Butterflies are usually associated with something very pleasant. Not without reason in the East there is a sign that if she flies into the house, then happiness will surely visit it. This motley patch signals that the heat has come, joyful days are coming, and the insect itself is so beautiful that, of course, in all cultures it can only symbolize bright images.
One of the most common and common winged beauties we have isurticaria butterfly.
It has been appearing since April, when the snow barely melts and the first shoots break through and, being a diurnal one, flutters where there are most nettles, because its caterpillars feed only on the named stinging plant.
The hive butterfly has a rather small size, a wingspan of up to 5 cm and a conspicuous color - brick red with large black and yellow spots along the outer edge of the front wings. And the rear ones are bordered by a dark border with blue dots in the form of a crescent. The base of the wings is black, and the back side is brownish-brown. This, by the way, provides ideal camouflage for hives during wintering in hollows, attics and barns. You can see beautiful photos of butterflies right here.
In general, this species can be found in a large area: from Europe to East Asia. The hive butterfly adorns gardens, forest edges and any flowering areas, feeding on nectar and spreading pollen. She is met even in the mountains at an altitude of 3000 m. Females lay their eggs on stinging nettles, turning it into a kind of "Christmas tree" decorated with tiny golden balls. This happens up to three times a summer. From this plant, our butterfly got its name.
Caterpillars are painted in dark, almost black color with light yellow double stripes on both sides, have spikes. They usually live in groups. During their development, the caterpillars molt several times, becoming larger and larger.
To transform, they hang upside down, secured with their glue. In place of the caterpillar, a rather angular chrysalis is formed, inside which a miracle happens for three weeks - a nettle butterfly is born there. When the cocoon bursts, the creature hiding inside is born with small wings growing and straightening right before our eyes. As soon as they become suitable for flight, the insect soars up.
If you look closely at the behavior of our butterfly, you will find that it accurately predicts rain. Urticaria two hours before the change of weather begins to hide in a shelter, hanging somewhere under a leaf upside down, and sometimes even flying into houses.
In October the insectleaves for the winter. This amazing creature can freeze through, becoming just a small piece of ice in our cold winters, but does not die. She is just numb, waiting for warm and fine days. But our butterfly appears one of the first, pleasing to the eye and foreshadowing the onset of heat.
By the way, only fertilized female urticaria survive, and males die with the onset of cold weather.
The French call the urticaria a turtle butterfly, and the Germans call it a fox. But no matter how they call it, it's hard not to agree that these are beautiful butterflies. We have provided photos of some of them in the article.
