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

This review contains great photos illustrating what caterpillars of some species look like and what kind of butterfly they turn into. Also, some Interesting Facts about these incomparable creatures of nature.

1. Brahmin Moth

Brameya 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 butterflies, they fly at night, and sleep during the day, spreading their wings. Butterflies and caterpillars are poisonous, so they have no enemies.

2. Cecropia peacock-eye (Hyalophora cecropia)

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

Peacock-eye is the largest night butterfly in America - the size is larger than the palm of your hand.

3. Swallowtail (Spicebush Swallowtail)

At first glance, this creature looks more like a fish or a 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 and blue velvet butterfly is common in North America, sometimes collected in colonies of hundreds of thousands of specimens.

4. Black Swallowtail

The caterpillar of the black swallowtail is very bright and conspicuous - so that predators do not covet. 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 dalcerid caterpillar appears glassy and transparent.

At the same time, the butterfly itself is very furry, brick color. Refers to the moth. Lives in the tropical forests of Mexico.

7. Moth (Acharia Stimulea)

This strange creature of an incomprehensible color, with a bright green horse-cloth, is a very dangerous creature. Each shoot releases poison, and even one touch on 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 both American continents. It is also called the "slug monkey" for unusual way movement - she crawls along one sheet, and jumps onto another sheet.

Witch butterflies are also quite spectacular and large. They lead a nocturnal lifestyle.

9. Greta Oto, or Glass Butterfly (Glass Winged Butterfly)

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

But the most glass butterfly with transparent wings looks just 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 intimidating appearance. An outgrowth in the form of a mustache confuses the birds, and they do not risk feasting on this completely edible larva.

The white night butterfly from the Corydalis family is quite large and publishes bad smell, therefore, few people dare to try it.

11. Flannel Moth

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

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

12. Blue Morpho (Blue Morpho)

Here is such a strange furry wand, which has no idea where the head is and where the tail is, after the transformation it will become one of the most beautiful butterflies in the world.

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

13. Slug (Isochaetes beutenmuelleri)

This chic caterpillar looks like an ornate ice crystal covered with numerous needles. The sight of her birds seems completely unappetizing!

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

14. Silkworm (Hubbard's Small Silkmoth)

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

The silkworm butterfly is nocturnal.

15. Slug Butterfly (Isa Textula)

The caterpillar, which looks like a leaf, stings very much with its hairs. She moves very interestingly - in zigzags, leaving noticeable traces.

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

16. Rainbow Blue Butterfly Swallowtail (Pipevine Swallowtail)

The caterpillar of the rainbow swallowtail is a very spectacular person, it looks 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 simply delightful fluffy caterpillar is extremely venomous. By the way, she has a head, where there is one “feather”!

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

18. Saturnia Io (Automeris io)

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

The colorful moth is quite impressive too, 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 massively caught both them and butterflies for sale.

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

Every year, gardeners and gardeners have to meet the beginning of summer fully armed - with insecticides and motor sprayers in their hands. We hear more and more complaints from owners. suburban areas on pests that destroy pine and spruce, especially young ones coniferous trees well established in place.

Why do caterpillars eat pine and spruce?

The thing is that our wild forests are in distress. No matter how much the owners of country houses take care of their plot, various harmful insects - leafworms, bark beetles, aphids, sawflies, spores - massively migrate from nearby forests dangerous mushrooms growing on the bark of trees. Indeed, today the forests are not cleaned, they do not have an owner. Everywhere thickets and windbreaks. What is there to be surprised when you see that caterpillars eat something even on a pine tree.

Who eats our trees?

The source of diseases is not only insects from the forest belt, but also the inhabitants of imported soil or planting material. A weakened tree is a tasty morsel for many wood eaters and pathogens. The first ones smell such a tree and pounce on it, like flies on jam, to infiltrate the tree or gnaw on the needles. But pathogens - provocateurs of diseases, are transferred to trees with the help of wind, rain, humans, insects or birds.

Sucking pests

Such pests feed on the sap of the plant, inhibiting its vital activity or completely destroying it. Most often, these insects are: leafhoppers, bedbugs, coccids, aphids, galls and spider mites. Caterpillars often eat needles or buds on a pine tree. They are called Butterflies of these representatives of the world of insects lay their eggs on the old needles in rows, from which hordes of hungry insects appear from the end of June until the end of September. Most often, this pest eats but can eat both spruce and cedar.

Another pest is the "pine scoop". Although this pest does not stay in the caterpillar stage for long, it manages to “spoil” noticeably. The pest caterpillars, located on a pine tree, gnaw May shoots with pleasure, eat young needles and buds, which leads to the drying of the tree, especially in dry weather.

Black caterpillars on pine may refer to "pine leafminer". The needle is braided with cobwebs, which is why it keeps on the tree. But the wind blows, and the needles fall off, so the crown can completely grow bald. Small caterpillars literally gnaw out round holes at the base of the needles. Sometimes it is very difficult to establish a diagnosis, for this you need to take the needles in your hands.

How to fight?

What to do if caterpillars are divorced on a pine tree on your site? First of all, against the pine moth in late autumn, you need to dig up the soil around the trees, because the caterpillars pupate in the soil. You can use various sprayers, they are sold in large quantities in specialized stores.

Caterpillars sitting on a pine tree, which are the offspring of the pine cutworm, are effectively destroyed by food baits. This method is convenient in that the bait with fermentation additives is installed once, and it is valid for the whole summer. Be sure to dig the ground under the tree to destroy the brown insect pupae. During bud break, the tree is treated with biologics or insecticides.

Against the caterpillars of the mining moth, repeated treatment of the tree with a solution helps well. liquid soap. You can lay cellophane under a tree and comb dry needles with a fan broom, then burn it.

​Related articles​​5. Remember that the caterpillar is easy to destroy with drugs at a young age. When she reaches up to five centimeters or more, it is not so easy to take her with poisons.

Scoops - who are they, and what is their harm?

Why can't she win?

Effective remedies against this pest are some ammonia fertilizers, the use of ash, chalk or lime, as well as the removal of wheatgrass from the site, the roots of which the wireworm feeds on.

• "Citcor";
• One of the most dangerous pests for tomatoes is the bear - an insect with small elytra and powerful digging paws, with which it makes deep nests and lays there a large number of eggs. The pest lives in the ground and therefore gnaws mainly on the roots and lower part of the stems of tomatoes.

​Use different ways control of this pest:

potato scoop

All these measures are really very good. But, nevertheless, experts are developing new ways to deal with this harmful insect, since every year the scoop adapts to existing drugs.

But fortunately, there are methods of dealing with this insect:

Eggs are laid in small groups on the leaves of weeds, sometimes just on the ground. The viability of the caterpillars comes in a week.

How to destroy

Both species are active only at night. Both butterflies and larvae hide during the day and are in a stationary phase until dark. Let's take a closer look at each pest separately.

exclamation owl

Back in 1969, the moth was brought to the American continent for industrial purposes to breed silkworms. But attempts to develop this area failed, and the delivered insect, as a result, became the main pest on greater territory USA and Canada.​

6. Be sure to destroy all plant debris and fruits damaged by the cotton scoop in the fall, dig the area occupied by nightshade vegetable crops well in order to reduce the number of wintering pupae. In the summer, be sure to carry out loosening, preferably with a cultivator in the aisles - so destroy a lot of hidden "partisans".

To understand how to deal with a pest, you need to know its biology. The scoop hibernates in the soil in the pupal phase. In early June, butterflies hatch from pupae, which, after 3-4 days, lay scattered pale yellow eggs on leaves, stems and other parts of tomatoes or other cultivated plants. Depending on the temperature, the caterpillars may hatch as early as the third day. The development of the caterpillar lasts from 13 to 22 days. First, they damage the leaves, buds, flowers. Especially great harm applied to tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, penetrating into their fruits. In beans, they eat leaves and seeds in beans; in corn, they eat on the cob. The fact that the flight of cotton bollworm butterflies usually stretches for a month or more makes the fight difficult. Therefore, the appearance of one generation is subsequently superimposed on another, and the summer continues without interruption until October - until the frosts beat the tomatoes.

It is important to remember that tomatoes in a greenhouse cannot be protected from pests using one method - the most effective are comprehensive measures to prevent damage to tomatoes by harmful insects.

• "Leptocide";
• There are several ways to deal with a bear - you can try to either destroy it or expel it from the site. To scare away the insect, stretched strips of cloth soaked in kerosene are used, since its smell repels the creature. Vinegar or ammonia are also suitable for these purposes. Do not forget that over time the smell disappears, and the fabric should be replaced. Another way is to lay out branches of chrysanthemums next to the tomatoes: the bear does not like this plant, and therefore it is highly likely that it will leave the site.

cabbage scoop

Catching butterflies for bait.

One of the most popular pests that affect both root crops and plants that produce fruits on the surface is the common heartworm. Potatoes, tomatoes, rhubarb and about three dozen more plants that are affected by this type of pest. The butterfly has a bright and two-tone color of the wings of rusty yellow and brown-violet hues. Her caterpillar is different big size, reaching up to 0.5 cm, and has a yellow, sometimes off-white color.

How to destroy?

In order to avoid crop damage by a scoop, early planting of seedlings is recommended.

• At first they lead an open lifestyle, and then hide, but after dark they crawl out for reinforcements. Young insects gnaw out succulent green leaves plants to the very veins, then bite into roots, roots, eat embryos and seedlings directly in the soil. Behind summer period only one generation of this pest manages to breed.
• This insect breeds on ordinary non-chernozem soil. This species leads to enormous crop losses of potatoes, onions, rhubarb, sorrel and other plants. I would especially like to note the reproduction of scoops on tomatoes. Its appearance on a plantation with tomatoes is very common, leading to almost 100% yield loss. The butterfly of this species is characterized by large grayish-yellow wings with a red or brown tint. Its caterpillar is bright yellow or red with a longitudinal stripe on the back and reaches a size of half a centimeter.
• Every year there are more and more new methods of dealing with this problem. These pests include the scoop, which causes significant harm to gardeners every year.
• ​Electronic newspaper: "economy"​
• How to deal with an owl
• Interestingly, pests noticeably change tastes. So, Colorado in last years began to avoid planting tomatoes and even eggplants.

"Decis".

pith scoop

Enough for others effective way is the creation of manure traps in a greenhouse with tomatoes: since the bear loves manured soil, you can make holes with humus for it, and insects are highly likely to concentrate in them.

Collecting caterpillars during harvest.

Eggs successfully endure winter at the bases of plants, as well as at elderberry bushes. Especially dangerous are young caterpillars in the active phase. They penetrate the stems and gnaw them from the inside. Such plants no longer have a chance to recover, they break down and simply dry out. At the beginning of summer, mature caterpillars descend along the passages made in the stems and gnaw holes for the butterflies to fly out, after which they successfully pupate. One plant can be affected simultaneously by several caterpillars.

garden scoop

As an option - manually collecting caterpillars and pest eggs.

The methods of dealing with the exclamation scoop are as follows:
The laid eggs of the potato scoop successfully endure wintering, and already in May they begin their revival.

How to destroy?

This family contains about 100 species. They are butterflies of various colors - gray, brown, often dark. Scoop butterflies do absolutely no harm to the plant, since they feed exclusively on their nectar. But their offspring - caterpillars - eat everything that comes in their way.

• 1. It is necessary to regularly, starting in spring, destroy weeds in order to reduce the food base of butterflies and caterpillars.

All of them are quite effective against the scoop, but you need to apply them on time: in early June, when tomato fruits are set. In addition, it is recommended to do this systematically - be sure to re-spray in a week. By the time the tomatoes ripen, the use of insecticides is not recommended, it is better to use biological agents, also several times, and you should not delay it. In addition, be sure to remove damaged fruits, stems and leaves of tomatoes from the site in order to get rid of the pupae that will winter in them.

And after September, when the cold comes, you just need to tear them up and then put them on the ground thin layer, and the bears will die from the cold.

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Who eats tomatoes in the greenhouse / Caterpillars eat tomato fruit, photo and video

Destruction of all weeds, especially deaf nettle, quinoa, white mari, on which the scoop especially likes to lay its eggs.

Medvedka

The methods of dealing with this scoop are the same as for the destruction of the potato scoop.

Implementation of foliar feeding of plants with potassium chloride and superphosphate.

Careful destruction of all weeds that serve as food for young caterpillars;

The initial food for young caterpillars are the leaves and stems of cereals. Already adult insects move to more large plants, damaging the stems and root system. The period of transformation of caterpillars into pupae is carried out at the beginning of summer right in the soil near the affected plants. The adult butterflies that have bred fly out and lay new eggs on the ground until mid-autumn. wild plants, such as timothy grass and wheatgrass. Eggs can also be laid on potato and rhubarb leaves. This species reproduces only one generation.

scoop

Depending on the method of feeding, these insects were divided into two groups:

Brought to some laboratory, and immediately destroyed! The control sample ate two caterpillars and one laboratory assistant.​

2. Observe the timing of chemical treatments: examine the beds with tomatoes during the period of mass flowering and at the beginning of fruit set; if eggs or caterpillars are found, spray with one of the preparations: Citkor, Decis, Inta-Vir, Iskra, Leptocid, Kinmiks, Confidor.

• At one time, the biggest concern in the tomato plots was potato aphid. Now the main enemy of tomatoes has become a cotton scoop, making holes in the fruit. Moreover, the caterpillars themselves act like real partisans - they eat fruits at night, and in the morning they hide in the soil at the base of the bushes, where they can be found, carefully raking the soil. This tactic explains the huge harm - one caterpillar can make a hole in almost all the fruits on the bush, which immediately rot!
• Despite the fact that the wireworm is a beetle, the main harm vegetable crops, among which are tomatoes, its larvae, more like caterpillars or worms, inflict. The period of their formation into adults is up to two years, and during this time they can cause serious damage to tomatoes in the greenhouse.
• Recently, the scoop caterpillar has significantly damaged the tomato crop in the greenhouse. This is a rather voracious pest, the beginning of the development cycle of which coincides with the ovary of tomato fruits, therefore, its presence on the site can be determined by perforated and rotten tomato fruits, which it actively eats.

Spraying with compounds used to destroy cabbage scoops.

wireworm

The most dangerous for almost all cultivated crops is the garden scoop. It is distributed almost throughout the territory of the countries of the former Soviet Union. The list of plants affected by it includes about 40 crops. But most of all she prefers turnips, tomatoes, cabbage and radishes. The butterfly has bicolor wings of brown and red with two spots of yellow and gray color on the surface. Caterpillars are both green and brown.

​Very effective method spraying cabbage with insecticidal infusions based on burdock, wormwood, potato tops.

Treatment of cultures with a solution of lepidocide. It is necessary to dilute 2-3 grams of the substance in 1 liter of water.​

Methods for combating this pest are the destruction of all plant residues after harvest, as well as the disposal of all weeds belonging to cereal varieties. Such measures are often used to destroy many other pests.​

Gnawing scoop feeding on underground fruits of plants. Its species includes: potato, exclamation and winter scoop.

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How to deal with a scoop, or who makes holes in tomatoes

I'll ask my dad .. he knows

3. Be sure to repeat the spraying with one of the above insecticides after 7 days, as the caterpillars will have an extended hatching period, while waiting times must be observed.

​Wide Orientation​
It is quite difficult to get rid of the wireworm, and therefore complex measures should be taken to combat it. First of all, you need to plant a special plant among the tomatoes that is incompatible with the pest. Suitable for these purposes white mustard or radish, they will be able to scare away the insect from the tomatoes. On the other hand, you can plant barley or oats, which are actively gnawed by the wireworm. After it infects these crops, they will need to be removed from the plantation and destroyed, as there will be many larvae in them.

The fight against the caterpillar is difficult because individuals appear continuously and in large numbers. At the caterpillar stage, they can live up to 22 days, so damage can be noticeable even from a small number of them. Pest populations usually die in September, when the first cold weather sets in.​
All these measures to combat the armyworm are very effective, the main thing is that they must be carried out in a timely manner and according to the instructions. Then the plants will be healthy and give you a wonderful harvest.

The garden cutworm can produce two generations in southern regions and one in the north. Corn, millet, sugar beets are the first crops that begin to infect young caterpillars. Then they move to cereal and melon plants.

Not a single application of lepidocide, phytoverm 5 days before the start of the harvest.

Another harmful insect, common almost everywhere, is the cabbage scoop. Her preference is the following crops: cabbage, peas, beets, lettuce and onions. This is a butterfly with brown wings with a kidney-shaped gray spot on the surface. Initially, her caterpillar has a juicy green color, then it changes to a brownish-brown hue with dashes on the back.
The exclamatory scoop breeds very successfully and is distributed almost everywhere. This species affects the root crop of the crop. The insect got its name due to the presence of color in the form exclamation mark on the surface of the wings. The caterpillar has a gray-brown color with a yellowish tint and reaches a size of half a centimeter. Mature caterpillars tolerate cold well and hibernate in the soil at a depth of about 30 cm, where the pupation process takes place in the spring.
The leaf-eating scoop eats fruits and plants that are on the surface of the earth, and leads a terrestrial lifestyle. This species includes: alfalfa, cabbage and garden scoop.
Still try to eat such a bastard)))
4. During the period of ripening and harvesting, only biological preparations can and should be used. Perform at least two to three treatments at weekly intervals.​
It is difficult to say what served as the “change of orientation” of this scoop. Another thing is that her caterpillars do not have much choice: the appearance of butterflies coincides with the flowering of tomatoes, and the caterpillars come out just as the green ovary appears, which will quickly begin to ripen as soon as holes are made in it. However, the cotton scoop is a real indiscriminate pest. It eats more than 120 types of crops: in addition to tomatoes and cotton - peppers, eggplants, beans, sunflowers, even tobacco and many others. This year, cutworm caterpillars tried to eat corn on the cob, despite its frequent processing. In particular, they treated it from the beetle, which stuck around the panicles and spoiled the stigmas of the cobs. But then, during the collection, they also found a lot of caterpillars, which, from the side of the stigmas, bit into the cobs, but, without reaching the grain, died from the action of the Regent and Confidor.
In addition to the above, measures for the mechanical destruction of the pest can be effective: heaps of manure are placed between the beds of tomatoes, in which the wireworm larvae feel comfortable, and in September these heaps are burned, and thus the insect is destroyed. In addition, after harvesting, you can dig the soil to a depth of twenty centimeters, and the larvae that lie in it will die from the cold.

The first and easiest measure to reduce the number of cutworm caterpillars will be the timely removal of weeds from the greenhouse, as this will limit their nutrition. The next step is to chemically treat the tomatoes. For this, the following drugs are suitable:

Caterpillars got into the habit of eating tomatoes - is there such a variety of tomatoes that eats caterpillars?

*no return*

You can determine who eats tomatoes in a greenhouse by the nature of damage to vegetables.

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

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

Torso.

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

The body of the caterpillar consists of a well-defined head, thoracic, abdominal sections and several pairs of limbs located on the chest and abdomen.

Head.

The head of the caterpillar is represented by six fused segments that form a rigid capsule. Between the forehead and the eyes, the cheek area is conditionally distinguished, at the bottom of the head there is an occipital foramen, which looks like a heart.

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

The oral apparatus.

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

Eyes.

The eyes of caterpillars are a primitive visual apparatus containing a single lens. Usually several simple eyes are located one after another, in an arc, or they form 1 compound eye, fused from 5 simple ones. Plus 1 eye is located inside this arc. Thus, in total, caterpillars have 5-6 pairs of eyes.

Torso.

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

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

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

Paws of a caterpillar

Absolutely naked caterpillars do not exist: the body of each is covered with various formations - outgrowths, hairs or a well-grown cuticle. Cuticle growths are star-shaped, spikes 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. Outgrowths consist of relief skin formations-tubercles, similar to flat, round or oval warts and spines. Caterpillar hairs are represented by thin individual threads or bundles.

Caterpillar development.

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

Throughout 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.

The caterpillars are shedding.

Each caterpillar molts several times over the entire period of existence. The smallest number caterpillars-miners are susceptible to molting (2 times). The standard number of links is 4, although certain types molt 5 or 7 times. Unfavorable environmental conditions 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 shed more than males.

The caterpillar secretes sweet nectar which the ant drinks.

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 white) (lat. Pieris brassicae) lives throughout of Eastern Europe, northern Africa to the Japanese islands, and also introduced to South America. The caterpillar is 3.5 cm long, has 16 legs and is distinguished by 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, radish, turnip, turnip, and shepherd's purse. They are considered the main pest of cabbage.

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

• (lat. Cerura vinula = Dicranura vinula) lives throughout Europe, Central Asia and in northern Africa. Adult caterpillars grow up to 6 cm and are distinguished by a green body with a purple rhombus on the back, bordered by a white outline. In case of danger, the caterpillar inflates, assumes a threatening posture and sprays out a caustic substance. In the caterpillar stage, the insect stays from the beginning of summer to September, feeds on the leaves of plants from the willow and poplar families, including common aspen.

• Redtail caterpillar(woolly paws bashful) (lat. Calliteara pudibunda) 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. The body is densely covered with individual hairs or tufts of hairs, at the end there is a tail of protruding crimson hairs. This is a poisonous caterpillar: when in 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 the north of China and in Russia, in the southern regions of Primorye. The length of the caterpillar is 6-7 cm, 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 turns 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 tree caterpillar(lat. Zeuzera pyrina) from the woodworm family. It is found on the territory of all European countries, except for the Far North, as well as in South Africa, South-East Asia and in North America. Winters 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.

• 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 strip contains 6-8 red-orange spots. A disturbed caterpillar secretes an odorous orange-yellow liquid. It feeds on celery, wormwood, parsley, and sometimes alder leaves.

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

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

Beautiful lush pine trees are a wonderful decoration for suburban area or cottages. However, in recent years, gardeners have been complaining that they have caterpillars on pine trees that eat needles. In almost a few days, because of them, the tree turns into a bare trunk with gnawed branches. To fight caterpillars on a pine tree in order to save evergreen beauties and restore their appearance, you can use folk recipes, chemicals.

Types of caterpillars attacking trees

Various pests can settle on coniferous trees, which enter the territory of garden plots from the forest belt, through the soil or when buying seedlings of spruces, cedars or pines.

The most common of them:

• pine moths - larvae that emerge from eggs laid by butterflies in the form of straight lines;
• common, oriental or rufous sawfly, whose larvae gnaw on coniferous branches, as seen in the photo of caterpillars on a pine tree;
• pine - attacks trees in May, preferring to eat young buds and needles, which contributes to the subsequent drying of plants;
• black caterpillars - they braid the needles with cobwebs to hold them on the tree, then a mining moth appears from them;
• and cone moth, whose caterpillars eat seeds and cones on pines;
• affects coniferous trees only in the absence of another.

Sawflies and harm from them

Most often, coniferous trees are attacked by red sawflies, which spoil the appearance of cedars, pines and firs. Females lay a clutch of 1.5-2 thousand eggs right under the bark, and during the summer they manage to breed twice.

Interesting!

The sawflies got their name for the originality of the egg-laying process: females have a special organ that, when laying eggs, “saws through” the outer tissues of a branch or leaves. In appearance, adults are similar to flies, so they are difficult to distinguish.

A characteristic sign indicating a sawfly attack is the yellowing of the needles. You can determine that caterpillars attacked cedar, spruce or pine by eggs on needles that look like clusters with capsules Brown. In them, larvae mature, which, after hatching from eggs, have a black or dirty green body with a flat head. In danger, sawfly caterpillars raise the front of the body.

Young sawfly larvae first eat only the lateral parts of cedar or pine needles, from which they dry, turn yellow and curl. If at such a moment urgent measures are not taken to destroy them with the help of insecticidal and other remedies for caterpillars on a pine tree, then, gradually growing up, they are able to eat whole trees.

Given the number of larvae in the clutch, they can not only occupy coniferous trees, but also lead to their complete drying and death. Young seedlings dry out in 3-5 years with a gradual weakening and decrease decorative properties landings, deterioration appearance landscape. Saving mountain pine and other types of coniferous trees is necessary as soon as possible, because if the plants are re-infected, they die in the winter.

On a note!

Among conifers, it is most susceptible to attack by sawflies. ordinary pine and some decorative types: Weymouth and Banks pines, as well as trees planted on dry sandy soil with high relief. Often caterpillars attack lonely plants. Only the Crimean pines suffer less.

Caterpillar fight

To increase the effectiveness of the action various methods and drugs, they must be applied alternately, depending on the degree of damage and the condition of the trees. Simple folk methods allow you to fight the caterpillars on the Christmas tree mechanically or with the help of baits. However, they are only effective against a small number of pests. With a strong defeat, caterpillars can be killed only with the help of chemicals.

Folk methods

• Regularly inspect trees in order to detect larvae in time, because caterpillars eat pine more in dry and warm weather, and they do not like rain.
• Carry out manual collection of larvae and caterpillars, for which you should wear gloves and goggles, because for protective purposes they burp some of their blood, which is a strong allergen. Then all pests must be burned.
• Hang birdhouses on the territory, feed and lure birds that feed on insects and larvae: cuckoos, etc.
• Shoots and buds spoiled by green caterpillars on pine should be removed and burned.
• Block access to pests by wrapping masking tape with pre-applied glue from ants and rodents, which is sold in gardening stores, around the tree trunk. Caterpillars descending to become pupae will stick and die.

If the number of caterpillars on coniferous trees is too high, then the following rescue methods are used:

• Decompose baits from fermentation additives that help kill caterpillars throughout the summer season.
• In case of severe damage, spread around the trunk old film or oilcloth, where damaged needles are thrown, sweeping it with a broom, after which everything is burned. Next, spray the pine with an aqueous solution of liquid soap.

Chemicals

Biological or insecticidal agents that are designed to kill pests, such as cone moth, black and green caterpillars, will help to completely get rid of the caterpillars on the pine.

Popular insecticidal preparations:

• Actellik is an insectoacaricide that has an enteric-contact effect on pests of garden and park plants with the help of pyrimiphos-methyl, which belongs to organophosphorus pesticides. Available in the form of ampoules or canisters with a capacity of 2 ml and 5 liters, respectively. If they treat pine from caterpillars, then when insects eat needles, there is a dysfunction nervous system which causes their death.
• Confidor is a water-soluble preparation of contact-intestinal action, helps to get rid of pests of shrubs, trees and garden crops, contains imidacoride.
• Arrivo - affects leaf-eating insects, caterpillars on spruce and other conifers with the help of cypermethrin poisoning.

• Bitoxibacillin is an insecticidal bacterial preparation, the main active ingredient of which is exotoxin and spores of bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis var thuringiensis, effectively destroys leaf-eating harmful insects, getting inside through the intestines along with the green parts of the plant. The death of pests begins in 2-3 days and lasts up to 2 weeks. It is recommended to re-treat after 7-8 days to destroy the next generation of caterpillars.
• Lepidocid is a biological product of intestinal action, selective in relation to leaf-eating, acting with the help of spores of microbes Bacillus thuringiensis var. Kurstaki. After entering the body of insects, bacteria for a long time produce crystals that infect pests, which leads to their death. Its effectiveness is high, because they can poison caterpillars on trees, and the drug is not addictive.
• Lepidobactocide is a biologically active drug used to protect forest and park landings and agricultural crops.

Caterpillar Prevention

To prevent caterpillars from infecting trees, you should take preventive measures:

• Digging the soil in late autumn to destroy the pupae that burrow into the ground. Digging depth is 7-10 cm, but care must be taken near the roots so as not to damage them.
• It is recommended to plant flowers on the site that attract insects that can protect plants from pests: hymenoptera, and.
• When planting coniferous trees, it is better to alternate with deciduous ones, which will help reduce the attractiveness of plants for female sawflies.

If on garden plot black ants and caterpillars were found on a pine tree, then only the use of protective chemicals or folk remedies will help save the trees from loss of appearance and subsequent death.