Butterfly is a collective term for insects belonging to the order Insects, Lepidoptera, and hammerhorn suborder (formerly known as the Butterfly Suborder).
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > (1) Ornamentation and economic value</h1>
Butterflies are very diverse and colorful, especially the butterfly membrane is extremely gorgeous, and on the wings grow a layer of very tiny scales of different shapes, which contain a variety of special chemical pigment particles, and these colorful particles combine to form a colorful image on the surface. Most butterflies, especially the beautiful large southern butterflies, are loved by people and have high ornamental value, scientific value and economic value.
With the continuous improvement of people's material and cultural living standards, butterfly specimens have become a sought-after commodity in the handicraft market, and the market demand is also increasing. However, due to the impact of today's fertilizers, pesticides, etc. on the ecological environment, the variety and number of butterflies (especially rare butterflies) are getting smaller and smaller, and the market demand is getting bigger and bigger, and the prospect of artificial breeding of butterflies is broad.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > (ii) morphological characteristics </h1>
The body of the butterfly is divided into three parts: head, chest and abdomen. The size of the body varies depending on the species, with the largest spread of wings reaching 24 cm and the smallest spreading of wings up to 11.6 cm. The head has 1 pair of hammer-shaped or stick-like antennae, 1 pair of compound eyes, and the mouthparts are specialized into a beak, siphon type, and spiral curl when not in use. The thorax has 2 pairs of wings , and the wings and body surface are densely covered with fine powdery scales and tufts of hair. Each scale contains a variety of pigment particles, and the colorful particles combine to form a variety of flower spots, and the light that shines on the surface of the wing scales reflects brilliant colors.
In addition, the powdered scales on the butterfly wings contain a lot of fat or waterproof colored "raincoats", if the powdery scales on the butterfly wings fall off, the butterfly butterfly can not fly on rainy days. There are 3 pairs of feet on the chest and no feet on the abdomen. There are many species of butterflies, about 14,000 species in the world, most of which are distributed in the United States, especially in the Amazon River Basin. There are about 1,300 species in China, which belong to the families of butterfly, phoenix butterfly, silk butterfly, pink butterfly, gray butterfly, beak butterfly, clam butterfly, eye butterfly, ring butterfly, butterfly, butterfly, and spotted butterfly.
Butterflies among the phoenix butterflies there are patterned phoenix butterflies, golden phoenix butterflies, jade ribbon phoenix butterflies, white jade black phoenix butterflies, green phoenix butterflies, Qingcheng arrow ring butterflies and so on. Adult pink butterfly body color is mostly white or yellow, reflected in black and individual red dots, the forewings are slightly triangular, the hind wings are ovate, the forewings are one rump, the hindwings are oval, and the forewings are one hindwing rumple and two rudder veins. Some of these species have high ornamental value and scientific research value, and some species are important pests of economic plants, such as rice butterfly (rice bud), vegetable powder butterfly, rice eye butterfly, sesame butterfly and citrus butterfly.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > (iii) life habits </h1>
Butterflies have different habits and distribution areas. Some species are found only in plains, some in mountainous areas, each with its own place of occurrence. Butterfly parasitic plants are abundant and suitable places for life, with a large number of individuals. Most species of butterflies are active during the day on sunny days, flying more between 9 a.m. and 9 a.m. to dusk. Some butterflies, such as the dead-leaved butterfly, are very active during the day and are difficult to catch, and stay overnight in groups in the evening. In the mountainous area, there are many butterflies in the sunshine area, and the number of shades is small.
For example, at noon, the summit is a place where butterflies roam. In the hot summer, the shady and humid area is also a good place for butterfly activities. Butterfly is a completely metamorphosed insect, divided into egg stage, larval stage, pupal stage and adult stage, specific to a certain kind of butterfly, the occurrence period is very different, some only 1 generation occurs in 1 year, such as Chinese tiger butterfly feathering in early March every year, some 1 multi-generation, such as vegetable powder butterfly.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > (iv) feeding management</h1>
1. Larval rearing management
It usually refers to the captive rearing of butterflies, that is, the feeding of larvae. The larvae generally pupate after 5 instars, molt once per age, then move on to the next instar, and the 5th instar molts at pupal. The larvae that have just hatched from the eggs are 1 year old and are mostly dark brown. When the climatic conditions are not harsh, there is no wind and rain, let them grow on the outdoor host plants, and pay attention to prevent birds. When the larvae enter the 5th year of age, if they find that they do not eat or climb on other plants, they can be collected back indoors, placed in a sarong, and put into branches to allow them to pupate.
When the external conditions are poor and need to be raised indoors, the larvae and host plants can be placed in a transparent plastic box with breathable holes, and the herbivores are inserted into the small box containing water (the larvae cannot enter the water box). This allows for large-scale rearing. Larvae of different ages should not be polycultured in the same box or sarong. The inside of the box or sarong should be ventilated, moist and not wet, and do not let the larva contaminate the host plant. Sufficient amount of host plants and slight surplus, and reduce the density of larvae, can ensure the butterfly larval stage nutrient accumulation of food needs, for the adult stage to create excellent physique, to ensure the amount of eggs or egg quality, smooth reproduction of offspring.
The larvae and host plants should be elevated in pots and cages, and there is enough space for the worm body to be immersed in water droplets. The temperature and humidity should be suitable, the optimal temperature is 25 ~ 30 ° C, and the optimal humidity is 80% ~ 90%. The terminally-aged larvae, by spitting silk, fix their ventral ends to the branches, do not eat or move, but have not yet molted, which is now called anterior pupal. This phase is about 1 day. After that, the 5-year-old skin is removed, that is, pupal, which is soft at first, and after half a day, the pupal shell becomes hard, that is, it can be harvested.
After each larva pupates, after the butterfly pupae are harvested, the plastic box is immersed in the disinfectant solution and the sarong is exposed to strong sunlight. If it is found that there are worms in a certain box that have not reached the pre-pupal stage and do not eat or move, the cause should be immediately identified; If it is a diseased insect, it should be completely burned together with the leaves where it stays, and the remaining larvae will be replaced with a new cage; If the disease is severe, the whole cage larvae and host plants should be burned.
2. Rearing management of adult insects
The wings of the butterfly that emerge from the first feather are cystic and soft; After 30 to 60 minutes, it can fully extend into normal wings; However, it takes 1 to 2 hours of drying before you can fly. If the butterfly does not fly enough, its feeding, mating and spawning will not be able to proceed normally. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a net area so that females and male butterflies can mate smoothly after flying in the net area for a period of time. Host plants need to be placed in the net area for feeding and spawning.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > (v) propagation technique </h1>
1. Seed source
The seed source of the butterfly can be obtained from the wild collection of eggs, larvae, adult female butterflies, or purchased from other butterfly farms, or the host plants can be planted in the butterfly farms to attract butterflies to lay eggs. When collecting butterfly eggs in the wild, select the butterfly season, go to the wild to find the host plant of the butterfly to be introduced, and find the egg on the buds of the host plant and behind the leaves. There are often larvae behind the leaves of the host plant, but they hide in hidden places during the day and do not come out to forage, but can be found at night with a flashlight. When collecting butterfly eggs and larvae, the eggs and larvae are removed together with the leaves of the host plant and brought back in special bottles and boxes (larvae of different ages should not be mixed).
The larvae of butterflies are mostly worm-like, with a smooth body like a silkworm, and sometimes have horns or hairs (but there are no "caterpillars" that grow densely all over the body), and are caught with forceps. The female butterflies seen in the wild are generally mated, and there are eggs in the abdomen that have not yet been laid, and they can be caught back in the field and put into the net to let them lay eggs. For butterflies that do not know the host plant, when the female butterfly is seen in the wild, it can be tracked and observed to see its spawning plant (that is, the host plant of the butterfly), and the egg belt can be moved back to the field for breeding observation. Pupae and adult (butterfly) collection methods are found in Chapter 4, Section 6 of this book.
2. Reproduction
On a sunny day and no wind, the female butterfly stops on the leaf surface and flies, and flies for a short period of time and then stops, which is the action of laying eggs. The branches and eggs of the host plant collected from the wild are inserted into the water container to prevent the host plant from dying. Non-overwintering eggs, the egg stage is only 1 to a few weeks. After the egg stage has passed, the larvae can hatch; Eggs that do not hatch after several weeks, that is, overwintering eggs, should be placed in fine sandbags together with leaves and hung in the shade of the eaves, but care should be taken to maintain the temperature and not to let the sun shine directly; Or the eggs collected in autumn and winter, with toilet paper padding, put in a few new leaves to maintain the temperature, avoid the harm of natural enemies such as ants, and take them out incubate the following spring. After hatching, the aged larvae are gently swept down with a brush or feather and placed on the fresh host plant.
3. Pupal feathering and mating
The larvae grow up and at the end of their lives, they begin to look around for a suitable place for pupalization. At this point, it should be moved into the sarong and placed branches for it to pupate. Large, healthy, undamaged pupae are selected and sent to the net area for feathering and reserved for breeding. Butterfly pupae, the length of the pupal period depends on the butterfly species and temperature, usually within a few days to several weeks to complete. Pupae usually molarize early in the morning or before noon when the pupal shell is feathered into adults. Generally, captive-reared butterfly pupae have a feathering rate of more than 80%. After the female butterfly is feathered, she is allowed to fly freely in the net, eat strictly, and mate. The ratio of male and female butterflies should be maintained at 1:1.