are very colorful both at the stage of adults and during the development of larvae. They are common throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Found in North Africa, North America, throughout Europe, except Ireland. In mountainous areas, they can climb to heights of 2 to 4.5 kilometers.

Swallowtail caterpillars are born twice a season: in May and August, but they are in the state of a larva for only a month. As they grow older, their appearance changes a lot. At first they are black with red dots and a white spot on the back. Over time, the coloring turns light green, and black stripes and red dots are located on each segment, white is present only on the limbs. They also have a hidden bright orange osmetry.