Dawn butterfly - description, habitat, species

In Russia, you can find a huge number of butterflies of various species. In total there are about 150 thousand species, in addition, this number includes moths and moths. Butterflies have a rare endurance, which allows them to live in almost all areas, except Antarctica.

Ever since ancient times, butterflies embodied fragility, grace and beauty. One of the most attractive is Dawn - an insect that got its name in honor of the goddess of ancient Rome. It was first described during the life of Carl Linnaeus, who told about it in his writings.

The Dawn butterfly can be called differently: thus, its names are also Aurora, short white-haired white and core. As you might guess, Aurora was the goddess of dawn, giving light to people; on the old images she was always depicted with wings, which is why the butterfly was given such a name.

What does a dawn look like? Where can I meet her?

The dawn is a four-winged insect that originates from the moth family. It does not differ in large size: the wingspan of its wings is 48 mm, the front wing has a size of up to 23 mm. In different areas, the size and color of butterflies can vary: as a rule, this species is common on the territory of the mainland of Eurasia in those areas where moderate weather conditions prevail. The largest representative of this species is the dawn Zegris butterfly, whose wingspan is 38 mm, and the front wing reaches 26 mm. This is much more compared with the same Transcaucasian dawn, the wing of which has a length of 22 mm. A dawn Gruner has a size of 18 mm. This insect is awake during the day, because of which it has a bright color: the main color in its palette is white. To distinguish the male from the female, it is enough to look closely at its front wings, on which there will be a large orange spot; the fair sex this sign will be absent.

At the back of the wings from the inside you can see a light shade with small gray dots.The whole head and body of the butterflies are covered with antennae, which are brown in the female, and yellowish in the male. Their antennae capitate, also have a gray color, but are distinguished by the presence of a gray mace. The front wing is triangular in shape, on top of black, but below it turns into a pale white shade with a noticeable silky sheen; his fringe stands out clearly against the background of the wing, as it has an orange and black color. As for the rear oval wing, it is white, having small black lines at the veins. If the dawn butterfly folds its wings, it will be like a small leaf near the flower.

This type of insect is often found in mixed forests, fields, meadows and steppes; can live near a reservoir, but will avoid too dry places. In addition, such butterflies fly into urban forests and live near residential areas, sometimes inhabiting them.

How does the dawn butterfly live?

The time of her flight begins in early spring - in March, and ends at 1-2 decade of July. For example, dawn zergris, like other representatives, prefers to stay awake during the day, and to rest at night.They love heat and a lot of sunshine, which is especially favorable for their development: if they settle in cold places, where it is always dusky, too wet or dry, they will not be able to bring offspring and die. They move to search for food (most often they are males, and females from the moment of their birth continue to live in the same place where they were born, in order to bring posterity).

The dawn butterfly is not at all aggressive towards its congeners; there is no rivalry in their relationship. The development cycle of this insect lasts about a year - from the formation of an egg to the maturation of an adult individual, which lives only two weeks.

What does she eat?

Unlike other butterflies, dawn does not play the role of a pest in gardens or cottages. In its diet includes nectar, juices of flowers of plants, which contain sugar. As for the caterpillars, they often eat the leaves of forage plants, which are not used either by man or in agriculture.

Despite this, the dawn caterpillars need a lot of food: they gnaw everything - from small leaves to inflorescences, as this is necessary for the full development of the pupa, especially during winter.The caterpillar stage is the longest in the process of insect development: during this time it needs to collect a lot of nutrients that it will have enough for the rest of its life.

How does the dawn butterfly breed?

For some time, the males are in search of a suitable female: for this they need to overcome tens and hundreds of kilometers, because of which they can even rise to a height of two thousand meters. After mating on the back of the leaves of the plants, the female begins to lay eggs - this is necessary so that the newly hatched offspring can immediately eat them. This usually happens once a year: during this time it can lay one, two or three eggs, of which two weeks later a small but active caterpillar of greenish-blue color with a green head, dark dots all over the body and a dorsal line of white color will hatch. In the process of feeding on seeds and herbs, she can mature in five weeks. A caterpillar pupates in the middle of summer; the emerging pupa also has a green color, but sometimes it can also become brown. Its surface is smooth, with white stripes on the sides.

The development of the pupa lasts 9 months. At this time, it is very vulnerable, and therefore prefers to hide most of the day and night in a safe place: for this, it attaches to the plant stem with a thin silk web and remains in this position for the whole winter. However, this is also a great risk for her: if the stem breaks or burns, the pupa will also die.

What are the features of the dawn butterfly?

1. In some regions of Russia (for example, in the Moscow region), as well as in Ukraine, it is counted as an endangered species. The butterfly is safely guarded in several Russian reserves and even listed in the Red Book.
2. The butterfly can be seen on the postage stamps of Hungary, Germany, Norway and even Albania.
3. The life cycle of the dawn butterfly symbolizes endless rebirth: from the egg stage it turns into a caterpillar, then a pupa, then an imago, after which the egg follows again.

Butterflies are so beautiful and mysterious creatures that they have long played a large role in mythology, world religions and even Feng Shui. According to ancient beliefs, it personifies not only rebirth, transformation and new life, but also the souls of dead people who can return to people from the other world.The butterfly of the day represents everything that is sacred in the soul of a person, his life, his fall and his ups, proving that after each failure a bright band always comes. She is a sign that a person feels great when he says that “butterflies are fluttering” inside him.

Video: dawn butterfly (Anthocharis cardamines)