The most beautiful insects in the world - no doubt, butterflies. These fragile creatures invariably make them admire them. Hundreds of species of all shapes, sizes and colors adorn our planet. One of the most notable representatives of this species is the Admiral butterfly. It belongs to the family Nymphalidae.
The insect was discovered by the Swedish naturalist Karl Linnaeus. He named this species of Atalanta butterflies in honor of Schenea's daughter, a mythological hero who was famous for his fast running and extraordinary beauty. Its name Admiral, this beautiful butterfly was received because of the wide red stripes located on its wings. Admirals of the Russian fleet wore similar bright bulbs on their trousers. Butterfly Admiral is found in the north of America, in Africa, New Zealand, on the islands of the Atlantic Ocean, in Guatemala and Eurasia.
Butterfly Admiral, the description of which can be found in numerous reference books, is unusually beautiful. Its wings have a span of up to six centimeters. They themselves are black. In addition to red stripes, wings are scattered like stars, white spots. These fragile at first glance wings are able to carry the butterfly over long distances.
Butterfly Admiral is a very active migrant. These insects travel in large flocks. Their path lies from Europe to Africa. There they lay eggs and die. After a while, caterpillars appear from the eggs. They look like their adult relatives: white, black, red, green with yellow dots, stripes and thorns. They live on thistles and nettles and feed on these same plants. Caterpillars, unlike butterflies, live apart. They crawl into the folded nettle leaves, and they pupate in the same place. As a rule, butterflies from pupae are removed by the end of July. They feed on fruits and juice of trees, as well as sweet nectar of flowers. They have a fairly long, spiral-like proboscis. They get butterflies nectar and food from plants, which is inaccessible to other insects.
Most of the butterflies born in the second half of the summer go to the south in the autumn, where they breed and then die.
Young birds return to their homeland. Now they have to overcome such a difficult and distant path in solitude. It's hard to imagine how a small, fragile butterfly Admiral can fly to the right place. Many perish in transit.
Some butterflies prefer not to fly away for the winter. In this case, they fly until the fall, and in some cases before frost. From the winter cold they are saved by the bark of trees, deep crevices, where the cold does not penetrate. With the arrival of spring and heat, butterflies are selected from their shelter. Sun-warmed insects flutter on the edges of the forest, protected from the wind. Occasionally, this amazing butterfly can be found on a flourishing meadow.
Butterfly Admiral, whose photo is the pride of any collector, usually settles in orchards. They are abundant in the second half of the summer. They spin in the air, play and taste overripe fruits.
A distinctive feature of butterflies is their love for warm stones. They can sit on them for a long time.