Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The larvae – caterpillars – have a toughened (sclerotised) head capsule, chewing mouthparts, and a soft body, that may have hair-like or other projections, three pairs of true legs, and up to five pairs of prolegs. Most caterpillars are herbivores, but a few are carnivores (some eat ants, aphids, or other caterpillars) or detritivores. [2]
The caterpillar has tiny antennae-like structures whose function is not known. The adult butterfly at emergence is covered in grey powdery scales which protect it from the ants. Eggs are laid singly or in groups of about six, on the underside of branches of a tree with ants' nest. The eggs are tiny pale green cylinders of 1 mm height.
Some caterpillars, like early instars of the tomato hornworm and tobacco hornworm, have long "whip-like" organs attached to the ends of their body. The caterpillar wiggles these organs to frighten away flies and predatory wasps. [18] Some caterpillars can evade predators by using a silk line and dropping off from branches when disturbed.
The caterpillars' coloration, particularly the saddle pattern, is also thought to be disruptive coloration. This means the coloration makes it harder for a predator to distinguish the shape of the camouflaged prey, which explains the continuation of this coloration pattern in larger instars that are too large to be mistaken for bird droppings. [5]
They are usually pale green or whitish in color, sometimes with a slightly metallic sheen, but not as vibrant as the adult butterfly's iridescent blue wings, and shaped like dew drops. The female laid around 12 eggs in cluster of 5 or 6 eggs on the undersides of the leaves. [8] The eggs are laid so that the caterpillars may feed as soon as they ...
After hatching, the caterpillar starts eating the underside of the buckwheat leaf. As the caterpillar grows older, it eats all parts of the leaf. Blue copper larvae are shaped like sowbugs or woodlouses. Their color ranges from dull blue to green, which helps the caterpillar to blend in with its surroundings and increase its chance of survival.
The osmeterium is a forked, fleshy eversible organ found in the prothoracic segment of caterpillars. Venation – in swallowtails, the second anal vein, 2A, extends up to the wing margin and does not link with the first anal vein, 1A. These veins are fused in other butterfly families and 2A does not reach the wing margin.
Lepidoptera (/ ˌ l ɛ p ɪ ˈ d ɒ p t ər ə / LEP-ih-DOP-tər-ə) or lepidopterans is an order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths.About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organisms, [1] [2] making it the second largest insect order (behind Coleoptera) with 126 families [3] and 46 superfamilies ...