Is it true that the butterflies drink blood. Blood-axle vampire

29.04.2021

These butterflies use their proboscis, like a mosquito to get drunk warm-blooded. At the same time, human blood for them is the most pleasant delicacy. And now not very good news News: The habitat of these insects is more and more expanding. Previously, they lived only in Malaysia and Southern Europe, but there is a possibility that they will soon be next to you.

So let's learn about them more ...

Some tropical butterflies - blood circulation. Their coarse proboscis is capable of piercing the skin of mammals. It is assumed that at the beginning of the butterfly pierced the skin of fruits to drink juice, and then they adhere to drinking blood. In the tropics there are butterflies that feed on the lacrimal discharge of animals are mainly hoofed, such as buffaloes. Butterfly are launched their long tricks inside the tear ducts and suck the tear selection. This is perhaps the only case when the butterflies are carriers of diseases, in this case of the eye.

Scoops ("Little Owls") refer to the Noctuidae family - the largest among butterflies: more than 30,000 species. Some scoops are suited and dropped blood discharges from the searches (Lobocraspis GRiseIFUSCA), but they themselves are not capable of punishing intact skin.

Photo 3.

In 2006, Jennifer snapped ( Jennifer Zaspel) bitten the vampire. The vampire was not in a black raincoat, with a pale face and long teeth. It was a moth, and it was a real vampire.

Doctor snapped - a biologist studying insects at the University of Indiana. In one of his travels, she went to Russia to explore the Moth " Calyptra Thalicri.". These insects feed on juice of some fruits, such as grapes, raspberries and peach. Moth skews the skin of the berries and the long trunk sucks sweet juice. But not only juice feeds this moth.

I slept caught one instance of the moth and held a few hours to the injignment in a plastic bottle. Then he looked at her thumb into the neck. A few minutes later, the moth was attached to the thumb of the biologist and the punctures of the skin at the base of the nail began to drink the blood of a man.

Moth Calyptra Thalicri is only one of many animal vampires. The most famous vampires are pliers, mosquitoes, bugs and, of course, bats. There is not so kind of blood pressure, and animals have to find various ways to choose and attack their victims.

Moth who studied snapped, only one representative of vampire insects. Some types of butterflies are powered by the blood of large mammals - rhinos and elephants, and some prefer the tear fluid of these animals. But not all butterflies, even within one species, feed on fresh blood.

Scientists who studied these insects caught 16 individuals Calyptra. The chance to suck the blood presented to all 16 butterflies, but only three punctured the skin with their trumps and began to eat the blood of scientists. Others did not even take such an attempt.

Photo 4.

Genuine food is registered with the scoop of the genus Calyptra, which live in Southeast Asia. CALYPTRA EUSTRIGATA - mid-sized butterfly, in which females pierce various fruits and suck their contents.

The males have an equally rigid truth, like females, but no fruits feed. At night, they attack elephants, tapirov, rhinos, buffaloes and penetrate the skin, quickly vibrating with their solid sharp trunk with teeth at the end - as a jackhammer. This butterfly bite is very painful, and the blood drinks at once from five to thirty minutes. An experiment was raised, and it turned out that the males can drink and human blood - they pierced the experimentant, the feeling - as from the injected needle. Blooding for these butterflies was possible due to the fact that their ancestors switched to nutrition with dense fruits and developed solid trull.

As it would not sound terribly, the bloodsucks found in our Siberia. They were scoops or night moths. Yes, yes, the biggest night moths, which in the evenings and nights fly to the light, do not mind to taste human blood.

How Kalipra Vasilisnikov (lat. Calyptra Thalicri) drinks the blood of a man, first discovered in Russia, in the Far East. Lepidopterologist (specialist in butterflies) Vladimir Kononenko, watching the behavior of the butterfly, drew attention to the fact that Kalipratra, if no one bothers her, can suck blood within a few minutes.

These butterflies usually drink fluid from the eyes of animals, but it is not excluded that they can fly and on the smell of blood, if, for example, a person will be lit. Like most butterflies, the bloodthirsty night butterfly flies on the light and on the smell of red wine, in which sugar is added. Calipra can be a carrier of diseases. Trumps Caliprat has suckers to attach to the skin. As a rule, the trumps in the butterflies are designed to drink water and plants juice.

The length of the butterfly, with the scope of the wings, is 35-72 millimeters. Their long solid proboscis is equipped with the smallest suction cups to attach to the skin. Initially, it was intended for drinking plant and water juice. Butterflies adapted to punch them solid skin of fruit. Some tropical species instead of blood drink tear allocations of large animals.

The injection is rather painful. The bite place does not bite, but the small wound can be long bleed. If the butterflies do not be driven from the bite, they can suck blood from 5 to 20 minutes.

Photo 6.

The question arises - why do they still need blood? After all, it's not just that they switched to such an exotic kitchen. There is the following assumption that, however, is not yet accurate. In the blood of animals, the salt is contained, which males transmit a female during pairing. Such a "unusual sexual gift" provides a salt of butterfly larvae. Salt, or rather sodium, it is necessary for normal development.

Photo 7.

A previously unknown population of vampire butterflies was found and described by scientists in Siberia. Entomologists from the University of Florida (UNIVERSITY OF Florida - UF) believe that bloodthirsty insects evolved from ordinary "frother" relatives.

Judging by insignificant differences in the pattern on wings, small blood lovers are close relatives of the scoops of Vasilisnikova ( Calyptra Thalicri.), butterflies, common in Central and Southern Europe and some other parts of the world.

During the experiment, scientists sacrificed their hands with butterflies. Insects sat down on the palms and fingers, as if mosquitoes, immersed their probes into human flesh and began to drink blood.

Photo 8.

Photos Jennifer at work. The discovery theme is just complying with the upcoming holiday - Halloween (Photo UF).

Jennifer Zaspel's entomologist (Jennifer Zaspel) believes that butterflies that have no official Latin name are the "evolutionary branch" of the scoop. This is already the second population, discovered to sleep and its colleagues in Russia (the previous one was revealed in July 2006).

In future plans, scientists compare DNA individuals found, as well as other species. This is necessary to more accurately establish their kinship and confirm the hypotheses extended.

"At the moment, judging by the geographical location of the detected insects, on behavior and color of the wings, we can assume that we have a new kind," says Jennifer.

Photo 9.

If it turns out that in front of the entomologists, the herbivore butterfly, which retrained to a predator, will allow this kind to find out exactly how it happened.

Chris Nice (Chris Nice) studying butterflies at Texas University (Texas State University) notes that insect probes initially was designed to puncture fruit peel.

The group must also have an assumption about the reason for the appearance of such non-standard behavior. Scientists believe that everything can be due to the desire to transfer salt butterflies to the salt, which is contained in the blood of man and animals.

Blood consumes only male individuals of vampire scoops. Probably, they transmit her females during mating.

"We did not find evidence that the vampirism extends the life of males, because they decided that they were" giving "the received females," says Jennifer.

Such a "sexual gift" provides salt larvae sitting on a deciduous diet (and, as you know, almost no sodium in the foliage).

Photo 10.

It is not very clear how in the butterfly of the same species they are so much different from each other in terms of preference in food. Perhaps some butterflies have evolved the trumps in such a way that it became possible to punish dense tissues, such as animal skin. Scientists have studied the structure of the truths of all caught specimens, but did not find serious differences in vampire moths.

Moth Calyptra Thalicri - one of the bloodsowing butterflies. Scientists assume that this method of nutrition is associated with partial sense loss.

Then biologists explored Calyptra mustache, and found that there are fewer so-called blood-called sENSIL.that help to detect odors. Scientists suggest that in this way bloodsowing insects do not very well distinguish animals smells. Therefore, a fixed finger, they calmly "taste taste." In addition, blood is much more nutritious than fruit juice.

Photo 11.

But look amazing and so dangerous The original article is on the site Inforos Link to an article with which this copy is made -

There are more than 30,000 species of butterflies and moles in the world. They constitute the second insect group on our planet. We offer a little journey to this beautiful world. Interesting facts from the world of butterflies and moths on an interesting site.

Mole is a butterfly.

Yes, mole is a night butterfly. Butterflies are conditionally distinguished in appearance and flight time - day butterflies and moths are active at night. Moths are usually thicker and more "hairy", and the butterfly daytime is slimmer and "less hairy".

Why moths fly to light?

Until today, scientists do not agree, which causes this phenomenon. Apparently, the moths have an evolutionary advanced light-based navigation mechanism, which serves as a lighthouse ships.

What is pollen on the wings of butterflies?

Butterfly - scraped insects and drawing on their wings create scales, which overlap each other as stuck tiles. Scales cover all parts of the butterfly body, and they are so thin that the impression of pollen. Butterfly is a very gentle creation, our touch, even the most tender, damage her wings, after which it cannot fly freely. In a natural habitat, butterflies with damaged wings are becoming easy prey for predators, it is harder to get food, so as a result, the butterfly lives less.

Why are the butterflies two pairs of wings?

Scientists have proven that the upper pair of wings is responsible for lifting force, that is, the flight, and the lower serves to change the direction of flight. Butterflies flying over long distances, have long, narrow and sharply pointed wings. A butterfly, which knows how to perform quick turns and dodge, has broad and clearly rounded wings. The daytime butterfly makes the wings of 300 beats per minute. The fastest butterflies can develop speed up to 55 km / h. The moths have a chunky body structure, I must have much more movements for flights. The record holder is the Russian Hummingbird, which makes 5000 crawling per minute!

The senses of the butterflies.

In the antennas of butterflies there are receptors that are responsible for catching odors, as well as organs of the feelings responsible for the taste and touch. The antennas is also "Johnston's body", which is responsible for the balance of butterflies and is an analogue of the human vestibular apparatus. It reacts to air fluctuations and sound waves. The butterfly has flavoring receptors on the paws, moving along the sheet, is able to understand whether it is edible and tasty.

How do butterflies see?

Butterflies have a complex structure of the eyes, so they perceive the world around the world in the form of a mosaic consisting of small pictures. The eyes of the butterflies are located on both sides of the head, so they easily see the movement, but they are distinguished only by the brightest colors. Most likely they see only red, green and yellow, so they sit on flowers of certain colors. Butterflies see an invisible ultraviolet radiation, so they see the colors otherwise than people.

Butterfly bite?

Butterflies do not bite, because there are no teeth or even mouth. They collect feed through a long tube, which rolled and hidden under the head when the butterfly does not eat.

What eating butterflies?

The main diet of the adult butterfly is nectar colors. Also love fruit enzymes, juice arising from damaged trees and even liquid from excrement and fell. Some butterflies drink water, so often found on the banks of the rivers. In Western Amazonia, you can see butterflies drinking tears turtles. Thus, they replenish sodium level in the body.

Are there no poisonous butterflies?

Butterflies cannot prick or bite. Do not have poisonous skin. However, poisonous butterflies still exist. Toxic substances make them inedible to birds and other enemies. The poison is produced in the caterpillars stage with consumed poisonous plants and stored them in organisms throughout life.

What value is the color of the butterfly wings?

Butterflies, like reptiles, belong to cold-blooded animals, that is, they get warm from external sources. Heat in the rays of the sun racing the wings so as to capture heat so that their largest surface is exhibited in the sun. Colors on wings are useful in heat absorption. Butterflies that have large black spots absorb more heat.

A famous group of butterflies, which, instead of feeding on, "as it should be", nectar of flowers, go around the eyes of various animals, such as deer, elephant, horse, and sometimes near the person and suck their eye discharge. These "tear-sizing" butterflies belonging to the families of Noctuidae, Geomelridae, Pyralidae and Notodontidae may endure eye diseases.

Recently, the entomologist G. Benzierger, who worked in the Zoo Kuala Lumpur Zoo (Malaysia), discovered the butterfly of the unknown look at the sleeping tapire. Later, in the British Museum, it was defined as Calyptra Eustrigata Noctuidae. The behavior of the butterfly immediately seemed somewhat unusual to the researcher, since she sucked all the time from the same place, and it is known that insects feed on the skin secretions are constantly moving along the skin of the owner.

The benziger managed to take a picture of the insect, and a few days later, studying a photo using a magnifying glass, he drew attention to the unusual shape and position of the trunk. Usually, sucking fluid from the skin, the butterfly puts the tip of the trunk flat onto its surface. In this case, the insect trumps vertically rested in Tapir's skin. In addition, the proboscis was unusually short and did not quit, as it usually happens, towards the tip. These features have brought the researcher to the idea that it deals with a bloodstream.

Soon an unusual insect managed to catch. To clarify the singularities of this butterfly, Benzierger decided to put experience on himself. The scalpel he made a cut on the indicative finger of the left hand in the hope that the speaker of the blood would attract the attention of the butterfly and she would pick it up with a trunk. Indeed, the butterfly climbed to the substituent finger, but instead of sucking the blood speaking, turned his trumps and was overwhelming him in Rank. Further experiments have shown that the butterfly does not need a preliminary cut for blood suction and completely independently pierce the skin to a depth of 6 mm.

The butterfly probits can be compared with an elastic tube consisting of two semicircular halves. They are connected together in such a way that they can move relative to each other in opposite directions. This feature, as well as the teeth discovered at the tack of the trunk, allow it to penetrate into the skin: moving in different directions, two halves of the trunk act as a saw. The attacker butterfly with force presses its dagger-like trot on the skin. From pressure, the central part is slightly strung out. This movement is very quickly repeated, and the vibration probably helps the tack of the trunk to penetrate into the skin.

As soon as the first cloves are penetrated into the skin, they are held in the owner tissues. One longitudinal half of the trunk pierces the skin deeper than the other. In addition, during sucking, the proboscis is often moving in the wound up and down, it is likely to increase the inflow of blood. According to the data obtained, sucking lasts from 10 to 60 minutes.

Many species of Calyptra are sucking fruit juice. Interestingly, G. Beneiger managed to watch that both the bloodstream is also sucking fruit juice. The question remains open, whether this type of butterfly is evolving from a typical fruct-viewing form to bloodsucker. This would give her the opportunity to not depend on the ripening period of fruit, as the blood circulation is possible at any time of the year.

In the future, it is necessary to figure out whether the blood-oat butterfly, like mosquitoes, carrier of diseases.

Vampire Butterfly Calipra Vasilisnikova (Lat. Caliptra Thalicri) is a mole from the Serebida family (Erebidae). With the help of a sclerotized modified trunk, the males of this species can pumped by the skin of vertebrate mammals and feed them with blood.

Females do not differ bloodthirsty and satisfied with the juice of ripe fruit. The cunning insect is not indifferent to human blood, which preference prefers. Ubuys do not harm human health. At least, no serious consequences were found.

Similar gastronomic addictions have related types of Caliptra Lata and Calyptra Eustrigata. The last gourmet except blood likes to drink a tear liquid from the eye of large animals.

Spread

The Pranodina Vampire Butterfly is considered East Asia. It is widespread in China, Malaysia, Korea and Japan. With these countries, she fell into the territory of Russia, Kazakhstan, to South and Central Europe, where successfully acclimatized. Occasionally, its presence is fixed in Sweden (2008), Finland (2000) and Estonia (2002).

The insect shaves in not too thick forest arrays. In the Alps occurs at altitudes up to 1000 m above sea level.

With the exception of Asian populations, everyone else is small, and their settlement is isolated.

Behavior

Calipra Vasilisk leads a nightlife. Mass departure is observed in the period from June to August. Blood butterflies willingly fly to sources of artificial lighting.

In the afternoon they are hiding in the thick of vegetation. Their folded wings resemble dried leaves and serve excellent camouflage. It is almost impossible to notice holidaymakers insects among the foliage of trees and shrubs.

Solid proboscis allows them to calculate the peel of fruit and feed them with juice. In the diet of males, the blood of animals prevails, which compensates for them the lack of minerals necessary for the formation of sparmatophors. They find their victim by the smell of ammonia.

The bite of the vampire butterfly resembles a root of a hot pole. Blood drinking can last up to 5-15 minutes.

She most often dwells where Vasilisnik (Thalicrum) is growing from the Lutikovy family (Ranunculaceae). The leaves of various plants of this kind serve as the main feed for her caterpillars.

Reproduction

The males are able to detect the female in the pheromones at a distance of up to 100 m. It emits them with the help of special glands located on Abdemin. Pheromones emitted by the males contain information about their age and reproductive capabilities, which makes it easier for females to choose the best to continue the genus partner.

Analysis of the information received is performed using analyzers located at the tips of the antennas.

Males more willingly mate with females large in size.

The female lays eggs to the bottom of the leaves of feed plants. Caterpillars appear in September. Late in the fall, they descend down and picked up in the surface layers of the soil.

Pupae painted in black and brown and have the shape of a keglet. Imago appear at the beginning of the next summer.

Description

The span of the wings of Caliprats by Vasilisnikova is 46-60 mm. Front wings wide and reddish, yellowish or brownish. In the middle of the front edge is well noticeable directional down the teeth.

At the tips of the wings, the dark and almost straight line passes. On the lower part of the front wings there are spots and transverse stripes. On the rear wings there is no drawing, they have an ocher or yellowish tint.

The antennas in both sexes are relatively short. Thorax covered with thick hairs.

The life expectancy of the imago-vampire butterfly is about 2 months.

Not all butterflies are beautiful. Among them are also real vampires that feed on blood, including human. Blood-axle butterflies found in Siberia. They were scoops or night moths. Yes, yes, the biggest night moths, which in the evenings and nights fly to the light, do not mind to taste human blood.

The injection is rather painful. The bite place does not bite, but the small wound can be long bleed. If the butterflies do not be driven from the bite, they can suck blood from 5 to 20 minutes. Drink blood only males. Females feed on plant juice and fruit. Externally, vampires differ from their vegetarian fellow and females of their own species - they have a certain drawing on the wings.