Each insect has a different appetite. But the goldtail stands out especially among the caterpillars. As observations have shown, a colony of larvae of this butterfly is capable of destroying all the foliage of an oak tree, the diameter of which is up to half a meter. Fruit trees are also affected. The caterpillar can be found almost throughout Europe and Asia.
The Goldentail butterfly is white in color.
What does a butterfly look like?
The goldtail is a butterfly with white wings and a body of the same color. The wingspan does not exceed 4 centimeters. Butterflies owe their name to the tuft of hairs located on the abdomen. In females it is golden in color, and in males it is brown. On the head there are antennae arranged in the shape of a fan.
Insects are nocturnal. Mass emergence from pupae is observed in June. After some time they begin to mate. Females lay eggs on the underside of the leaf. From above they are covered with hairs located on the abdomen.
The clutch of a lacewing is very easy to notice - it looks like a fluffy pillow of golden color with a diameter of up to 8 mm.
After laying eggs, the butterflies die. Typically this period falls in August. One clutch contains up to 300 eggs. The ripening process takes place over 20 days. after this, each caterpillar creates a cocoon for itself, in which it will winter until spring. They are found on tree branches.
This is a night butterfly
Insect lifestyle
Studying the lifestyle of these uninvited guests who have settled in a private house or apartment is extremely important. Knowledge of how they reproduce, how long they live on average, and what they eat will help prevent their appearance in your home.
Using information about where these green midges come from and what their habitat is, you can quickly and effectively remove them without resorting to the help of strong chemicals.
Reproduction and life cycle, lifespan
The female begins to reproduce after being thoroughly saturated. The laying method of these green insects is unusual. This happens near the habitats of aphids, which will subsequently serve as food for the offspring. Having chosen a suitable leaf of the plant, the female releases a special sticky substance from the abdomen onto its surface. Lifting it in the air, she pulls it into a thin long thread, which instantly freezes.
The female attaches an egg to the upper end of such a frozen structure. In this way, the lacewing tries to protect the offspring from being eaten by the first larvae to hatch. The daily number of eggs can reach up to 60 pieces. During its life, each female lays more than 4 hundred eggs.
A few days after laying, the larvae appear. At this stage of the life cycle, lacewings are reddish or brown in color. After molting, the larvae go hunting for moths, moths, and aphids. Some larvae become covered with the remains of dead aphids, becoming like tiny clumps of garbage.
After 14–21 days, during which they eat about 400 aphids, the pupation phase begins, lasting 5 days. At the end of this period, adults are born. The average lifespan of these small greenish midges is about 2 months.
Habitat, optimal living conditions
The world fauna includes over 2000 species of these green butterflies. 70 species are found in European territory. As for representatives of the “common” species, they are common in Europe, Asia and America.
The maximum activity of the transparent green midge occurs in the evening, especially when artificial lighting is turned on. They like yellow light best. It is towards him that the fleurs fly, entering a house or apartment through open doors and windows. During daylight hours, insects hide under grass, leaves and other shady places. Despite the full development of their wings, flannels fly quite low.
What does the lacewing eat at different stages of development?
The lacewing larva, like the adult, is extremely voracious. In 14 days it can destroy a huge number of aphids. In this phase of development, winged insects eat:
Lacewing larva
- mole;
- Colorado potato beetle eggs;
- caterpillars;
- spider mites;
- scale insects;
- moths;
- cicadas;
- cocoons of poisonous spiders;
- scale insects;
- mole cricket;
- weevils;
- woodworms and over 80 more species of soft-bodied pests.
Unlike the larva, the adult feeds on flower nectar, honeydew, honeydew (a sweet substance secreted by some insects that feed on plant foods - aphids, mealybugs), etc. However, in some cases, a sexually mature male and female can retain the habits of a predator, eating aphids, moths, moths, etc.
Natural enemies of the lacewing
The main natural enemies of lacewings are the protectors of aphids - ants. To avoid collisions with them, the larvae place aphid skins and wax threads on their backs, becoming similar to their victims and misleading the ants. In addition, these green flies protect themselves from enemies through a specific odor that they emit when they sense danger.
What does a larva look like?
The length of the goldentail caterpillar reaches 4 centimeters. These are black larvae with red warts, on which are located golden tufts of hairs. There are white stripes on the sides. Ducts approach the hairs located on the first two segments. They contain toxic liquid. If you touch the caterpillar and touch these hairs, a burning sensation occurs that lasts for several days.
To get rid of the unpleasant sensation after being burned by a lacewing larva, just wipe the skin with a solution of baking soda.
But it is not only through direct contact that you can suffer from this caterpillar. The fact is that when shedding, her hairs come off and are carried by the wind. They can easily enter a person's respiratory tract, thereby causing a coughing attack. For the same reason, in gardens where there is an overpopulation of lacewings, you should work in respirators.
Read on topic:
Features of the life activity of ladybugs
14.11.2020
Description of chironomids and their possible danger to humans
14.11.2020
What do cutworms look like and what harm do they cause?
14.11.2020
What do goliath beetles look like and can they be bred at home?
14.11.2020
Butterfly larvae are born in the spring, as soon as the air warms up to +12 degrees. Tree buds and leaves are used as food. At night, the larvae hide again in cocoons. They will finally leave their shelters only when the air warms up to +26 degrees.
Lacetail caterpillars are quite large in size.
Reproduction
After the lacewing has had enough, it begins laying eggs. Method of laying eggs
These insects have a very interesting look. Having chosen a suitable leaf, the female lacewing releases a sticky drop from her abdomen onto its surface. This drop, rising in the air, is pulled into a thin thread 10–14 mm long. The thread of the adhesive mass immediately hardens. The female attaches an oblong-shaped egg to the upper end of the thread. And this is how she lays all her eggs. In one day, their number reaches 60. Over the course of its entire life, the lacewing lays up to 400 eggs.
This cunning method is justified by the desire of the lacewing to prevent the first hatched larva from eating the eggs. That's why she places it higher. Otherwise, instead of 60 larvae, only 6–12 will be born and survive.
The lacewing takes care of the nutrition of its offspring in advance, choosing a leaf with a dense accumulation of aphids.
After a few days, reddish and brown larvae hatch from the laid eggs, the length of which is about 7 mm. Immediately after birth, the larva molts and goes hunting. The jaws are sharp, curved in the shape of a sickle. The larvae have 3 pairs of legs, of which the thoracic legs are the most developed. Some larvae cover their bodies with skins of dead aphids and look like small lumps of garbage.
Lacewing larvae, like adult insects, are very voracious. With their sharp jaws, they greedily grab the victim and inject poison into it, causing paralysis. The venom is injected using tubular mandibles similar to syringe needles. The lacewing stays in the larval phase for 2 weeks, during which it eats about 400 aphids. Then comes the pupal phase, lasting 5 days.
What does the goldtail eat?
Every gardener must know who the lacewing is. Their caterpillars are unusually voracious. First, they gnaw the leaf around the edges, gradually destroying it all. After a flock of larvae destroys all the foliage on one tree, it moves to the next one. The caterpillars cause damage during almost the entire warm period, from April to the first frost.
The greatest damage is caused in April-May, when the larvae destroy young buds, which leads to the death of the plant.
Gardens are more often affected by lacewings. At the same time, the invasion of the larvae of this butterfly has a negative impact on parks. Trees lose their attractiveness, and the risk of developing diseases increases, which can lead to their death. In addition, contact with larvae always ends in very unpleasant consequences, especially for children.
You will learn what Goldentail looks like from this video:
The butterfly often lives in dry areas with sufficient sunlight. In the wild, it prefers thorn bushes and hawthorn thickets, but young oak trees are especially affected.
Description and photo of the common lacewing: appearance and internal structure
The lacewing (fleurnitsa) belongs to the family of lacewing insects. Its appearance and internal structure correspond to the following description:
- An elongated body with soft covers of a greenish tint, about 10 mm long. A light green stripe runs along its upper part. In autumn, the color of mature males and females changes to reddish-brown, which is due to the accumulation of carotenoids in its body.
- The head is of a hypognathic type, the mouthparts, like the limbs, look down, which is characteristic of insects that feed on food of plant origin. It has convex round eyes of a facet type with a golden hue, which is why the midge got its name.
- Four transparent roof-like folding wings of a light green color, consisting of many thin veins.
- Compact 8–10-segmented abdomen, to which 6 running 5-segmented tarsi are attached. The limbs of the common lacewing on top are the same shade as the body, while their lower surface is painted a light brown tint. Her hind legs are vibrating. With the help of such vibration, common lacewings interact with each other.
- Long mobile multi-segmented, sometimes capitate antennae.
- The mouthparts are gnawing type.
These midges are quite large, so they are easy to see even with the naked eye. You can see what such an insect looks like in the photo above.
How harmful is the caterpillar?
The lacewing butterfly is not dangerous to gardens and wild forests. The main damage is caused by the insect in the larval stage. All deciduous trees fall under attack by the caterpillar. When there is a large concentration of the pest, the branches are completely exposed. It is characteristic that in the process of eating the caterpillar forms a dense layer of cobwebs. Therefore, in affected plantings, large nests can be seen at the ends of branches.
The extent of damage is determined at the end of the season. Economic damage is noted when more than 25% of the foliage is affected.
Specific crop destroyers
It is difficult to calculate which field pests cause the most damage. Cereals are harmed by grain sawflies, some types of thrips, barley moths, and green-eye moths. Peas and legumes are harmed by aphids, leaf rollers, pea weevils, and gamma metalweed caterpillars. The flaxworm eats not only flax, but also peas. Hay grasses are mainly damaged by cutworms, whose larvae feed on roots and seedlings. Buckwheat is prevented from developing by blizzard and meadow moth. All kinds of leaf beetles cause more damage to garden crops: carrot fly, cabbage moth, cabbage caterpillars and rapeseed sawfly, cabbage weevil. Insect pests of fields and vegetable gardens are numerous. It is quite difficult to mention everyone.
How to deal with goldtail
Fighting a butterfly is very difficult. She is unusually prolific, and her pupae easily tolerate severe frosts. First of all, in early spring you should carefully inspect the garden and manually remove all wintering pupae from the trees. In this case, it is worth inspecting not only the branches, but also the bark of the tree. This will be a mechanical way to remove the lacewing. Branches and pupae removed in this way should be cut off with pruning shears and burned.
Chlorophos can be used to control butterflies
Chemical involves the use of chemicals. It is advisable to carry out treatment in early spring, at a time when the caterpillars have not yet emerged from their cocoons. For this purpose, the plantings are treated with phosphamide and corsair. If this period is missed and the larvae have already come out of their hiding places, you can use chlorophos or metaphos.
There is also a biological method. It involves the use of biological pesticides. In addition, you can lure natural enemies of lacewings into gardens. These are jays, cuckoos and tits. To do this, it is enough to place feeders on tree branches.
Every garden owner has probably encountered such a butterfly. You can verify this simply by comparing the insects found with a photo of the lacewing. Despite the external attractiveness, it is imperative to fight it. An invasion of caterpillars can lead to the death of the garden, and accordingly, the harvest can be forgotten.
Struggle
Gardener's assistants
Most of the fight against lacewings is undertaken by our best helpers: birds and predatory insects. Jays, tits and cuckoos are especially distinguished in the fight against this fluffy scourge. Therefore, the best protection for your garden will be to attract these useful helpers to the site.
Advice! Spare no effort in installing bird feeders in your garden. This is especially true during the winter season. Birds that are accustomed to feeding on your site in winter will visit you in summer.
Another useful helper is predatory insects. Among them it is worth noting:
- takhin flies;
- braconids;
- chalcides;
- and others.
Prevention
One of the most important measures in the fight against golden silkworms is a preventive inspection of the trees growing on your site. The best way to determine the degree of infection is visually in the fall, after most of the leaves have fallen off.
At this time, as well as in the spring before the buds open, it is easiest to notice cobwebby cocoons on the branches. Single formations can be collected by hand, and if the damage is widespread, the best solution would be to cut out the branches and then burn them.
Attention! These preventive cuttings will give the best results when they are carried out jointly with neighbors in the area. If there is a tree with pests behind the fence, there is a high probability that they will want to visit your garden.
Destruction
If prevention has not been carried out or the measures taken have not yielded results, you should arm yourself with heavy weapons - pesticides. It’s a pity to “water the apples with muck,” but you have to. The drugs are used before the caterpillars emerge from the cocoons, or if a mass lesion is detected. Insecticides are used the same as those used to kill other insects, the same Colorado potato beetle, for example.
Let's illustrate our story with a video about the creation of trapping belts that can protect trees from pests.
Features of character and lifestyle
Photo: Silkworm caterpillar
The centuries-old development of silk production has left its mark on the way of life of the silkworm. It is assumed that wild individuals at the dawn of their appearance were excellent at flying, as evidenced by the presence of fairly large wings in this species of insects, quite capable of lifting the body of a silkworm into the air and transporting it over a considerable distance.
However, under domestication conditions, insects practically forgot how to fly. This is due to the fact that most individuals do not survive to the butterfly stage. Sericulture breeders kill the larvae immediately after the formation of the cocoon so that the butterfly leaving it does not damage the precious silk thread. In nature, silkworm butterflies are quite viable, but evolutionary changes have affected them too. Males are slightly more active and make short flights during the mating season.
There is evidence that mature silkworms do not eat at all. Unlike the previous form of their life cycle - the caterpillar, which has powerful jaws and continuously absorbs food - butterflies have an underdeveloped oral apparatus and are unable to grind even the lightest food.
Over a long period of domestication, insects became completely lazy; it became difficult for them to survive without human care and tutelage. Silkworms do not even try to find food on their own, waiting to be fed ready-to-eat, finely chopped mulberry leaves. In nature, caterpillars are more active; it is even known that when there is a lack of usual food, they sometimes feed on the foliage of other plants. However, the silk thread produced from such a mixed diet is thicker and coarser, and is not of sufficient value in silk production.
