The content of the article
From early childhood, we know about the existence of owls. However, few people suspect that the fauna of our planet has a butterfly bearing the name of this bird. What made people give the insect a name like that? What are the features of his life? We will tell about it in our article.
Why so named?
First we turn to the explanation of the unusual name of the species of Lepidoptera. Inhabitants inhabited by different creatures of tropical forests, namely, where the heroes of the narrative live, are often forced to seek protection from the attacks of enemies. One of the most popular ways among insects is camouflage. So, the wings of butterflies are often covered with patterns that resemble the appearance of predatory animals, such as birds or reptiles. The owl butterfly belonging to the genus Kaligo has come to be called that because of its color, resembling this bird of prey.Large circles on the inside of the wings look like owl eyes, which allows the insect to imitate the appearance of the front part of the bird. This is misleading the natural enemies of the butterfly, who are preparing to attack it, since not a fragile insect, but a dangerous beast of prey appears before them.
What does a butterfly look like?
The awe-inspiring color of the back of the wings, resembling an owl's eyes, is not the only feature of the butterfly. By the way, many people compare it with patterns that adorn snake skin. The outer part of the wings is widely recognized as very pretty. Her color is a play of various shades of blue and beige colors, as if flowing one into another.
Original features have a caterpillar appearance. Her body is painted in a light green color, close to the shades of the lettuce leaf, and also decorated with bluish stripes. The head of a bright yellow larva crowned with horns. Such an appearance of a caterpillar is the feat of many to compare it with the mythological Chinese dragons. Particularly pushing for this is the split end of the tail and its edging with azure stripes.
How does a butterfly live?
The active period during the day at the insect comes before sunset. However, it does not have an impressive duration: only 20 minutes the butterfly is in the state of highest activity. At this time, she is looking for food. If a find occurs, then, having gone down to the ground, she dismisses the proboscis coiled in a spiral and drinks nectar.
All the rest of the time, owl butterflies are in the trees. Folding the wings of the house, they sit motionless. The camouflage back at this moment is perfectly visible to potential enemies.
Since the main means of protecting butterflies from enemies is camouflage, at the time of the attack of birds of prey or reptiles, she in a flash makes a virtuoso 180-degree revolution in order to show them the “secret weapon” hidden on the reverse side of the wings. The effect of the application of this effective method is very good, since both the birds and the snakes make every possible effort to hide from what they see - the image of the owl's appearance.
The insect feeds mainly on over-ripe fruits, being both in its natural habitat and on keeping at home. Favorite among these are blackened bananas. Such unpretentiousness owl butterflies becomes one of the reasons that attract people in keeping her as a pet.
Many carry the insect to the moths. In turn, scientists emphasize that the owl butterfly is twilight.Such a definition of it indicates that the animal has an ultrasound hearing and even a voice. Insect can not only catch a light crash, which a person perceives with difficulty, but also reproduce it! Since one of the natural enemies of owl butterflies are bats that hunt with echolocation, fragile creatures need to keep their defenses. Her unique abilities help her in this. Butterflies catch the approach of the animal and send ultrasounds with intentionally altered frequency in its direction. This distorts the image of the space scanned by the bat, and it loses its ability to accurately catch prey. Using the blunders of the enemy, butterflies are hiding from him.
How does a butterfly breed?
In the wake of the lengthy courtship of the male, mating occurs with the conquered individual of the genus Caligo on the branches of trees. After that, the female produces eggs on large leaves. At the end of the week, the larvae are born. Usually, not all of the eggs laid give offspring.
First, the body of the larvae is painted white, with brown stripes running along it.Then there is a molt, after which the caterpillars turn green and acquire horns and spines.
Where does the butterfly live?
Scientists believe that the birthplace of this species of Lepidoptera is the jungle near the Amazon River. Today the area of distribution of insects is great. The territories inhabited by butterflies include tropical forests in the southern and central parts of America, the forests of Venezuela, known to many of Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, cases of the discovery of a butterfly by this species on the territory of hot Mexico have been recorded.
Is it possible to keep a butterfly at home?
These days, the owl butterfly can play the role of a pet. The individual is not overly shy and has high adaptive performance. You will not have time to notice how she gets used to your presence and will sit on your hands. There are no difficulties in providing it with the necessary feed. She is happy to feast on orange slices or blackened bananas.The insect feeds once a day, the duration of food intake varies from 5 to 15 minutes. However, it is important to observe the temperature and humidity conditions necessary for the life of the moth. So, the temperature should not drop to 23 degrees and exceed 28 degrees. Humidity in the room should be maintained in the range of 60-70%. It is overly important for butterflies, because in other conditions the wings of the insect will dry out and begin to crumble. In order to prevent such an outcome, you can sometimes sprinkle an insect or place a damp napkin in its aquarium. If properly care for a butterfly, it can live for two to three months.
To send