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08 Juli 2008

A few butterflies species

AMERICAN SNOUT BUTTERFLY

The American Snout (Libytheana carinenta) is a butterfly that has long labial palps (mustache-like scaly mouthparts on either side of the proboscis) that look like a long snout. The butterfly has a 1 3/8 - 2 inch (3.5 - 5 cm) wingspan. The front pair of legs on the male (but not the female) are reduced in size. Eggs are laid in groups on the hackberry plant. The caterpillar eats hackberry (celtis); the adult sips nectar of the flowers from asters, dogbane, dogwood, goldenrod, sweet pepperbush, and more. Adult American Snout butterflies look like dead leaves. They sometimes go on long migrations. They are brush-footed butterflies (Family Libytheidae).

BLUE MORPHO BUTTERFLY
The Blue Morpho butterfly (Morpho menelaus) is a species of neotropical butterfly that has iridescent blue wings (the females are are not as brilliantly colored as the males and have a brown edge with white spots surrounding the iridescent blue area). The undersides (visible when the butterfly is resting) are brown with bronze-colored eyespots. Adults drink the juices of rotting fruit. The caterpillar of the Blue Morpho is red-brown with bright patches of lime-green on the back, and it eats the plant Erythroxylum pilchrum nocturnally (at night). Blue Morphos live in rainforests from Brazil to Venezuela. Blue Morphos belong to the Family Nymphalidae, Genus Morpho, and species menelaus.

GARDEN TIGER MOTH
The Garden Tiger (Arctia caja), also known as the Great Tiger Moth, is a common moth that is has a 1.8-2.8 inch (4.5-7 cm) wingspan. Its caterpillar, the black woolly bear, has long black hairs on top and rust-colored hairs on the underside. It is found in Europe and Asia in temperate regions, and less frequently in the Canada and Northern USA. Family Arctiidae.

GOLIATH BIRDWING BUTTERFLY
The Goliath Birdwing (Ornithoptera goliath) is the second-largest butterfly in the world. This brightly-colored butterfly is poisonous and has a wingspan up to 11 inches (28 cm) wide. It has black, yellow and green wings and a yellow and black body. This butterfly in found in tropical forests in Indonesia. Family Papilionidae.

JULIA
The Julia is a yellow-orange tropical butterfly with long forewings. It is about 3-4 inches wide. The female Julia is a duller shade of orange and has more dark markings. The small, yellow-to-gold eggs are oval and the pupa is angular. The Julia caterpillar feeds on passion flower vine (Passiflora); the adult sips nectar from the flowers of the lantana and shepherd's needle. Julias are found from South and Central America to the southern USA. The Julia belongs to the Heliconians, tropical butterflies that have a large head and have a bad taste and smell. It is a brush-footed butterfly (Family Nymphalidae).

KARNER BLUE BUTTERFLY
The Karner Blue Butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) is a small, blue butterfly that has a wingspan of about 1 inch (2.5 cm). This endangered species lives in oak savannas and pine barrens and is associated with wild lupine (Lupinus perennis, a plant that the caterpillar eats). Adults drink the nectar of horsemint, butterflyweed, and bachelors button. The adult male (pictured above) and female have a very different appearance. The upper sides of the male's wings are silver to dark blue with white and black margins. The upper sides of the female's wings are gray-brown to blue, with some bands of orange crescents along the bottom of the hind wing, and white and black margins. The underside of the wings of both sexes are grayish in colorwith orange crescents and some metallic spots along the bottom of both hind wings. The green caterpillar is tended by ants; these ants collect a sugary liquid that is secreted by the caterpillar, and the ants protect the caterpillar from some predators and parasites.

MILBERT'S TORTOISESHELL
Milbert's tortoiseshell (Nymphalis milberti) is a small butterfly with a squared-off fore-wing. The wingspan is 1.6 - 2.5 inches (4.2 - 6.3 cm). It lives in North America from southern Alaska down to Mexico. Huge batches of eggs (up to 900) are laid on nettles. The caterpillar eats nettles; the adult feeds on flowers (thistles, goldenrods, and lilacs), sap and rotting fruit.

Picture coming next ^_^

24 Juni 2008

Kupu-kupu

Kupu-kupu merupakan serangga yang tergolong ke dalam ordo Lepidoptera, atau 'serangga bersayap sisik' (lepis, sisik dan pteron, sayap).

Banyak orang yang menyukai kupu-kupu yang indah, akan tetapi sebaliknya jarang orang yang tidak merasa jijik pada ulat; padahal keduanya adalah makhluk yang sama. Semua jenis kupu-kupu dan ngengat melalui tahap-tahap hidup sebagai telur, ulat, kepompong, dan akhirnya bermetamorfosa menjadi kupu-kupu.

Kupu-kupu umumnya hidup dengan mengisap madu bunga (nektar/sari kembang). Akan tetapi beberapa jenisnya menyukai cairan yang diisap dari buah-buahan yang jatuh di tanah dan membusuk, daging bangkai, kotoran burung, dan tanah basah.

Berbeda dengan kupu-kupu, ulat hidup terutama dengan memakan daun-daunan. Ulat-ulat ini sangat rakus, akan tetapi umumnya masing-masing jenis ulat berspesialisasi memakan daun dari jenis-jenis tumbuhan yang tertentu saja. Sehingga kehadiran suatu jenis kupu-kupu di suatu tempat, juga ditentukan oleh ketersediaan tumbuhan yang menjadi inang dari ulatnya.