When To Catch A Lacetail?

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

At first glance, such a cute, snow-white butterfly seems very harmless. And it's hard to believe that it can pose a serious threat to deciduous trees, shrubs from our gardens and parks. She is most vulnerable in winter and late autumn - then it is worth starting to hunt for her. But you can't take it with your bare hands - after all, the butterfly is poisonous

Die for posterity

The goldtail belongs to the lepidoptera of the Volnyanka family. The sunny dry climate is most favorable for it, therefore the Crimea and the south of the European part of Russia, the eastern shores of the Urals, the forest-steppe and the Caucasus are especially inhabited by it. The goldtail chooses garden plots located near forest park zones. Leaves of any trees are suitable for feeding the caterpillars, but they prefer apple, birch, oak, hawthorn, plum, pear, and other fruit and deciduous species more.

Snow-white butterflies with golden-brown fluff emerge from their cocoons by the end of June. In males, small black dots can be seen on the front wings. Their abdomen is reddish-brown, at the end of which there is a tuft of reddish-orange hairs. Towards evening, butterflies go flying in search of partners. The comb-like antennae help them in this. Having laid eggs, the female falls exhausted from the trees, where they fall into the paws of ants. The goldtail develops within a year in one generation.

Leaves instead of cobwebs

One female lays up to 300 sticky spherical eggs, fixing them on the underside of the leaf and covering them with some hairs from her abdomen. Eggs, as they ripen, turn brownish from a yellow-white color. Newborn greenish-yellow furry caterpillars appear with a reddish-brown head after 2-3 weeks. Adults (up to 3.5 cm) have one narrow black and two yellowish stripes on the back, a gray or black abdomen, on which dark-red warts and hairs are noticeable. Caterpillars move in whole broods. Where they have been, there are sad threads of cobweb entwined around a network of leaf veins.

Three weeks after the end of flowering, translucent cocoons can be found in the crevices of the bark or in the forks of branches. In another three weeks, butterflies will appear from them. Caterpillars before pupation can shed up to six times and change up to seven instars, determined by the size of their head. Wintering is the third stage in the life of a goldtail. In nests of silk threads, dry leaves and in the close environment of congeners, she is not afraid of any frosts.

Can burn

Having found insidious pests on spring trees, I really want to start collecting and destroying them. However, do not forget that the insect hairs contain toxic substances that cause eye inflammation and severe burns. Therefore, before collecting a lacetail, care must be taken to protect the eyes and exposed skin. If the burns do appear, then a soda compress will help to heal. It must be applied to the affected skin area and renewed periodically. During moulting, the poison of the goldtail is most dangerous. During this period, it is better not to walk under the trees where the insect has started - its poison can get on the skin in the form of pollen.

If there are a lot of caterpillars on the trees, then it is better to shake them off on the litter previously placed under the crown. It is more difficult when there is a forest or park nearby. After all, butterflies fly from there, so it is important to process the forest park at the same time. For example, spraying trees (before bud formation) with insecticides: antilin, metathion, 10% karbofos, phosphamide gives a good result.

Most vulnerable in winter

Some gardeners prefer to process fruit trees with infusion of lobelia cheremitsa. Light traps are used to fight butterflies. Ultraviolet, like ordinary lamp light in the evening, attracts these insects well. During the period when the caterpillars appear, the trees are sprayed with solutions of the "Gardener" or chlorophos.

The most convenient way to combat a caterpillar is to destroy it in the winter. The nests of silkworm and dry leaves are clearly visible on bare tree branches. They should be carefully cut and burned. Jays and tits, which fly into your area in winter, can also help in the fight against caterpillars by pecking them out of cover. Orioles, cuckoos, and bats love to feast on butterflies during their nocturnal flights.