What kind of caterpillar looks like dry grass. Land surveyor caterpillars or moth: photo, description of appearance, available species, harm and control measures

Caterpillars in the garden suburban area capable of destroying crops. The invasion of voracious pests indicates insufficient attention to preventive measures.

Types of harmful caterpillars

Most leaf-eating insects are harmful to plants. Caterpillars damage the leaves, suck out the nutritious juice, provoke twisting, drying out of the green mass.

Pests hibernate in leaflets, with the onset of spring, a whole horde of hundreds / thousands of eggs and grown individuals safely move to trees, vegetable crops. fire, hawthorn, silkworm, cabbage white, leafworm actively destroy plants, reduce yields. With a large accumulation of butterflies and their larvae, the damage to the economy can be very serious.

Harmful caterpillars in the garden:

• hawthorn. Furry creature, color - yellow-black. Actively creates nests for the winter, wraps a web around the base of the leaf blade and petiole. On bare fruit trees in the cold season, the web is clearly visible. It is impossible to delay the destruction of golden tail caterpillars: up to three thousand individuals can be in one nest;
• goldtail. A pest with a bright color, a characteristic color scheme is a combination of black with red-orange. The pest attaches nests on branches, tightly wraps around neighboring leaves, internodes, creating a reliable home for the cold pore. Also, one should not hesitate if the tree is dotted with nests in which hundreds of voracious pests live. Cutting off damaged areas along with the "residents" will save the garden from the invasion of caterpillars;
• leaflet. dangerous pest Green colour it does not look as intimidating as the silkworm, golden tail or hawthorn, but it does no less harm. The caterpillar eats leaves, stems, flowers, destroys the plant almost completely. Leafworms twist greens into a tube, inside weave a nest with cobwebs, feed on leaf juices. Pests actively reproduce: up to three generations can change during the season;
• unpaired silkworm. Shaggy creatures with long villi are clearly visible on the trees. Even more attention is attracted by leaves damaged by pests: often only veins remain from greenery. Gypsy moth often lives in forests, but when it enters the garden, it causes great damage to fruit trees.

How to get rid: effective methods of struggle

There are several ways to clear a garden, vegetable garden, flower garden from gluttonous creatures. The best option- monitor the condition of plants all year round, prevent the invasion of caterpillars, regularly spray the garden and vegetable garden with decoctions with a natural base. If shaggy, unpleasant-looking creatures have flooded the site, traces of activity are clearly visible on the leaves, only an integrated approach will help.

Mechanical methods

Any amateur gardener will cope with the task if he decides to collect pests from the crown or does not allow wintering caterpillars to penetrate from the soil. Experienced hosts offer several ways to fight.

Proven Methods:

• manual collection of pests. The method is effective if the caterpillars have bred a little. It is important to go through all sections of the crown, collect voracious creatures in a bucket, then destroy them. The job is not pleasant, but the result is good. Many gardeners use the method of collecting pests with low plants or dwarf varieties fruit trees;
• adhesive belt. A tool with a strange name does not allow pests to crawl from the soil to the crown. For a tree, the method is harmless. Boil 2 parts of birch tar, pour in 1 part of burdock oil, boil for 2 minutes, remove the mixture from the stove, cool. Apply a thick mass on the trunks of fruit trees. Pests will not be able to overcome the barrier of sticky mass, the owners will have to collect furry creatures from a protective adhesive belt;
• cutting nests and ovipositions of some pests. The sooner the owner finds the leaves damaged by golden tail, apple moth, hawthorn, the greater the guarantee that all pests will be collected. It is important to remove the leaves before the caterpillars switch to open feeding.

biological methods

Struggling with attraction natural enemies practiced for over a decade. The owners noticed that many birds eat garden pests in large quantities.

If the caterpillars have not bred a lot, winged helpers are able to completely clear the area of ​​pests. The owners need to attract birds to the garden, equip titmouses, nest boxes, birdhouses.

Important! Swifts, swallows, titmouses, starlings, pied flycatchers, cuckoos eat not only small, but also large caterpillars with long hairs on the body.

Chemicals against caterpillars

Experts consider the most effective method of dealing with voracious creatures in the garden and in the garden. After spraying with toxic drugs, most individuals die.

Unfortunately, the method has negative sides:

• the use of chemicals often provokes intoxication of people after eating processed fruits;
• a constant change of insecticides is required: pests get used to the components of the drug, the fight is ineffective.

What to do? Select formulations of the latest generations that do not cause resistance in caterpillars. Experienced owners recommend alternating toxic drugs and herbal decoctions.

Effective insecticides against caterpillars:

• Karate.
• Aktara.
• Decis Pro.
• Inta - Vir.
• Spark.
• Kinmiks.
• Rovikurt.
• Lightning.
• Ram.
• Sumi is Alpha.
• Fufanon.

Find out the instructions for using the aerosol in the apartment, as well as the precautions for using the chemical.

How to get rid of flies in the apartment? Effective Methods control of buzzing insects are described on the page.

Folk remedies and recipes

Spraying fruit and vegetable crops with safe, non-toxic compounds only brings benefits. There are several compounds that destroy / repel smooth and hairy caterpillars.

Proven funds:

• decoction of black henbane. The remedy is used when hawthorn, cabbage whites, golden tails appear. It will take 2.5 kg of chopped plants (leaves and twigs). Pour greens with water, boil for half an hour, bring the volume of the product to 10 liters, boil again, remove from heat. Let the product brew for 12 hours, strain, add liquid soap or a handful of grated laundry soap. Spray the affected plants 5-6 times when the pests have just appeared;
• a decoction of the stems of the mountaineer pepper. You will need shoots of the plant during the flowering period. For 2 kg of fresh raw materials, take 10 liters of boiling water, close the bucket with a lid, let it brew for a day. Put away green mass, strain, spray horticultural crops when leaf-eating insects appear;
• decoction of red elderberry. Another proven remedy for repelling caterpillars, beetles, slugs, fly larvae. Finely chop 200 g of stems and leaves, steam in 10 liters of boiling water, leave for 24 hours, strain. For active adhesion to the surface of the leaves, many owners add shavings from laundry soap to a bucket of warm water. Spraying is carried out before and after flowering.

When pest caterpillars appear, there is no time to waste: thousands of individuals live in nests, ready to gnaw leaves and young shoots. Decoctions with herbal ingredients, proven insecticides will help scare away and destroy pests. A good effect is given by mechanical methods of combating leaf-eating pests.

The next video talks about excellent tool to protect cabbage from caterpillars - pests:

Attention! Only today!

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 hawks 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.

oral apparatus

All caterpillars are distinguished by a gnawing type oral apparatus. The upper jaws of the insect are perfectly formed: their upper edge contains teeth designed for biting 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 with varying degrees of 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.

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.

life in a cocoon

In order to survive during the period of "inactivity" and defenselessness, the caterpillars find a suitable leaf, branch or tree trunk, to which they can quietly "stick" with a strong silk thread, which they secrete from the abdomen.

To understand how a caterpillar turns into butterflies, you should delve into its ability to properly prepare yourself for this.

Having stuck to the chosen surface, the caterpillar hangs on a silk thread and begins to wrap itself around the calf with it. This happens gradually, but what is important, when wrapping, the caterpillar gives its cocoon a look similar to a leaf, bud or stem of a plant chosen by it.

The resemblance is so obvious that only a very observant eye can spot the cocoon on its surface. This is done so that the defenseless caterpillar is not found and eaten.

How a caterpillar turns into a butterfly inside a cocoon can only be seen by taking pictures with special equipment in the laboratory. This process is so slow and secretive that it is impossible to observe it in nature.

The reserves that the caterpillar managed to lay aside in its body are quite enough for the strength to metamorphose it into a butterfly.

Types of caterpillars - photos and names

Among the great variety of different caterpillars, the following varieties are of greatest interest:

• Cabbage caterpillar or cabbage moth 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.

• Caterpillar moth (surveyors)(lat. Geometridae) is characterized by a long thin body and undeveloped ventral legs, due to which it differs original way movement - bends in a loop, while pulling the abdominal legs to the chest. 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, currants and hazel.

• Great harpy caterpillar(lat. Cerura vinula = Dicranura vinula) lives throughout Europe, in 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(shy woolly paws) (lat. Calliteara pudibunda) is 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 leaves. different trees and shrubs, especially preferring hops.

• Caterpillar silkworm (lat. Bombyx mori) or silkworm. Lives in East Asia: in the north of China and in Russia, in southern regions 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. Found throughout all European countries, Besides Far North, as well as in South Africa, Southeast Asia and 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.

• Lady Bear Caterpillar(lat. Callimorpha dominula) or she-bear-girl lives in Eastern and Western Europe and in southeast Asia. Winters 1 time, differs in black-blue color with yellow stripes and specks. Lives on nettles, geraniums, willows, raspberries, strawberries, and feeds on them.

• 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 carrots, celery, wormwood, parsley, and sometimes alder leaves.

• The smallest caterpillar in the world is a member of the moth family. For example, caterpillars clothes moth(lat. Tineola bisselliella), just emerging 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.

Poisonous caterpillars - description, types and photos.

Among the caterpillars there are quite poisonous specimens, so the bite of such a caterpillar or an accidental touch to it can cause unpleasant sensations. Usually such contact ends with pain at the point of contact, redness and swelling of the skin, less often an itchy rash may appear. There are frequent cases of drowsiness, headache, gastrointestinal disorders, increased blood pressure and temperature. In a word, do not be deceived by the bright and spectacular appearance of these creatures - sometimes they are dangerous.

The most famous poisonous caterpillars, ready to defend themselves from enemies and protect their food from encroachment with the help of a "poisonous cocktail", include:

• Coquette caterpillar (lat. Megalopyge opercularis)
• Saddle caterpillar (lat. Sibine stimulea)
• Caterpillar "burning rose" (lat. Parasa indetermina)
• Spiny oak slug caterpillar (lat. Euclea delphinii)
• Cross bear caterpillar (lat. Tyria jacobaeae)
• Caterpillar of the marching silkworm (lat. Thaumetopoea pityocampa)
• Hickory bear caterpillar (lat. Lophocampa caryae)
• Caterpillar “lazy clown” (lat. Lonomia obliqua)
• Caterpillar Saturnia Maya (lat. Hemileuca maia)
• Volnyanka caterpillar (lat. Orgyia leucostigma)

Poison caterpillar(lat. Megalopyge opercularis) is an insect that looks quite cute and resembles a miniature furry animal. However, this caterpillar is one of the most poisonous caterpillars found on the North American continent and Mexico. The color of the "fur coat", under which there are poisonous spikes, varies from light gray to golden or red-brown. The length of the caterpillar does not exceed three centimeters, the width of the body is 1 cm, but even such a modest size makes it very dangerous. After contact with an insect, after a couple of minutes, an acute throbbing pain and a noticeable reddening of the skin integuments appear at the point of contact, up to bruising. Later, there is a painful enlargement of the lymph nodes, shortness of breath and chest pain.

saddle caterpillar(lat. Sibine stimulea) - a bright green caterpillar, both ends of the body are brown, the middle of the body has a brownish spot enclosed in a white border, which makes this area look like a saddle. The length of the caterpillar that lives in North and South America is 2-3 centimeters, two pairs of fleshy horns-outgrowths are equipped with hard hairs, which contain a rather strong poison. A prick of these hairy stings causes severe pain, swelling of the skin, rash and nausea that lasts for several days.

Poisonous caterpillar "lazy clown"(lat. Lonomia obliqua) - an insect that massively lives in Uruguay and Mozambique, has the most powerful of all natural toxins known today. The caterpillar can reach 6-7 centimeters in length, has a greenish-brown color, and the poison accumulates in herringbone-shaped spikes. He loves shade, so usually the caterpillar lives in the foliage of trees, but often moves into the courtyards of the residential sector. As a result of contact with this insect, painful hemorrhages appear on the skin, caterpillar venom can affect internal organs, causing renal colic, bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, pulmonary edema, and even disorders of the nervous system.

Fighting caterpillars: means and methods.

Many species of caterpillars are pests and eat fruit trees, fruits and vegetables.

To combat caterpillars, there are many methods, combined into 3 main groups:

• mechanical means of struggle with caterpillars folk methods consist in manual collection and shaking of caterpillars from plants, as well as cutting wintering clutches. Trapping caterpillars with the help of trapping glue belts and various traps with bait liquid is considered a proven method.
• biological control methods aimed at attracting natural enemies of caterpillars, primarily birds. To do this, comfortable conditions are created in the gardens for their nesting (birdhouses, nest boxes, feeders) and with a small number of caterpillars are completely destroyed.
• chemical control methods with caterpillars are considered the most effective, but caterpillars are addictive, so poisonous drugs (biological and chemical) should be alternated. Rovikurt, Karbofos, Lepidocide, Kilzar, Karate are considered to be excellent means.

If the invasion of caterpillars is not significantly threatening, as a struggle, you can try decoctions and infusions of plants: black henbane (against cabbage caterpillar), hemlock (against all leaf-eating caterpillars), as well as red elderberry and pepper knotweed.

• Entomophagy, or the eating of insects, has flourished since prehistoric times. Caterpillars of more than 80 genera of butterflies take pride of place in the gourmet menu. Caterpillars are eaten raw or fried, dried on hot coals, boiled, salted, added to omelettes and sauces.
• The silkworm is of great economic importance for a number of silk-producing countries. After all, 9 kg of silk thread can be isolated from 100 kg of cocoons.
• The coloring of any caterpillar to some extent imitates the conditions environment and is the best remedy camouflage and protection.

Video

The class of insects is one of the most diverse and numerous representatives of living beings inhabiting Earth. Most beautiful representatives families are butterflies that differ from each other in the most diverse and intricate patterns located on their wings. Caterpillars are integral natural purpose butterfly formation. They also come in a variety of shapes and colors.

The appearance of a butterfly is associated with a certain stage of insect development. After an adult has laid eggs in some secluded place, larvae appear from them, in the form of small worms. These worms are quite voracious creatures. They eat a lot of greens in order to move to another stage of development.

These larvae are called caterpillars. An insect can be a caterpillar for either a few days or a few years, depending on the species. As a rule, each species of caterpillars eats a certain type of plant. Often they become pests of any crops, fruit trees, berries, vegetables, fruits, etc. After a certain time, the caterpillar turns into a cocoon, which is called a chrysalis. Then an adult emerges from the cocoon, which is called a butterfly.

Interesting to know! The bigger the butterfly, the bigger the caterpillar and vice versa.

All types of caterpillars may differ in their size, development periods, colors, habitats, but they all have the same body structure. The body structure of a caterpillar consists of:

• From a well-defined head of a regular rounded shape, mouth apparatus, organs of vision and horn-shaped antennae.
• Breasts.
• Abdominal.
• Several pairs of limbs.

As a rule, the caterpillar has at least 5-6 pairs of eyes located side by side. In the mouth there are several small teeth with which they gnaw on plants. On the body there are small hairs or outgrowths that look like spikes. As a rule, the caterpillar quickly moves on leaves, branches and other surfaces.

Types of caterpillars with photos and names

Each type of butterfly has its own caterpillar. At the same time, the color of the caterpillar does not always correspond to the color of the butterfly. In most cases, caterpillars are herbivores, although predatory species are also found. Depending on the food consumed, the caterpillars are:

• Polyphages. These are caterpillars that indiscriminately eat any plants. This species includes night butterflies, such as wine hawk hawk, ocellated hawk hawk moth, blind hawk moth, kaya bear, moths, peacock-eye and others.
• Monophages represent caterpillars that feed on one a certain kind plants. These are cabbage, apple moth, silkworm and others.
• Oligophages- These are caterpillars that prefer to feed on one type of plant belonging to one species of a family or type. These are butterflies swallowtail, pine scoop, polyxena, etc.
• Xylophages refers to a species of caterpillars that feed on wood or bark. These include leafworms, woodworms and others.

Some species of caterpillars inhabit subtropical regions, the tropics, as well as the northern regions. On the territory of each country there are hundreds of species of such insects. Caterpillars don't get their names by accident. As a rule, they get their names depending on the main source of food. Part of the caterpillars was named so because on the wings they have a very interesting and intricate pattern.

Among all types of caterpillars, there are also valuable ones, for example, such as silkworms. Many caterpillars have this property. In the process of its movement, a thin thread remains behind the caterpillar. This thread serves as a kind of insurance in the event of an insect falling.

Interesting to know! A silk thread is obtained from the cocoon of a silkworm butterfly, after which a silk cloth is woven from it, and then various products are sewn.

There are caterpillars up to 1 mm in size, as well as caterpillars more than 12 cm long. Among them there are quite beautiful specimens, completely nondescript, furry, poisonous, and also those that can change their color during their development.

The following species are widespread in Russia:

• Cabbage white (cabbage).
• Peacock-eye.
• Moth (surveyor).
• Hawk hawk.
• Admiral.

This is the most common type of caterpillars inhabiting European part Russia. The caterpillar is different in green and body length within 3-4 cm. On the body of the caterpillar there are black growths and hairs. She got her name due to the fact that she appears mainly on cabbage. In addition to cabbage, he can enjoy crops such as:

• Radish.
• Turnip.
• Turnip.
• Horseradish, etc.

In the caterpillar stage, the insect can be from 2 to 5 weeks. Depending on the weather conditions. Despite such a short period of time, cabbage manages to cause serious damage to the crop.

This caterpillar is also called a surveyor, because of the original way of movement. This is due to the underdevelopment of the front false legs. Due to its brown color, it manages to reliably camouflage among the vegetation. In addition, due to the developed muscular system, the caterpillar can be in an elongated motionless state for a long time, depicting a broken branch or twig. This type of caterpillar feeds on tree needles, currant leaves, hazel, etc. The moth butterfly is distinguished by a thin, elongated body and wide, delicate wings. Butterflies fly mostly at night. They can be easily recognized by their slow and uneven flight.

This caterpillar can be found throughout the forest-steppe zone of our mainland. It feeds on the foliage of various shrubs. These are fluffy caterpillars whose body is covered with brown or gray hairs. The end of the body is distinguished by a bright scarlet color, which served as the basis for such a name.

Interesting to know! The bright red tail of the insect indicates that the caterpillar is poisonous. Contact with the human body may cause an allergic reaction.

Butterfly years are celebrated in May-June. The redtail is quite prolific, as one female is able to lay up to 1000 eggs per tree. With the advent of autumn, all the caterpillars leave the tree and the pupation process begins.

Redtail is considered a pest of fruit trees such as apple, plum, mountain ash, pedunculate oak, hornbeam, elm, etc.

Quite different large size. The caterpillar is distributed almost throughout Europe, Asia, North America, as well as in the north of the African continent. The caterpillar is quite beautiful, like the butterfly itself. At the same time, at its stage of development, the caterpillar changes its color. At first, the caterpillar is almost black with bright red spikes. Over time, it turns green with black stripes, interspersed with brown spots. This caterpillar can eat:

• Carrot.
• Petrushka.
• Celery.
• polynya.
• Alder.

The hawk caterpillar can be found both in middle lane Russia, and in Siberia and on Far East. Prefers to eat leaves of birch, willow, poplar. The caterpillar has a green body color, which allows it to perfectly camouflage among the leaves. The body is painted with diagonal thin stripes, which resembles the veins of leaves. On the tail of this caterpillar you can see a kind of horn.

This is enough beautiful butterfly, which is relatively large: its length reaches 10 cm, or even more. There are 2 types of these butterflies: the daytime peacock eye and the nocturnal peacock eye. In addition, there is also a large peacock butterfly, which has minor differences from the first two species. The butterfly caterpillar is also large and green in color. The peacock eye lives in the western part of Russia, in the Caucasus and in the Crimea. Prefers to eat such fruit trees:

• Apple tree.
• pear.
• Walnut.
• Plum.
• cherry.

Interesting to know! In the process of development, the peacock eye butterfly larva changes its color. Before pupation begins, it turns yellow, and the pupa itself is distinguished by a brown tint.

Who has not met a clothes moth in his life? It is difficult to find such a person, since everyone knows the results of her life: clothes moth larvae spoil people's personal belongings. A white-colored caterpillar with a brown head eats natural wool, fur and cotton items. This is where she lays her eggs.

Moth butterfly caterpillars cause great harm to horticultural and horticultural crops, eating everything in their path. because of appearance they are difficult to detect and, due to their peculiarities, their second name is land surveyors. The article discusses the appearance of caterpillars, what they eat and how to deal with them.

Surveyor caterpillars or moth:

What does it look like?

Caterpillars "surveyors" are thin and long, have a camouflage color and are very difficult to detect due to the fact that the color depends on the plant on which they live and feed.

Also, there are practically no villi on the body of these caterpillars, and when the moths freeze in one position, stretching either to the side or up, they become practically indistinguishable from twigs. This is how they camouflage themselves from birds. Strongly developed muscles and a pair of strong abdominal limbs help them to take this position.

Like all caterpillars, the body of these pests consists of segments. The peculiarity is that they do not have developed abdominal limbs located on segments 7 and 9 (false legs) and the caterpillar moves, t as if measuring the surface with a span:

• Strengthened by the chest limbs;
• It bends in a loop;
• Moves false legs to chest;
• Then it clings to these pectoral limbs;
• Stretches the body in front and again fastens with the chest.

Another adaptation of the pest is that they are attached with a thread to the surface along which they crawl, and if, for example, a caterpillar is blown away by a gust of wind, it rises back along this thread.

caterpillar varieties

There are over 23,000 species of moths. The most common in Russia and the CIS countries are:

• Winter moth. A transparent caterpillar with a greenish tint, which has one dark longitudinal stripe along the back and three lighter lateral ones. It has five growth stages and four molts. It pupates in June in the soil under a tree, and in August butterflies come out of the chrysalis, which cannot fly and climb the tree.
• Pine. It has a green color and five lateral white lines. pupates late autumn in a bed under a tree.
• gooseberry moth. Light caterpillar with yellow and black patches.
• Ripped off. Has brown or yellow. A lateral yellow stripe runs across the body, and brown spots may be present.

Surveyor:

What plants are affected?

These moth caterpillars eat all plants in a row. As for the above types, they like to eat

• Coniferous plantations. it favorite treat pine moth, which eats needles from July to October.
• Gooseberry, currant and other garden bushes. This is the food of the gooseberry moth.
• Berry and fruit trees are devoured, skinned and winter moth.

Struggle

To combat these pests, the following measures are used:

1.Biological:

• Enemies of moths are ichneumons and tahini flies. They eat moth caterpillars. Therefore, it is necessary to create conditions for the attraction and reproduction of beneficial insects. They can be attracted by the nectars of the testes of the umbrella family (carrots, celery, dill, etc.);
• Treat plants in the spring before flowering with bacterial insecticides;
• Attracting sparrows and tits to the garden.

2. Agrotechnical:

• Digging the soil at a depth of 15 cm in August to destroy the pupae of the winter moth;
• Loosening the surface layer of the earth from mid-September;
• Autumn collection and destruction of leaves.

3.Mechanical;

• In September, trapping paper belts smeared with special glue are placed on the trunks of bushes and trees. This will help to catch female butterflies and at the end of November it is necessary to remove the device and burn it;

Crushing the caterpillars in the morning on the fabric laid under the plant and further burning the pest.

4.Chemical:

• Treatment with a solution of oleocuprite and DNOC in the spring before the snow completely melts;
• Preparation No. 30;
• Before flowering, spray with a solution of karbofos or arsenic.

Caterpillars "surveyors" are quite harmful and difficult to detect, but noticing that the plant is being eaten, you need to start pest control measures.

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 with varying degrees of 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 the 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 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 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, Southeast Asia and 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.