Peacock-eyed atlas is the largest night butterfly. Peacock-eyed atlas - the largest night butterfly Butterfly atlas or prince description
This giant butterfly is amazing in its beauty and size. It's called Peacock-eye Atlas(Attacus atlas). Its wingspan reaches 26 cm, and the wing area is up to 400 square meters. see According to the last parameter, Atlas is considered the largest butterfly on the planet. It is found in the subtropics Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Thailand, South China, Malay Archipelago. The largest specimen was documented on the island Java- this female had a wingspan of 262 mm.
Painted Atlas in brown, bright red, yellow and pink shades. On each wing she has large transparent triangular "windows". The front wings have a bizarrely curved edge, resembling a snake's head in shape and color, which is what scares away many insectivorous animals. For this unusual feature in Hong Kong, the butterfly was nicknamed "A moth is the head of a snake."
In addition to size, the giant beauty has another unique feature - a completely atrophied mouth. During its short (1-2 weeks) life, it does not eat anything, but recycles fat reserves accumulated while still being a caterpillar.
Atlas caterpillars are also huge - up to 10 cm in length. Their appearance is quite unusual: light green in color, with large bluish processes all over the body, which are covered with a white waxy coating resembling powder.
Atlases are twilight. They are active late in the evening and in the early morning hours, for which they received another sonorous nickname - "Prince of Darkness".
The whole short life of these beautiful creatures is devoted exclusively to reproduction. On the first evening after leaving the pupa, the male goes in search of a female. The female, emerging from the pupa, sits motionless in anticipation of the male, and is able to wait for him in this way for several days. It attracts males with powerful pheromones, the smell of which the male is able to smell with the help of his large feathery antennae at a distance of several kilometers! Mating lasts several hours. The next evening after mating, the female begins laying eggs. Egg laying continues for several nights, immediately after it is completed, the female dies.
Atlases are not only beautiful, but also "useful" butterflies. In India, they are bred on special farms to obtain lung silk, which differs from silkworm silk in wooliness, strength and extraordinary durability. And in Taiwan, wallets are made from huge strong cocoons of this butterfly.
To admire Peacock-Eyed Atlas You don't have to go to Asia. She is bred in Moscow zoo.
Photographer Sandesh Kadur, while traveling in the Himalayas, photographed the largest moth in the world. The wingspan of this moth is 25 centimeters. When the photographer first saw him, he was a little scared. The open wings of a butterfly with a pattern on them gave the impression of a large, vicious muzzle of a snake. It is not for nothing that Atlas is called so in China - "butterfly with a snake's head."
According to experts, this is a kind of protection from enemies, and the butterfly itself is completely harmless and not poisonous. She doesn't even have a mouth. For all its short life, which lasts only two weeks from the moment the chrysalis turns into a butterfly, this beautiful creature has only one goal - to lay as many eggs as possible. Atlases do not drink or eat. They live off the nutrients that they received at the caterpillar stage.
Fluttering flowers - this is the poetic name of the butterfly rightfully deserved. Intricate patterns on the thinnest wings, eye-pleasing combinations of bright colors - nature once again showed outstanding design skills, creating such marvelous creatures.
Butterfly is one of the most mysterious creatures of nature. Such a wonderful transformation is not deliberately invented. A real beauty with painted wings emerges from an unsightly larva.
Today, there are about 165,000 species of butterflies on the globe.
The curious world has prepared for you material about giant butterflies, the size of which is amazing.
1. Tizania Agrippina
Moth. The largest butterfly in the world lives in Brazil and Peru. It belongs to the endangered insects. Its wingspan is 30.8 centimeters. It is also called the scoop agrippina.
2. Queen Alexandra Ornithopter or Queen Alexandra Birdwing
Day butterfly. She received her name in honor of the wife of the British King Edward VII. The wingspan is up to 31 cm with a body length of about 8 cm. Such a creature can weigh up to 12 grams. The giant butterfly is found exclusively in the forests of the Oro province of the state of Papua New Guinea. Unfortunately, the species is on the verge of extinction.
3. Peacock-eye "Hercules"
Night moth from a monotypic genus ( coscinocera) in the peacock-eye family. One of the largest butterflies in the world, and the largest in Australia; The wingspan of females can reach 27 cm.
4. Peacock-eye "Atlas"
The butterfly got its name "atlas" from the ancient Greek mythical hero Atlanta, or Atlas. He held the vault of heaven on his shoulders. Only a very large butterfly could get this name in its name. The wingspan of the Atlas is up to 26 centimeters. Cultivated in India. Its caterpillars produce excellent silk.
5. Sailboat "Antimach"
It is the largest diurnal butterfly in Africa. Wingspan up to 24 cm. This butterfly lives in tropical rainforests from the western coast of Sierra Leone to Uganda. Despite the extensive habitat, this species is not numerous. The butterfly is considered rare because it flies exclusively in virgin rainforests, which are under the threat of extinction due to massive logging. Unfortunately, it is very poisonous. Only three countries: Ghana, Ivory Coast and Zaire have taken measures to protect the antimach.
6. Birdwing "Goliath"
Large diurnal butterfly of the Sailfish family. The wingspan of males is up to 20 cm, females up to 22 cm. The color of males consists of 3 primary colors - green, yellow, black. The color of females is brown-brown, with light spots, the lower wings with a gray-yellow wide border.
It lives in the mountainous tropical forests of the Moluccas archipelago, from the island of Ssoram to the island of Gudenow off the southeast coast of New Guinea, at an altitude of up to 2300 m above sea level. Currently, 7 subspecies of goliath are known.
7. Trogonoptera Trojan
A large diurnal butterfly from the Sailfish family. The specific name means "Trojan", "originally from Troy".
Wingspan up to 19 cm. The female is slightly larger or the same size as the male. Lives only on the island of Palawan.
8. Ornithoptera Croesus
Large diurnal butterfly of the Sailfish family. The specific binomial name is given in honor of Croesus, the last king of Lydia in 560-546 BC. e. from the genus Mermnad.
Wingspan up to 19 cm. Males are characterized by an orange-yellow wing color, combined with black "inserts". When illuminated from the side, the wings flare with a greenish-yellow glow.
Butterfly discoverer naturalist Alfred Wallace recalled his first find of a male croesus on the island of Bachai: “The beauty of this butterfly cannot be expressed in words, and no one but a naturalist will understand the deep excitement that I experienced when I finally caught it. When I took her out of the net and spread her majestic wings, my heart began to beat, blood rushed to my head, I was then closer to fainting than in those moments when I was threatened with death. All that day I had a headache: so great was the excitement ... "
9. Saturnia Madagascar or Madagascar Comet
This butterfly is also called Lunar moth - a luxurious night butterfly of the family peacock-eye. It is one of the world record holders for the size of the wings.
This night beauty can only be seen in Madagascar. This species is endangered, therefore, in Madagascar, these magnificent butterflies are successfully bred on special farms.
Having given the butterfly such a bright appearance, mother nature saved on life support systems: peacock-eye butterflies do not have a mouth apparatus and a digestive tract, so the Madagascar comet lives only 2-3 days due to the nutrient reserves accumulated by the caterpillar.
The wingspan is up to 18 cm. The wings are decorated with unusually long tails, sometimes reaching 20 cm. The tails often fall off after several flights.
The color of the wings is bright yellow. Each wing has one large brown eye with a black dot in the center. Wing apices with brown-black spot.
10. Golden Birdwing or Troides
One of the largest diurnal butterflies in South Asia. Its wingspan is about 16 cm. Due to its size and manner of flight, it got its name - Birdwing. Indeed, the flight of Troydes is more like the flight of a bird than the fluttering of a butterfly. Its golden yellow, translucent and mother-of-pearl hind wings shine like the sun and fill the atmosphere with the energy of light and joy. And this energy is really palpable when you hold this beautiful butterfly on your hand, because it is not for nothing that the Asian peoples consider the Golden Birdwing to be a symbol of financial well-being!
Butterfly Troides is a rather rare species and has long been listed in the Red Book. In the wild, in the homeland of the Troides butterfly (Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia), this golden-winged flyer is very difficult to see, because. Troides mainly live in the depths of tropical forests.
11. Peacock-eye Pear
This butterfly is also called the large nocturnal peacock eye, or pear saturnia - a butterfly from the Peacock-eye family. The largest night butterfly in Europe and Russia in terms of wingspan.
Wingspan up to 15 cm. Females are larger than males. On the upper side of both pairs of wings, there is one large eye with a black middle and a brown rim around. Around the eye there is also a white border and a reddish ring. Along the edge of the wings there is a light stripe, behind it, closer to the base of the wing - a black one, interrupted only at the top of the forewings.
It is found in southern and central Europe, to the southwestern part of Russia, in the Caucasus, in Asia Minor and in Iran, Crimea.
Landscapes with a large number of shrubs and trees, forest edges, parks, gardens, orchards.
12. Ornithopter Chimera
Wingspan up to 15 cm. This butterfly flies very well, making extraordinary turns in the air, gliding and diving in search of nectar. Pollinates hibiscus.
The ornithopter chimera is widespread on the islands of New Guinea and Java in tropical rainforests at an altitude of 1200-1800 m above sea level.
13. Maak's Sailboat or Mac's Tail Bearer
A significant part of the black front wing of the male shimmers with a green dotted coating, which thickens closer to the edge into a rarefied emerald-blue border. The area free from green spraying shines with magical black silk: it is covered with the finest and most delicate fragrant black hairs - androconia. Hindwings with a wavy edge and long tails shine, iridescent, with a blue-green ornament.
The wingspan of the female reaches 13.5 cm.
A green dotted coating evenly covers the entire dark brown front wing of the female. The nature of the pattern of its hind wings is the same as that of the male, but its luster is muted, and in the marginal wavy border, along with green-blue, red-violet hues appear. Females are much more variable than males. It is difficult to find two identical butterflies among them.
This largest diurnal butterfly in Russia surpasses many tropical relatives in its beauty. It is hard to believe that the distribution area of this wonderful sailboat extends to 54 ° north latitude, where Tynda and the north of Sakhalin are located. Tail-bearer Maaka lives in the Middle Amur Region, Primorye, North Korea, Manchuria, and the Kuril Islands. In these places, butterflies are often found in broad-leaved and mixed forests, less often in spruce-fir. They also fly into taiga settlements. During the period when subalpine plants bloom, butterflies rise to mountains up to 2000 m above sea level: looking for food, they fly around treeless peaks in a circle.
14. Urania Madagascar
Wingspan 10.5 cm. This type of butterfly is typical only for Madagascar. Flies during the day, feeds on flower nectar. Butterflies can be seen all year round, especially their numbers increase from May to July. Her wings, despite the apparent lack of color at the ends, play with different colors of the rainbow.
Attacus Atlas is a giant moth with a wingspan of over 25cm, one of the largest in the world. The butterfly has an unusual pattern: on the main velvety-brown background there are pink stains and transparent triangular windows. The female and male differ markedly in size and shape of the wings. The male is smaller (span 18-20 cm) and the tips of the upper wings are sharpened, the female has larger rounded wings and a span of 24-26 cm.
Also, the male has wider and larger antennae than the female. Even in the pupal stage, if you look closely, the difference in antenna size is clearly visible and this is one of the few species in which you can distinguish the female from the male at the pupal stage. The genus Attacus has a range from East India to New Guinea. The diet of atlas caterpillars is quite large, so the full cycle of the butterfly is quite easy to reproduce at home. True caterpillars in the last stages of development are incredibly voracious and can eat 100 times their weight in a day. The length of the caterpillars at the last stage reaches 10 cm.
In Attacus atlas collections, it is often found. Many specimens are bred from pupae on farms and therefore have retained their original beauty. In butterflies born in natural habitats, the wings are often damaged already in the first hours of flight.
Atlas is a giant butterfly that contests the title of the world's largest moth from the agripinna scoop. Atlas belongs to the peacock-eye family, whose representatives are generally large in size. The butterfly got its name in honor of the hero of ancient Greek mythology Atlas (better known to us under the name of Atlanta). According to legend, Atlas (Atlas) held the vault of heaven on his shoulders, thus the name of this butterfly emphasizes its gigantic size.
Male Atlas (Attacus atlas).
The wingspan of the Atlas is 25o mm, the largest, officially registered specimen, had a wingspan of 262 mm, at the same time, the unofficial record of this species is already 289 mm! In males of the atlas, the front wings are wider than the hind wings, so their body shape is rather triangular, the females have the front and rear wings of about the same size, so their body shape fits into a square. Thus, the females of this butterfly are larger than males, they hold the world record for the largest wing area among butterflies - 400 cm²!
The atlas, sitting on the hands of a person, gives a visual representation of its size.
The body itself of the atlas is much shorter than the wings, but thick and voluminous, red-brown in color. The color of the wings in males and females is the same: the general background is chestnut-red - darker in the center and brighter at the edges, the edges of the wings are bordered by thin black and light brown stripes. Also in the pattern there are yellow and black elements. Like all peacock-eyes, the atlas has an eye on each wing, but it is relatively weakly visible. The fact is that the eyes are not pigmented, but translucent, as if covered with a film. The shape of the eyes is also unusual - almost triangular.
Underside of satin wings.
The atlas lives in the countries of Southeast Asia: South China, Thailand, Indonesia, the foothills of the Indian Himalayas. This butterfly inhabits tropical and subtropical forests. Atlas females are practically immobile; all their short life they are near the place of pupation. Males, on the contrary, flutter in search of females and try to settle down in windy places where it is easier for them to catch the scent of a female. Adults do not feed and live off the fat reserves accumulated at the caterpillar stage, so the life span of the adult (adult form) of the atlas is only 1-2 weeks. Caterpillars feed on the leaves of various fruit plants - cinnamon (cinnamon tree), rambutan, hornbeam, lagerstromia, ardisia, apple tree, willow, clerodendrum and various citrus fruits.
Atlas male on the bark of a tree.
During the breeding season, females emit odorous substances - pheromones, imperceptible to humans, but males are able to catch their negligible concentration at a distance of 2.5 km. Females lay red-brown eggs (25-3 mm in diameter) on the reverse side of the leaves. After 1-2 weeks, caterpillars appear from them, the bodies of which have outgrowths. At first, the body of the caterpillar is black, and the outgrowths are light yellow, then, as they grow older and increase in size, the light yellow color becomes predominant, and then the caterpillar acquires a bluish-green color, and the outgrowths become dusty, as if mealy. Before pupation, she weaves a cocoon of silky threads, the maximum length of the caterpillar is 11.5 cm. The chrysalis is located on tree branches in a suspended state.
Atlas caterpillar shortly before pupation.
In the natural environment, atlases have few enemies, but due to their low fecundity, they are nowhere a mass species. Like all large animals, these butterflies are vulnerable and hardly restore their numbers in those places where they were once destroyed. However, people destroy these butterflies for economic purposes. In India, their cocoons are sometimes used to make thread. Unlike the threads of silkworms, the threads of satin are coarser and brown, and not white, they produce a more durable and woolly, so-called loon silk. In Taiwan, whole atlas cocoons are cut open and used as purses after the chrysalis is removed. Atlases are not listed in the Red Book, but they need protection, because they have no equal among all butterflies.
Atlas defensive posture. At the moment of danger, the butterfly opens its wings and shows bright spots - such a war paint can scare a predator.
Here in Russia we are used to butterflies being relatively small. Catching a worthy specimen with a wingspan of 6-7 centimeters is already a great success. And meanwhile, where, far beyond the borders of our homeland, huge lepidoptera live, which barely fit in the palm of your hand! It is about them that we will talk today.
scoop agrippina
So, in front of you is Thysania agrippina or Agrippina Scoop - the largest night butterfly in the world and the largest in principle. Its wingspan is up to 28-29 centimeters, depending on the specimen, and back in 1934, an individual was caught in Brazil, in which this size parameter was 30.8 centimeters!
It can be found in Central and South America, as well as Mexico. The wings are dominated by two colors - white and brown, on which there is an unusual pattern in the form of strokes. The color itself changes depending on the habitat - some have a brown tint, while others have white. Scientists know almost nothing about the life of this species of lepidoptera, except that they are nocturnal and feed on the leaves of the cassia bean tree.
Attacus atlas
In second place in our impromptu hit parade is Attacus atlas, a butterfly from the Peacock-eye family. The wingspan of the largest specimen caught on the island of Java was 262 millimeters. Most often found in South China, Indonesia, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Java and so on. Interestingly, this species is cultivated in India - Attacus atlas produces magnificent silk, which is more expensive than the usual one obtained from the silkworm. And in Taiwan, empty caterpillar cocoons are used as a wallet.
Queen Alexandra's Birdwing
Third place - Ornithoptera alexandrae Rothschild, a butterfly, which, unlike the previous two, is already diurnal, not nocturnal. Named after the wife of King Edward VII of England.
You can meet in the tropical rainforests of Papua New Guinea, however, in recent decades, the number of these Lepidoptera has only been decreasing, so now they are prohibited from being caught. Wingspan - up to 28 cm.
Sailboat antimach
Another honorary member of our top is the Antimachus Sailboat. This is one of the largest butterflies of the sailboat family. You can find it only in Africa, and in terms of size it simply has no equal on this continent.
It was first discovered by a British biologist in 1775, after which he sent the specimen found to his homeland. Once in London, the butterfly was examined by entomologist Drew Drury, who created the first description of the Antimachus Sailboat. By the way, he was described in his own book, which was published in 1782. Interestingly, scientists could not catch the female for a long time - this happened only at the end of the 19th century.
The wingspan of the antimach reaches 25 centimeters, however, in nature, such individuals are quite rare, moreover, we are talking exclusively about males - females are much smaller. The wings are not quite the usual shape - their upper part is strongly elongated. The color of the wings varies from yellow to red. Also on the wings there is a pattern of dark and white colors.
Peacock-eye hercules
Another representative of the peacock eye is Coscinocera hercules. This is a night butterfly, which is also included in the list of one of the largest in the world. It is distributed exclusively in the tropical forests of Australia, while it is nocturnal. Its wingspan can reach 27 centimeters, and the wing area reaches 260 square centimeters - in this parameter it simply has no equal.
It feeds on plants, the list of which includes such shrubs as willow, lilac and late bird cherry.
Sailboat Maaka
Sometimes this butterfly is called Maaka's tail-bearer or blue swallowtail - it belongs to the Sailboat family. Unlike our previous specimens, its wingspan is not so surprising - about 14 centimeters. But Maaka is the largest butterfly in the Russian Federation. It was named after the naturalist Richard Karlovich Maack.
This species has a very beautiful coloration. The wings of males have a dark green tint with black margins, the lower part is lighter. But the color of females can be different - the wings are either brown or black, there are pronounced red spots along the edges.
The blue swallowtail is distributed up to 54 ° north latitude. If we talk about our country, then the butterfly can be found in Primorye, the Amur Region, on the island of Kunashir and in South Sakhalin, in the summer even in Vladivostok. Often found in Asia, in particular in Japan, China and Korea. Maak's flight begins in mid-May and ends in mid-September. It is interesting that the females keep apart, and you can meet them in the crowns of trees, in the second half of summer - near the flowers. Males, on the other hand, prefer to form clusters of several dozen specimens and stay in wet areas.
The caterpillar has a protection system. If disturbed, a special gland appears at the end of her body in the form of two small horns, which secretes a fetid liquid. Thus, the caterpillar protects itself from enemies.
In the photo you can see that the butterfly looks just amazing.
Peacock-eye pear
Belongs to the peacock family. Today it is the largest night butterfly that can be found in Europe and Russia. The wingspan of most individuals barely reaches 70 millimeters, but there are instances with a wingspan of up to 15.5 cm! Of course, it is almost impossible to see them in nature.
Eyes with a brown rim and a black middle are clearly visible on the wings, there are four in total. There is a gray strip along the edge. The butterfly is found in the southwestern part of Russia, in Central and Southern Europe, in Iran, Asia, the Crimea and the Caucasus. It prefers to live in places where there are many trees and shrubs, that is, in forest belts and parks. Flight time is from May to June. As we already mentioned, the peacock-eye pear is nocturnal, but scientists have found that males can fly during the daytime. By the way, they also have an unusual ability - they are able to smell the pheromones of a female at a distance of up to 10-12 kilometers, after which they fly to her.
Caterpillars are large, have a green tint. On the body there are rows with many greenish warts. Before pupation, the body color changes to yellow-red. The caterpillar feeds on the leaves of fruit trees, including apple, cherry, pear, and so on.
Currently, the peacock-eye pear is included in the Red Book of Ukraine, since the number of this species is very small.