Lemongrass butterflies are diurnal insects with bright, easily recognizable colors. They are common in many regions of the Northern Hemisphere and appear as soon as spring begins. What do lemongrass butterflies look like and where do they live? Photos, descriptions and details of the lifestyle of these insects can be found in our article.
Genus lemongrass
The lemongrass butterflies we are considering belong to the white butterfly family, known for their predominantly light color. Closely related to them are burdocks, hawthorns, rutabagas, cabbages, which feed on cultivated plants and cause significant damage to gardening and agriculture. In contrast, lemongrass is not a pest, and its caterpillars feed mainly on buckthorn.
These butterflies live in the temperate and subtropical zones of the Northern Hemisphere and are found in Asia, Europe, and North Africa. The exact number of species that are included in the genus Lemongrass is unknown. Presumably their number ranges from 7 to 15. The most famous representatives are: cleopatra, mealy buckthorn, aminta lemongrass, mahaguru lemongrass. They are all very similar to each other and differ mainly in the nuances of shades, habitat and some habits.
Description of lemon butterflies
Butterflies of this genus have a characteristic wing shape that is common to all its representatives. The posterior pair is rounded and ends with a sharp tooth, the anterior pair is somewhat elongated and also pointed at the end. There are four orange or brown spots on the wings, as well as clearly visible veins that match the overall color. All this allows insects to camouflage themselves. Sitting calmly on a tree with folded wings, they are practically indistinguishable from leaves and are invisible to predators.
The way lemongrass butterflies look fully corresponds to their name. All males of the genus have a light yellow color, similar to the color of an unripe lemon. However, they are characterized by sexual dimorphism, so females may differ slightly in color. As a rule, they are much paler than males and are colored white or green. The back and head of both sexes are dark gray interspersed with long light hairs. The belly and legs of insects are colored light yellow.
In the photo, lemongrass butterflies may seem quite large, but in reality they are small. With their wings spread, they reach only 5-6 centimeters in size. The front wings of insects are usually slightly shorter than the hind wings; they grow to 25-30 millimeters, while the hind wings grow to 33-35 millimeters.
Reproduction
In temperate latitudes, lemongrass butterflies appear as early as March, and immediately begin to look for a mate. The more noticeable color of males suggests that the decisive role in choosing a partner belongs to females. To show interest, the male pursues the chosen one, flying after her, but without getting too close. When his candidacy is approved, both partners descend onto a bush, flower or tree, where mating occurs.
The butterfly lays its eggs on a plant, which will become food for the young. Lemongrass caterpillars feed mainly on joster, or buckthorn, which is why they are also called buckthorns. They lay 70-100 eggs on the stems, leaves and buds of the plant, attaching them with a special secretion. After one to two weeks, tiny larvae about 1.5 mm in size appear. They must go through several stages of molting until they are strong and mature enough to form a pupa and become a full-fledged butterfly.
Lemongrass caterpillars develop best and fastest in warm and dry weather. Mature individuals reach 3-4 centimeters in size. They are covered with sparse short hairs and are colored light green with a white longitudinal line. The body of the caterpillars is covered with small black dots, each of which has a thin spike.
A month after the fifth molt, the caterpillars begin to pupate, attaching themselves to a stem or leaf cutting, and within two weeks a butterfly is born. In total, about 50 days pass from the moment of laying to the adult stage.
Lifestyle Features
Yellow lemongrass butterflies are diurnal insects whose activity occurs primarily in sunny, dry weather. Unlike caterpillars, which eat only one type of food, adults have a more varied diet. Their oral apparatus is designed for consuming liquid food and the basis of the menu is the flower nectar of various herbs, shrubs and trees.
The lifespan of most butterflies ranges from a few days to two to three months. In comparison, lemongrass are considered real long-livers, because many of them die at the age of nine to twelve months. They are active in the warm season, and during cold periods they hide in a reliable shelter and fall into a state of suspended animation. If the winter is warm, then the butterflies may wake up ahead of time and die without finding food. If everything goes according to a natural schedule, then the insects wake up in early spring, replenishing your strength with birch sap and primrose nectar.
Lemongrass buckthorn
This species is also called buckthorn, or common lemongrass. The butterfly is the most typical and widespread representative of its genus. Males are colored an even light yellow, females are pale green. There is one orange dot on the front and rear wings.
Common lemongrass can be seen in sunny forest clearings and meadows. They do not like dense thickets of trees and do not rise above 2 kilometers in the mountains. They are rare guests in deserts and steppes. They live in Eastern Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia. Found in the Caucasus, Mongolia, Turkey, western and southern regions Siberia.
Lemongrass Aminta
Aminta is the largest in the genus of lemon butterflies. It is found only in Asia. It lives within the subtropics of China, Taiwan and Northern Laos. The wingspan of the butterfly reaches approximately 7-8 centimeters. Their females are pale green and almost indistinguishable from other lemongrass. In males, one pair of wings is bright yellow, and the other is white above and pale yellow below. The outer edge of the fore wings is framed by a dark brown stripe.
Lemongrass cleopatra
Like other lemongrass butterflies, Cleopatra lives in woodlands, clearings and meadows. Its range covers the entire southern part of Eurasia from Portugal to the countries of the Middle East, as well as the subtropics North Africa. It is also found on the island of Crete, Corsica, Sardinia and the Maltese archipelago.
Carl Leenaeus, who described this type, named him after Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Main feature butterflies are bright orange spots that occupy most of the forewings of males. Their upper edge along the contour is bordered by dark dots. Females are characterized by a pale color and the absence of orange spots.
Quite often in summer time year you can find a butterfly with a very attractive and bright coloring of its wings, reminiscent of sun rays or lemon. This is lemongrass. It is part of the white butterfly family, which includes approximately 150 species of different daytime butterflies. Most often you can find lemongrass in large clearings, meadows or in some park.
Description
Sometimes lemongrass is called buckthorn because of its love for buckthorn leaves. Relatives of this genus can be considered the familiar cabbage grass, as well as the reptile. Lemongrass does not pose any harm to beneficial crops. As already mentioned, they mainly eat buckthorn leaves. Each representative of the species has an average size and a wingspan reaching 60 mm. The lemongrass has a round head with faceted eyes and a sucking mouthpart. At the ends of the long antennae there are thickenings with so-called clubs.
- Males. Each male representative of the genus has a sharp corner. It is also worth noting their intense coloring. For example, the male's wings are a rich yellow color.
- Females. The color of females is much paler and not as noticeable as that of males. The wings have a light greenish tint rather than a rich lemon color. Females have a small orange spot on the wing. And the chest and abdomen are covered with light hairs.
- Larvae. Presented in the form of caterpillars. The color of each larva is rich green. There is a light stripe at the bottom. There are also small dark-colored specks on the body, each of which has a spike. The mouthparts are designed to eat leaves. The legs are walking and have a yellow tint.
Related species
In total, the genus of these butterflies includes about 14 species. Each species is similar to the other in the shape of the wings and their color. The only difference is how intense the color is, as well as the span of the wings.Habitat
Lemongrass lives in almost all corners of Europe. Among the most visited countries are Austria, Great Britain, Sweden, Belgium and Norway. Representatives of this genus can be found in the vastness of Africa or Asia Minor. Regarding of Eastern Europe, then they spread over quite long distances.
Butterflies prefer to be in bushes or somewhere nearby. The choice of Limonnitsa is sparse forests, small meadows, green parks or gardens. They can also be found in the mountains.
Lifestyle
Lemongrass is practically long-lived compared to other butterflies of the European continent. The lifespan of this butterfly reaches a whole year. During this time, one generation can develop. Their birth rate peaks from late March to early October. The most active months are March, April, May and August.
Lemongrass is most active during sunny hours. In such warm and clear times, they either fly in search of nectar, or sit on bushes, spreading their wings and catching the sun's rays. Thus, they store heat and solar energy for your next flights. When evening comes, the butterflies begin to diligently look for a place to spend the night. After some searching, they usually choose ivy.
In order not to waste a lot of energy on constant flights, butterflies periodically do diapause. During diapause, metabolism and various processes in the body of lemongrass slow down. IN winter time butterflies are looking for a place where they can survive the frost. During this time, their body additionally produces glycerol and polypeptides.
Each species has excellent camouflage. This is achieved by wings that resemble sharp leaves. This feature allows lemongrass to hide from enemies during diapause.
Nutrition
The adult prefers to feed on plant nectar, and most often you can find lemongrass near some flower. Wild plant species have become their favorite delicacy, but sometimes butterflies may prefer cultivated plants. Among the flowers whose nectar is collected by adults, one can list dandelion, cornflower, greenweed, thistle, etc. Due to the size of the proboscis, lemongrass can burrow quite deeply into a flower, which other butterflies cannot do.
It is worth noting that buckthorn plants are chosen by color and give preference to flowers that have rich red or blue shades.
As for the nutrition of the larvae, they eat plants from the buckthorn family. Typically the caterpillar eats the top of the leaf. However, newly hatched ones prefer to start in the middle.
Reproduction
Lemongrass mates in spring months. Since both sexes can survive the winter, there are no problems with the presence of males or females in the spring. The males wake up first. They have to divide the clearings, distribute plots and wait for the females to wake up. Courtship of a female is a mating ritual. First, the male flies after his partner, one might say, chasing her throughout the entire journey. And in the end, both find a bush, descend on it and complete the mating process.
After successful mating, the female lays eggs. Each egg is conical in shape. With the help of a sticky secretion they are attached to the plant and kept in an upright position. Typically, a butterfly can lay 1-2 eggs on each leaf, no more. Sometimes larvae can also be found on buckthorn buds or stems. In total, during the breeding season, the female can lay up to 100 eggs. The clutch matures within two weeks, and after maturation a 1.7 mm larva emerges. She has 5 more ages ahead of her before reaching full development.
Larval development
As soon as the caterpillar undergoes its second moult, small tubercles and light hair begin to appear on its body. Each hair has a bead with a constantly secreted drop of orange liquid. When the caterpillar reaches the fifth instar, its size is 35 mm. All this time she is on buckthorn leaves and feeds on them daily.
Development time is influenced by:
- Environmental conditions.
- Temperature indicators.
For example, the larva will grow faster in dry weather.
Pupation occurs after four weeks from the moment the larva appears. And most often, pupae are formed in July. The cocoon of each pupa reaches 23 mm and is yellow-green in color. In two weeks the process is underway transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. As soon as the shell ruptures and a butterfly appears, it needs to hang vertically for some time in order for its wings to strengthen and spread.
In total, about fifty days pass from egg to butterfly.
Lemongrass is a fairly popular butterfly that is by no means in danger of extinction. Every year a sufficient number of individuals appear, exceeding the annual losses due to bush cutting.
Video: Lemongrass butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni)
At the end of March, as soon as stable sunny weather sets in, you can see a beautiful spot of sun fluttering between the first spring flowers. This is a butterfly or lemongrass.
Appearance
This spring beauty is a representative of daytime butterflies from the white butterfly family. It got its name because of the buckthorn plant (Rhamnus), which the caterpillars of butterflies of this species actively feed on.
The wingspan of lemongrass reaches 60 mm, and the wing length is 26-33 mm. Males have bright lemon-yellow wings, females are more delicate - almost white with a greenish-lemon tint.
Representatives of both sexes have a small dark gray body covered with long whitish hairs.
Habitat
The tortoiseshell is a very common butterfly. It is found almost throughout Europe, right up to the regions of Siberia, in the northern part of Africa, in the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, in Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Malaya and Central Asia and throughout Eastern Europe.
Avoids arid steppe regions, deserts and northern regions of England and Scandinavia. Most often found in water meadows, mixed and coniferous forests, in clearings and forest edges.
Life cycle
Lemongrass is a long-lived butterfly. She emerges from the pupa in mid-June and flies until the first frost in October.
Then the butterfly falls asleep during the winter, and in the spring it begins to fly again. Noteworthy is the fact that lemongrass tolerates frost well and waits out the winter without much shelter, not far from the surface of the earth.
A mild winter or lack of frost has a bad effect on the butterfly’s body; it needs to spend a large number of energy, being between sleep and wakefulness.
Such frost resistance is possible due to the fact that the body of the buckthorn contains liquid, which is a mixture of water, proteins and salts.
To maintain the body during a long period of active flight, the buckthorn periodically falls into diapauses, which last for several weeks. During this time, the body rests and, upon waking up, the butterfly again actively feeds and flutters.
Reproduction
In spring the breeding season begins. A characteristic feature At the beginning of this period, joint flights begin.
The female flies in front, the male follows her, all the time maintaining a constant distance. Having found a buckthorn plant, the female lays eggs on young shoots and buds.
Class — Insects
Row — Lepidoptera
Family — Belyanki
Genus/Species — Gonepteryx rbamni
Basic data:
DIMENSIONS
Wingspan: up to 57 mm.
Legs: 3 pairs.
Oral apparatus: Adult butterflies have a proboscis, while caterpillars have jaws.
REPRODUCTION
Mating season: in the north early in the spring, in the south later.
Development: eggs 7-14 days, caterpillar 3-7 weeks.
Doll: 12-15 days.
Lifespan: 9 months.
LIFESTYLE
Habits: fly to good weather; stay alone.
Food: adult butterflies drink nectar and various organic liquids, the caterpillar eats buckthorn leaves.
RELATED SPECIES
A relative of lemongrass is a southern European species.
Lemongrass lives much longer than most butterflies.
At the end of summer and autumn, they feed intensively in order to make the necessary energy reserves and survive the long winter. In spring, lemongrass emerges from hibernation.
FOOD
The lemongrass caterpillar eats buckthorn leaves. The female lays eggs one by one next to succulent shoots so that the caterpillars that hatch from the eggs have enough food. Dull yellow caterpillars usually first gnaw a hole in the leaf blade, then crawl to the edge of the leaf and gradually eat the entire leaf, leaving only hard veins.
Caterpillars feed on zoster, so these butterflies are most often found where exactly such bushes grow. Adult lemongrass, like other butterflies, are able to absorb only liquid food. With their long proboscis they drink nectar, for example, from the flowers of wolfberry and coltsfoot, and they also willingly feed on the flowers of the field sotra.
Lemongrass carries pollen from flower to flower.
Lemongrass fly out of their winter shelters early in the spring, so many spring flowers are pollinated by them. The proboscis of lemongrass is well adapted to tall primrose flowers that have a long cup.
LIFE CYCLE
The life cycle of lemongrass is not similar to life cycle other butterflies.
It flies for a very long time and is considered the longest-lived among butterflies. Lemongrass live for about 9 months. To survive the long winter, they make energy reserves. In autumn, lemongrass find a place hidden from the wind, usually in thickets of ivy, where they fall into a state of torpor, which is reminiscent of wintering.
On exceptionally sunny and warm winter days, lemongrass can wake up from its winter torpor and fly over the snow drifts. Mild winters create additional difficulties for butterflies as they expend more energy.
Typically, lemongrass begins to fly only in mid-March. At this time, males begin to look for females. In spring you can observe the mating flights of these butterflies. The female flies in front, and the male follows her, maintaining a constant distance.
Fertilized females lay eggs. Caterpillars, hatched from eggs, feed for 3-7 weeks, molting several times until the time comes to transform into a pupa. The period of development of the pupa depends on the weather. In the south, butterflies appear in early summer.
HABITS
Lemongrass loves the sun more than other types of butterflies. Before rising into the sky, it basks in the sun's rays for a long time.
If the sun disappears behind a large cloud, lemongrass will land on the plants. Early in the evening, these beautiful butterflies begin to look for a place suitable for spending the night. The difference in color between a butterfly that flies and a butterfly that rests is amazing. Active males amaze the observer with their bright colors.
They can even be seen from the train window. When they sit on a plant and fold their wings over their body, their bright yellow color disappears. The underside of the wings of these butterflies is light green, and the folded wings are shaped like leaves.
When lemongrass takes off again, it seems as if a sulfuric acid-yellow fire suddenly lit up on the bush. The female lemongrass has a more modest color.
OBSERVING THE LEMONNUM
The lemongrass butterfly begins to fly in July and flies until the fall of the following spring.
In clearings and in mixed or deciduous forests, it appears already in March, when, for example, liverworts bloom. The next generations of lemongrass appear in July and fly until autumn. In summer, butterflies do not seem as bright as they were in spring, and they are less common than last year's generation. Lemongrass, which sits on a plant with folded wings, is not easy to notice - after all, the clearly colored, slightly greenish females are really very difficult to see against the background of green vegetation.
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
- During rest, lemongrass sits motionless. She even allows flies to land on her body and wings.
- During mating, lemongrass can remain mated for a whole day.
- Lemongrass usually mount yellow and reddish-purple flowers, so it can be assumed that they have a preference for flowers that are the same color as their body, which has a purple tint.
- In English, lemongrass is called “brimstone,” which is what amber used to be called.
- Lemongrass can overwinter without any protection near the soil or in foliage.
CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF LIMONNA
Male: its wings are bright yellow, the front pair is slightly cut out from the sides, and small processes are visible on the rear pair.
In females, the upper part of the wing is greenish-yellow. There are 4 orange-red spots on the wings.
Disguise: lemongrass often overwinter under ivy. The light greenish color of the lower part of the wings and thick veins provide the butterfly with good camouflage.
Method of eating: lemongrass plunges its long proboscis to the very bottom of the corolla of the flower and drinks the sweet nectar. On occasion, she also collects pollen from a plant, which she later transfers to another flower. Thus, it takes part in plant pollination.
— Range of lemongrass
PLACES OF ACCOMMODATION
Limongrass lives throughout almost all of Europe, its range reaches the southern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula.
Lemongrass can be found in temperate zone Asia to the Pacific coast and northeast Africa.
PRESERVATION
The species is threatened by the use of pesticides and the destruction of bushes, however, despite this, the number of lemongrass still remains fairly stable.
The lemongrass butterfly is an insect that belongs to the “White” family and is also related to the “Lepidoptera” order.
These amazing creatures bring enormous benefits to plants and lovers of dacha cooperatives, because in early spring they pollinate plants, when other pollinating insects are less active.
Its amazing coloring makes it a very extravagant individual compared to other relatives, for example: they are long-lived and can soar in the air for long periods of time, unlike their closest relatives.
Appearance
All 4 pairs of wings of the male are painted bright yellow, the front pair of wings has a slight cutout at their bases, and the rear pair has small outgrowths and a different color.
The females of this butterfly species have greenish-yellow upper wings and four dark orange spots.
The wingspan reaches up to 62 mm, there are three pairs of legs, and a long proboscis for receiving liquid food. The length of the front wings can vary from 25 to 32 mm.
Habitat
This species of butterfly lives throughout the European continent, including the Scandinavian peninsula. It can also be found in the temperate part of Asia, up to the coast Pacific Ocean and in northeast Africa.
Habitat
These cute and beautiful creatures try to inhabit such places as:
- Sparse, coniferous forests;
- Forest clearings;
- Water meadows;
- Gardens;
- Parks;
- Vegetable gardens;
- Summer cottages;
The landscape is not limited only to the places listed above; they can also be found in mountainous area at an altitude of more than 2000 meters above sea level.
Lifestyle
They prefer to lead a solitary lifestyle, only pairing up during the barracks period. Yellow lemongrass loves to fly high altitudes, but only in good weather and spend a huge amount of time in flight, this, by the way, distinguishes it from other varieties of these wonderful insects, for example:.
Throughout the summer and autumn seasons, she tries to carefully accumulate enough energy reserves to safely survive the harsh winter disasters.
In late autumn, butterflies look for secluded places that are not blown by the winds, often these are ivy bushes, where they fall into torpor. Which in turn reminds hibernation . On hot winter days, butterflies of this species are able to wake up from torpor and hover over high snowdrifts, thereby surprising people with their unexpected appearance.
This situation forces them to take great risks, since the energy resources that were set aside during the summer may be exhausted before the planned time, which can have a detrimental effect on the further viability of these beautiful and bright ones.
These individuals are very in love with the warm summer sun rays; in the morning they can sit for a long time without moving and wait until their wings warm up to the temperature they need. After this, they take off and make significant flights, covering long distances.
Towards evening, they carefully choose a place where they can safely spend the night. Sitting on flowers, they are motionless; they can even allow other insects, for example: flies, to sit on their wings or bodies.
Nutrition
An adult lemongrass butterfly cannot eat food, but is only able to drink nectar with its long proboscis from flowers such as:
- Coltsfoot;
- Thistle flower;
- Liverworts;
As we wrote earlier, this type of insect is one of the first to fly out of its hibernation places, thereby allowing spring flowers to pollinate faster, for which we express our deep gratitude to them.
The tall primrose flowers with an elongated calyx are just perfect for our heroine; she easily uses her proboscis to get to the very bottom of the flower and drink plenty of nectar.
Reproduction
Flight time and mating season begins in mid-March. Males are faced with the important task of finding a female to continue their lineage. When an object is detected, it flies behind it, keeping a short distance, this picture can often be observed by people who are interested in invertebrate arthropod insects.
After fertilization, the female lays eggs near the shoots so that once the caterpillars emerge, they can have a large amount of food.
After the caterpillar appears, it takes three to seven weeks to feed intensively, may molt several times, and then the time comes for pupation.
The caterpillar is dull yellow in color, like all types of butterflies, very gluttonous, to begin with, it gnaws a small hole in the leaf blade, then moves to its edge and absorbs it entirely, with the exception of the hard veins. The favorite food of caterpillars is a plant called "Buckthorn" therefore, butterflies are most often found exactly where these bushes grow.
The development period of pupae directly depends on weather conditions; in southern countries, butterflies appear at the beginning of summer after 10 days, and in places with temperate climate can hatch from the pupa in mid-July no earlier than 18 days later.
Habits and habits
We have already talked about the fact that she loves the sun’s rays very much; before taking her first morning flight, she basks in its rays.
After it takes off, it may happen that a cloud covers the star, the butterfly immediately decides to land on a flower.
We were very surprised when we learned that that its color during flight can be one way, and during rest it can be another. The males of these amazing creatures can amaze with their bright colors; this beauty can be observed even when you cross a section of the highway in a car that has forest or hayfields with a temperate landscape.
Let us say right away that the female of this species of butterfly is much more modestly colored than the male. At the moment of landing on a flower, it spreads its wings over its body, which makes it completely invisible when viewed with the naked eye.
The thing is that at this moment its bright yellow color, located on the upper side of the wings, disappears, and is replaced by the lower side of the wings, which is painted light green. The folded wings themselves resemble the shape of leaves, which gives it the advantage of being unnoticed by potential enemies.
Lifespan
In conditions wildlife This species of wonderful and colorful butterflies can survive for more than 9 months.
Red Book
Currently, nothing threatens this species; the balanced life rhythm of this insect is hampered by excessive human use of pesticides, which can negatively affect the overall number of butterflies on our planet.
- This butterfly lives longer than other species.
- During rest he can sit still.
- After mating, they can remain stuck to each other for more than 24 hours.
- They often land on yellow and reddish purple flowers in order to hide yourself as much as possible from annoying eyes.
- Translated into Latin, the word “Krushinnitsa” means “lat. Brimstone" is what the sun stone "Amber" was called in the old days.
- It actually overwinters outside shelter on the ground or on fallen leaves.
Do you know that..
To produce 1000 grams of honey, a swarm needs to make about seventy thousand flights to collect three kilograms of nectar?
