2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
The American white butterfly is an incredibly spectacular pest native to North America, from where it subsequently came to Europe. This fate did not escape Russia either - on the territory of this country, the American white butterfly can be found in the western and southern regions. This voracious wretch damages more than one hundred and forty varieties of trees and shrubs
Meet the pest
The American white butterfly is a pest with a wingspan of 40 to 50 mm. Her snow-white luxurious wings are characterized by a wonderful silky tint, and the body of a foreign guest is covered with white thick hairs. The black antennae of the pests are dusted with white bloom. In males they are feathery, and in females they are threadlike. And the legs of the scoundrels are painted in light yellow tones.
The smooth spherical eggs of American white butterflies are about 0.6-0.7 mm in size. Most often they are colored bluish, but sometimes they can be yellowish. Light-colored caterpillars of younger ages are endowed with black chest legs, chest plates and heads. Along their backs there are two rows of black warts, and on the sides of such warts in caterpillars there are as many as four rows. At the same time, each wart is equipped with black and white hairs. The size of caterpillars that have finished feeding reaches up to 30 - 40 mm in length, and on the sides of their bodies, you can see yellow stripes equipped with orange warts. In addition, on each wart, you can see thin black and light hairs. And the legs and heads of the caterpillars are painted black. Pupae, which grow up to ten to fifteen millimeters in length, initially have a lemon color, and after some time they turn dark brown. Each pupa nestles comfortably in a fluffy dark cocoon painted in grayish tones.
Wintering of pupae takes place under the remains of plants, under dead tree bark, under sheds, in crevices and cracks in fences and in a number of other protected places. In the spring, butterflies do not fly out together, but gradually, as a result of which their flight extends to a month. The very first butterflies can be seen as early as late April or early May, and their average lifespan is from six to fourteen days. All butterflies lead an exclusively crepuscular lifestyle. Fertilized female American white butterflies lay eggs in groups of three to five hundred, placing them on grassy vegetation and on the upper or lower sides of the leaves. Careful parents cover each clutch with a transparent thin fluff. The total fertility of pests is from one thousand two hundred to one and a half thousand eggs, and the embryonic development of their offspring takes from five to ten days in time.
The reborn caterpillars actively skeletonize delicate leaves, and a little later eat them completely, leaving only coarse veins. All caterpillars until reaching the third and fourth centuries live together, amicably braiding the leaves with weightless cobwebs. And individuals who have reached the fifth century instantly spread out and begin to lead a solitary lifestyle. At night and at dawn, they are equally active, and in the daytime, gluttonous parasites take refuge on the undersides of the leaves. As soon as the thermometer drops to five to six degrees, the caterpillars stop feeding. By the way, without food, they can live up to fifteen days.
The development of each caterpillar takes from forty-five to fifty-four days. And during this period, they molt six to seven times! And the pupation of pests takes place in various protected places. The development of pupae takes from nine to fourteen days in time, and already in August one can observe the emergence of butterflies of the second generation, the females of which already lay from two thousand to two thousand three hundred eggs.
How to fight
To protect yourself from the American white butterfly, you must comply with a whole range of quarantine measures limiting their reproduction.
And if, after budding, about 20% of the leaves are damaged, then they immediately start treating the trees with insecticides or biological products.
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