The pupa is the developmental stage of insects. Life cycle of butterflies. See what "chrysalis" is in other dictionaries
Numerous orders of insects are conditionally divided into two groups. In representatives of the first group, the larvae emerging from the egg are similar to adults and differ from them only in the absence of wings. These include cockroaches, grasshoppers, locusts, bugs, praying mantises, stick insects, etc. These are insects with incomplete transformation. In the second group, eggs hatch into worm-like larvae, completely different from their parents, which then turn into pupae, and only after that adult winged insects emerge from the pupae. Such is the cycle of development of insects with complete transformation. These include mosquitoes, bees, wasps, flies, fleas, beetles, caddis flies, and butterflies.
What is metamorphosis and why is it needed?
Metamorphosis, i.e. a life cycle with a series of successive transformations is a very successful acquisition in the struggle for existence. Therefore, it is widely distributed in nature and is found not only in insects, but also in other living organisms. Metamorphosis allows various stages of the same species to avoid competition among themselves for food and for habitats. After all, the larva eats other food and lives in a different place, there is no competition between larvae and adults. Caterpillars gnaw on leaves, adult butterflies quietly feed on flowers - and no one interferes with anyone. With the help of metamorphosis, the same species simultaneously occupies several ecological niches (feeding both on leaves and flowers in the case of butterflies), which also increases the chances of a species to survive in a constantly changing environment. After the next change, at least one of the stages will survive, which means it will survive, the whole species will continue to exist.
Butterfly development: four stages of the life cycle
So, butterflies are insects with complete transformation - they have all four stages of the corresponding life cycle: egg, pupa, larva caterpillar and imago - an adult insect. Let us consider successively the stages of transformations in butterflies.
Egg
First, an adult butterfly lays an egg and thereby gives rise to a new life. Eggs, depending on the species, can be round, oval, cylindrical, conical, flattened, and even bottle-like. Eggs differ not only in shape, but also in color (usually they are white with green tint, but other colors are not so rare - brown, red, blue, etc.). Eggs are covered with a dense hard shell - chorion. The embryo under the chorion is supplied with a reserve nutrients, very similar to the well-known egg yolk. It is according to it that the two main life forms of Lepidoptera eggs are distinguished. The eggs of the first group are poor in yolk. In those species of butterflies that lay such eggs, inactive and weak caterpillars develop. Outwardly, they look like tadpoles - a huge head and a thin thin body. Caterpillars of these species should begin to feed immediately after hatching, only after that they acquire quite well-fed proportions. That is why butterflies of these species lay their eggs on fodder plant- on leaves, stems or branches. Eggs placed on plants are characteristic of diurnal butterflies, hawks, many scoops (especially shooters).
Butterfly eggs
In other butterflies, the eggs are rich in yolk and ensure the development of strong and active caterpillars. After leaving the egg shell, these caterpillars immediately begin to spread and are able to cover sometimes very considerable distances for them before they find suitable food. Therefore, butterflies that lay such eggs do not have to worry much about their placement - they lay them where they have to. Thinworms, for example, scatter eggs on the ground in bulk right on the fly. In addition to fine-weavers, this method is typical for bagworms, glass-cases, many volnyankas, cocoon-worms and she-bears.
There are also Lepidoptera that try to sink their eggs into the ground (some scoops).
The number of eggs in a clutch also depends on the species and sometimes reaches 1000 or more, but not all of them survive to the adult stage - it depends on factors such as temperature and humidity. In addition, butterfly eggs have no enemies from the world of insects.
The average duration of the egg stage is 8-15 days, but in some species the eggs hibernate and this stage lasts for months.
Caterpillar
A caterpillar is a butterfly larva. It is usually worm-like and has a gnawing mouthpart. As soon as the caterpillar is born, it begins to feed intensively. Most larvae feed on leaves, flowers and fruits of plants. Some species feed on wax and horny substances. There are also larvae - predators, their diet includes sedentary aphids, mealybugs, etc. In the process of growth, the caterpillar molts several times - it changes its outer shell. On average, there are 4-5 molts, but there are also species that molt up to 40 times. After the last molt, it turns into a chrysalis. Butterfly caterpillars living in colder climates often do not have time to complete their life cycle in one summer and fall into winter diapause.
Butterfly caterpillar “Swallowtail” Many people think that the more beautiful and brighter the caterpillar, the more beautiful the butterfly that has developed from it will be. However, it is often just the opposite. For example, from the bright caterpillar of a large harpy (Cerura vinula), a very modestly colored moth is obtained.
chrysalis
The pupae do not move and do not feed, they only lie (hang) and wait, spending the reserves accumulated by the caterpillar. Outwardly, it seems that nothing is happening, but this final stage amazing transformation can be called "stormy calm". Inside the pupa at this time, very important vital processes of restructuring the body are boiling, new organs appear and form.
The chrysalis is completely defenseless, the only thing that allows it to survive is its relative invisibility to enemies - birds and predatory insects.
Butterfly chrysalis “Peacock eye” Usually, the development of a butterfly in a chrysalis lasts 2-3 weeks, however, in some species, the chrysalis is a stage that falls into winter diapause.
Pupae are silent creatures, but there are exceptions: the pupa of the hawk moth dead head and the pupa of the blueberry artaxerxes can ... squeak.
Imago
An adult insect emerges from the pupa - imago. The shell of the pupa bursts, and the imago, clinging to the edge of the shell with its feet, while applying a lot of effort, crawls out.
A newborn butterfly cannot fly yet - its wings are small, as if folded, and wet. The insect necessarily climbs to a vertical elevation, where it remains until it fully spreads its wings. In 2-3 hours, the wings lose their elasticity, harden and acquire their final color. Now you can make the first flight.
Lifespan adult varies from several hours to several months, but the average age of a butterfly is 2-3 weeks.
In contact with
Types of non-imagus insect larvae. Larvae with complete metamorphosis have a very diverse structure. They are separated by N.N. Bogdanov-Katkov into five types (1-5), and G.Ya. Bei-Bienko - into three types (I-III).
I. Worm-like:
1) headless(head and legs not expressed) - larvae of most flies (dipterans);
2) legless(the head is isolated, the legs are not expressed) - larvae of weevils (order Coleoptera), stem sawflies, bees, ants (order Hymenoptera);
3) true larva(with a head and true, i.e. pectoral, legs) - in most beetles (coleoptera). True legs are called because they are articulated, consist of the same parts as in an adult insect. Like adults, there are always three pairs of them.
II. Caterpillars (they have false legs, which are non-segmented paired outgrowths of the skin, are not preserved in adults, are located on the ventral part of the body of the larva and therefore are also called abdominal legs):
4) caterpillar(with a separate head, thoracic legs and 2-5 pairs of ventral legs) - butterfly larvae (lepidoptera);
5) caterpillar(with a pronounced head, thoracic legs and 6-8 pairs of ventral legs) - larvae of true sawflies from the Hymenoptera order.
III. Campodeoid-shaped (head well developed with mouthparts directed forward, upper jaws powerful and pointed to apex, pectoral legs long, twice the width of the thorax, tergites dense, especially the thoracic, last abdominal segment often with paired appendages, antennae well developed). These are predatory larvae (ground beetles, coccinellids - beetles, lacewings - lacewings).
All larvae in the Petri dish should be divided into five groups (Arabic numerals) in the lid of the dish, campodeoid larvae should be distinguished from the true larvae, their names, characteristics and belonging to orders (sometimes to families) should be remembered.
After correct selection from the cup of larvae, pupae remained in it. They should be divided into four groups, highlighting three types of pupae and a true cocoon. Pay attention to the difference in the origin of false and true cocoons and their external differences.
Secondary larvae, having completed their growth, pupate. The following three types of pupae are distinguished (Fig. 1):
Rice. 1. Types of pupae: 1 - open; 2 - covered; 3 - hidden
1) free or open(they have appendages of the future adult insect freely separable from the body - antennae, legs, wings, dimly colored, without a pattern, with soft covers). Such pupae are found in most representatives of the orders of Coleoptera (beetles), Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, sawflies, riders), as well as in some flies;
2) covered(they have noticeable imaginal appendages - antennae, legs, wings, which, together with the body, are covered with a hard shell from the secretions of the larval glands and cannot be separated from the body). They are characteristic of Lepidoptera (butterflies) and some beetles, for example, coccinellids;
3) barrel-shaped, or hidden(they have an undiscarded molting skin, in which there is a free headless chrysalis). This type of pupa is also called a pseudo-coon, or puparia. It has hard integuments with transverse segmentation, coloring from light yellow to dark brown. This type is characteristic of higher Diptera (flies).
True cocoons, which serve as shelters for free or covered pupae, are arranged by larvae after the end of feeding from secretions of silkworm glands (mulberry, oak silkworms, cabbage and apple moths), or salivary, fixing the soil (for example, real sawflies), or from bits of food and excrement . Many larvae of beetles and butterflies pupate in the soil, where they make a cradle, earthen cells, the walls of which are strengthened in various ways. Sometimes the stems of plants and rolled leaves serve as shelters for pupae.
For self-control, visual material should be thrown into alcohol, mixed and decomposed again, sorting out the types of larvae and types of pupae.
To consolidate the material covered, it is necessary to sketch the types of non-imagus larvae and pupae.
Insects are amazing creatures. Some of them are striking in their beauty, others are frightening with their appearance alone, others can be useful to a person, and the fourth are dangerous for him. It doesn’t matter if a small creature harms or quietly crawls on the ground, without affecting people’s livelihoods in any way: some types of “insects” breed in a special way. What insects have a pupa?
What is a chrysalis?
A pupa is nothing more than a stage in the development of a particular individual, characteristic of insects predisposed to. While in this state, the insect undergoes a complete change in the organs and tissues belonging to the larva into the structures of an adult. As a rule, pupae are immobile, they do not change in size and do not eat food.
Having completed the growth process, the larva stops feeding, switches to a sedentary lifestyle, sheds its skin for the last time, and only then turns into a pupa. Appearance pupae does not allow calling it an adult, but it already acquires a list of features that allow it to be compared with a turned insect. For most, before turning into a chrysalis, it wraps itself in a cocoon. The material for its creation is, as a rule, silk. The cocoons of some species of butterflies are selected to create fabrics such as silk and burlap. What insects have a pupa? Their list is quite extensive: the mentioned butterflies, praying mantises, hornets, wasps, May beetles, house flies, ants and others. Let's talk more about some representatives of this group.
Butterfly
When answering the question of which insects have pupae, you should pay attention to butterflies. Immediately after the formation, the pupa of this insect remains open: its small legs and wings adjoin the body very weakly, they can be easily bent.
However, the soft outer shell hardens quite quickly, the limbs are firmly glued to the body with a special liquid. On superficial examination, the pupa is very similar to a caterpillar, but if you are attentive, you can notice some features of an adult butterfly: the makings of wings, a sketch of the head, abdomen, proboscis and antennae. The strong shell of the pupa, as a rule, is devoid of hair, however, in some species of butterflies, there are still individuals decorated with a small amount of them.
What insects have a chrysalis besides a butterfly?
Housefly
The female is able to lay up to 120 eggs at a time, and over the course of her life this number increases to two thousand, if environment turns out to be favorable. The egg develops completely within 8-50 hours. The housefly is an insect predisposed to complete metamorphosis. Its larvae reach a length of thirteen millimeters, have no legs, the shape from the side of the mouth is pointed, the tip is truncated. They live in feces, as well as in other rotting substances with a semi-liquid structure.
After about two weeks, the larva completes the last molt and crawls to a secluded place, where it turns into a chrysalis. This phase of the life of a housefly lasts about three days. An adult lives up to a month, but under favorable conditions this period can double. After one and a half days after the completion of the transformation, the fly is able to multiply.
Besides the fly, what insects have a chrysalis? They are enough.
Ant
In search of information about which insects have a chrysalis, you may encounter ants. Their life begins with the appearance of an egg, from which larvae appear very quickly.
By itself, she practically does not move, working individuals take care of her: they feed, transfer to special “rooms”. Having passed all the larval stages, the future ant pupates. The insect is not able to get rid of the shell covering the pupa on its own, so adults help it to finally emerge into the world.
Life cycle Butterflies have four stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Butterflies are insects with a so-called full cycle of transformations, since the larva is completely different from the adult. The transition from one stage to another, or transformation, is called metamorphosis.
testicles This is the first phase of insect development. The testicles must be kept intact, so the butterflies take care of this, some lay them in the soil, others fill the testicles with secretions of glands that harden in the air - a capsule is obtained, the capsules are usually masked to match the color of the surface. Another way is that insects cover the testicles with hairs or scales that are scraped from the abdomen. The female lays her eggs in batches, which can contain a few eggs, and can reach hundreds of eggs. Depending on the species, they are arranged in layers, in a line or in a ring around the shoot of the plant that the caterpillars will feed on. In some species, the female disperses the eggs in flight. Embryo development depends on climatic conditions and can last from several days to several months, especially when the insect hibernates at the egg stage.
Emerge from testicles larvae - caterpillars. They actively feed, grow and accumulate substances for the following transformations. The caterpillar has three pairs of jointed legs, armed with claws, and several (up to 5 pairs) false legs, equipped with bundles of claws, which allows it to keep well on the support. Caterpillars of diurnal butterflies are very diverse in color and external structure. They have chewing mouthparts and mostly feed on leaves. various plants. Caterpillars are growing fast. Gradually, the outer covers (cuticles) of the larvae become too tight for her, and they need to be changed. There is a molt, which is preceded by a period of growth. Most larvae have 5 or even more if the larva hibernates. Therefore, the life span of the larvae can reach from several weeks to several months, and for carpenters up to 2-3 years.
At the last molt, the caterpillar turns into chrysalis. The color and shape of the body of butterfly pupae is no less diverse than that of caterpillars. Butterfly pupae do not feed or move; they are usually attached to branches, leaves, various subjects(the so-called "belted" and "hanging" pupae), or lie freely on the soil - among the fallen leaves and in the soil litter. The duration of the pupal stage can vary from several weeks (in some tropical species) up to nine months or more (for those living in temperate climate where the winters are long). During this period, organs and tissues change and acquire features characteristic of adults, wings and muscles are formed.
A butterfly emerges from the chrysalis. adult butterfly (imago) quickly reaches sexual maturity and in a few days is ready for reproduction. Depending on how quickly the butterfly fulfills this main purpose, it lives from several days to several weeks. The exception is wintering butterflies, which can live for more than 10 months.
Insect with complete transformation (with metamorphosis) goes through four stages in its development: egg - larva - pupa - adult insect (adult).
Pay attention!
Orders of insects with complete metamorphosis: butterflies (lepidoptera), beetles (coleoptera), diptera, hymenoptera, fleas.
Most insect species are characterized by development with complete transformation. In insects with complete transformation (butterflies, beetles, flies, wasps, ants), the larvae are completely different from adults. They don't have compound eyes(there are only simple eyes, or the organs of vision are completely absent) antennae are often absent, there are no wings; the body is most often worm-like (for example, butterfly caterpillars).
In insects with complete metamorphosis, the larvae often live in completely different places and feed on different food than adult insects. This eliminates competition between different stages the same types.
Insect larvae with complete metamorphosis molt several times, grow and, having reached the limiting size, turn into chrysalis. The pupa is usually immobile. An adult insect emerges from the pupa.
Watch the video showing the release of the Monarch Butterfly from the chrysalis
Order Butterflies, or Lepidoptera
Butterflies differ from other insects mainly in two ways: scaly cover of wings and sucking mouthparts coiled up.
Butterflies are called Lepidoptera because they have small chitinous cells on their wings. scales. They refract the incident light, creating a bizarre play of colors.
The coloration of butterflies' wings helps them to recognize each other, camouflages them in the grass and on the bark of trees, or warns enemies that the butterfly is inedible.
The mouthparts of butterflies sucking- this is a proboscis rolled into a spiral. Butterflies feed on the nectar of flowers.
Butterfly larvae (caterpillars) have a gnawing mouth apparatus, they feed on plant tissues (most often).
When pupating, the caterpillars of some butterflies secrete silk threads. The silk thread is secreted by a special silk-separating gland located on the lower lip of the caterpillar.
Detachment Beetles, or Coleoptera
Representatives of this group have dense hard elytra covering the second pair of leathery wings with which they fly. The oral apparatus is gnawing.
Among the beetles there are many herbivores, there are predators and scavengers.
Beetles live in the ground-air environment (on plants, the surface of the earth, in the soil) and in water.
Beetle larvae can be very mobile predators, living openly, and inactive, similar to worms, living in shelters and feeding on plants, fungi, and sometimes decaying remains of organisms.
Order Diptera
These insects have only one pair of wings. The second pair is greatly reduced and serves to stabilize the flight. This group includes mosquitoes and flies. They have piercing-sucking or licking mouthparts. Some dipterans feed on pollen and nectar of flowers (syrphid flies), there are predators (ktyrs) and bloodsuckers (mosquitoes, midges, midges, horseflies). Their larvae live in the decaying remains of cesspools, composts (houseflies), in water (mosquitoes and midges) or lead a vagrant lifestyle and prey on small insects.
Order Hymenoptera
The group includes such well-known insects as bumblebees, wasps, bees, ants, sawflies, riders. They have two pairs of membranous wings (some do not have wings).
