Good day to all dear readers of the blog LEARN
Do you know that you can grow a butterfly from a caterpillar at home ? How this happens is not important, I think only a few people have delved into this issue. Of course, I am included in these units, because I had such life experience. I was able to grow a butterfly at home from a caterpillar.
Let me point out right away that this is very easy and not troublesome, the main thing is patience. So, if you want to surprise your kids with something, you can organize it, according to my story. Believe me, it is an amazing sight to see live how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. You yourself will like it!
Necessary conditions of detention
Creating a homemade butterfly farm is a good gift for a child who will be able to watch the birth and formation of living creatures. A real tropical fairy tale unfolds before his eyes, because many types of butterflies have a colorful color.
In addition to a gift for a child, an insectarium (or, as it is also called, a “butterfly garden”) is an opportunity to build your own business by breeding these insects. Butterflies can be sold for holiday events, and the initial investment can pay off fairly quickly.
But the first thing you need to know is how to care for a butterfly at home? In order for them to feel comfortable, the humidity inside the insectarium must be maintained at 70-90% at a temperature of 24 to 26 degrees.
To tie the dolls you will need sticks (the distance between them is 15 cm). Maintaining distance is necessary so that nothing prevents butterflies from spreading their wings at birth.
How is skin damaged?
To protect themselves from predators, some have developed hairs or sharp spines that cause irritation and inject various toxins.
- In most cases, direct contact with poisonous caterpillars is enough to cause a reaction. Sometimes the irritating hair breaks off and is blown away by the wind, causing large outbreaks of reactions in people.
These hairs may surround cocoons, eggs (transferred from the abdomen of female moths), or other environmental objects. The fibers of some species, such as the oak caterpillar, are stable in the environment for one year.
Some people develop allergic reactions.
Rarely, spurs on the legs of large moths penetrate human skin and cause dermatitis and urticaria.
- Rare species of moths from the genus Calyptra are able to bite through human skin to feed on blood.
Which types to choose?
Keeping an insectarium at home involves breeding exotic species of butterflies. Especially if your goal is potential earnings.
The following types are suitable:
- Sailboat Polit - has an attractive contrasting color, length 8-10 cm.
- “Moon butterfly” - wings of a characteristic dark blue color, length is 8-10 cm.
- Graphium Agamemnon is a very active species, well suited for use at festive events.
- Kotzebue's sailboat is black with bright red splashes. Length – up to 10 cm.
- Danaid Chrysippus is a yellow-orange butterfly, 6-8 cm long.
- “Orange butterfly” - has an orange-white color, length is up to 10 cm.
- Caligo Atreus is brown or black with bright splashes of yellow and blue. The length ranges from 14 to 18 cm.
- Peacock-eye Atlas - different color options are possible: yellow, red, brown, etc. It can reach 26 cm in length.
Poisonous Puss Moth (Asp) caterpillar bites
Caterpillars of the cat moth (Megalopyge opercularis, flannel moth) are the most poisonous in North America. They live in the shade of trees and bushes around houses, schools, and parks.
They have 2 generations per year, which leads to a bimodal peak in late spring and autumn. Drop-shaped, due to the long silky hair, they resemble a tuft of cotton and fur. Color varies from yellow, gray to reddish brown.
How long do they live?
The transformation of a pupa into a butterfly is quite an exciting process. The head will appear first, then the legs and body. Immediately after birth, she will be motionless, but there is no need to worry - she is just waiting for her wings to dry.
Many breeders are concerned about how long do butterflies live at home? Their lifespan depends on the specific species, as well as the conditions of detention. On average, it ranges from 2 days to 2 weeks. Moreover, in an ordinary apartment their life expectancy is often higher than in natural habitats, where butterflies are threatened by predators.
Symptoms
When the flannel moth caterpillar presses against the skin, poisonous hairs come off.
This causes severe throbbing pain, burning, and a rash with erythematous patches. More susceptible patients experience edema, nausea, abdominal pain, headache, lymphadenopathy, lymphadenitis, shock, and respiratory distress. The pain in the wound usually goes away within an hour, and the erythematous spots disappear within a day.
Find out more Sea cockroaches: where they live, what they look like
Butterflies, moths, as well as their larvae, caterpillars, belong to the order Lepidoptera. There are between 125,000 and 150,000 different species, and only a few are capable of causing adverse reactions in humans.
Caterpillars are responsible for the vast majority of adverse reactions. Adult butterflies are less prone to this and are not responsible for reactions in humans.
What to feed butterflies?
The basis of nutrition of these insects in nature is pollen and nectar of flowers. You can easily prepare it at home by mixing water, sugar and honey (10 parts water and 1 part sugar and honey).
But their diet is not limited to this. For example, they happily consume the juice of slightly rotten fruits: bananas, pears, oranges, melons, apples. Should be fed 2 times a day.
Some species of these insects require sodium to survive. Often butterflies land on the whitened trunks of fruit trees and sweating people - this is how they get the salt they need.
Ways to get rid of pests
The appearance of small black and brown bugs in the kitchen may have occurred without your participation, but getting rid of them requires direct participation.
There are several methods of struggle:
- The cardinal thing is to get rid of all contaminated products, as well as “clean” ones, because there may be white worms there.
- The thermal method is only suitable for food where parasites have not been found. The product can be placed in an oven at a temperature of 50 degrees or more if this does not harm it. In winter, when the temperature drops below -20, the products can be taken outside for three days. This will help get rid of pests in the kitchen.
Having destroyed parasites in food, you should not relax. They can remain on the furniture, so it requires special treatment.
We process furniture:
- A vacuum cleaner can clean all surfaces in the kitchen. However, there is one big disadvantage: if you have a cloth bag in the vacuum cleaner, you will have to process it too.
- Treating furniture with boric acid. Boric acid is in general circulation. You can buy it at the pharmacy: the cost ranges from 100 rubles.
- Treat hard-to-reach places with dichlorvos.
Don't forget about the containers where the food was stored. They also require processing, the most effective method is thermal (pour boiling water or steam, leave in the oven for a long time).
Is it possible to grow a caterpillar at home?
The full life cycle of butterflies is quite difficult to reproduce at home. In nature, females and males find each other by the pheromones released with the smell, and quite a long courtship takes place between them. Even if you catch a male and a female and place them in your apartment, this does not guarantee that they will mate.
In addition, females of a certain species lay eggs on different types of plants that the caterpillar will feed on. For example, a peacock's eye chooses raspberry leaves, hops, etc.
Therefore, the real way is to find the butterfly caterpillar and take it home along with the plant leaf. Next, it is placed in a special insectarium or a separate container. Keep in mind that caterpillars are quite voracious, so you need to stock up on a sufficient amount of fresh leaves.
After the last molt, the caterpillar pupates, becoming motionless. She can spend up to three weeks in this cocoon state. Then the cocoon breaks through, i.e. in essence, the “birth” of a new butterfly occurs.
Breeding these insects can become an exciting hobby for you, or a source of additional income, if you approach the organization of their habitat correctly. To create comfortable conditions for butterflies, you will need a special insectarium, which can be ordered from. We take into account all the client's wishes regarding sizes and other parameters.
Consequences of tactile contact with insects
If viewed from a distance, the caterpillar can be confused with a small piece of fluff that poses no threat. Due to their ignorance, both children and adults who want to examine the harmless lump in more detail can pick up the caterpillar with their hand. But as soon as you touch it carelessly, a powerful impulse of pain pierces the place of contact. A few seconds after dangerous contact, the pain increases and becomes throbbing and unbearable. It quickly spreads throughout the body, is felt in the lymph nodes of the groin area and armpits, then moves to the chest area. Fighting these insects, like baiting bedbugs in the hostel, will help avoid unpleasant contact.
At the site of contact with the toxic thorn, erythematous spots (bruises) instantly appear. Other signs of intoxication are pain in the back of the head and frontal part of the skull, lightheadedness, vomiting, numbness and difficulty breathing. Consciousness at this moment becomes cloudy, and there is a lack of coordination of movements.
The pain usually subsides after a few hours, and the bruising disappears within a day. If a large amount of a toxic substance enters the bloodstream, symptoms can persist for up to 5 days.
And a little more about prevention
The following tips will help you avoid the recurrence of moths:
- Try not to let food sit for more than 2-4 months and, of course, do not store supplies that have passed their expiration date.
- Store foods you rarely use in the refrigerator.
- Buy dry foods in small quantities so you can eat them within a couple of months.
- Buy groceries only from reputable manufacturers and, if possible, check the quality of the goods in the store. To be sure, freeze freshly purchased cereals, cereals, flour, nuts, dried fruits and other products for 3-4 days (in dry form).
- Animal food, such as bird seeds or fishing bait, should not be stored in the kitchen.
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Let's find out more about them
food moth
Unless you look at this insect under a microscope, it is difficult to distinguish it from an ordinary clothing moth. And its larvae are very similar to maggots - fly larvae. White worms with dark heads several millimeters long. Each moth lives only a few days, a maximum of two weeks, but even in such a short time it manages to hatch a huge number of larvae, which ruin our lives.
