TICK

CLASS
Arachnida
ORDER
Acari
CARD 61
GROUP 5: INSECTS &: SPIDERS
FAMILIES
Argasidae, Ixodidae
Ticks are common animals, distantly related to spiders, that feed
exclusively on the blood of mammals, birds, and reptiles. Because
they can carry serious diseases, they should be removed promptly.
KEY FACTS
CHARACTERISTICS
Length: Usually up to ~ in., but up to
1 in. in a female swollen with eggs.
Coloration: Variable, depending on
the species.
BREEDING
Breeding season: From spring to
summer.
No. of eggs: 3,000-6,000.
Hatching time: 2-5 days.
LIFESTYLE
Habit: Solitary, external parasites on
mammals, birds, and reptiles.
Diet: Blood.
Lifespan: Up to 10 years.
RELATED SPECIES
The approximately 900 tick species
are divided into the soft ticks (family
Argasidae) and the hard ticks (family
Ixodidae). Two well-known North
American species are the dog tick,
Dermacentor variabilis, and the deer
tick, Ixodes dammini-both hard ticks.
FEATURES OF A HARD TICK
Prosoma: Consi sts of the head
with its pierci ng mouthparts and
the part of the body that bears
the legs. In hard ticks there is
also a shield-shaped hard plate
called the scutum, which pro-
vides protection.
Legs: There are 8 legs as in the
related spiders, rather tnan 6
fegs as in insects. Al l the legs
are attached to the underside
of the prosoma. They are well
adapted for holding onto the
ti ck's host.
c MCMXCII IMP BV/IMP INC WILDLIFE FACT FILETM
Range of ticks.
DISTRIBUTION
Both hard and soft ticks are found in all parts of the world ex-
cept the polar regions and the largest and hottest deserts.
CONSERVATION
Ticks are abundant and widespread. Some species feed only on
the blood of one kind of animal, so they depend on that animal's
survival. But no species is considered in any danger.
PRINTED IN U.S.A.
Opisthosoma: Rear porti on
of body containi ng the ani-
mal 's reproductive and other
internal organs.
0160200971 PACKET 97
Ticks can transmit a variety of blood-borne diseases to
humans and wildlife. But, fortunatelYt the most serious
and life-threatening of these illnesses can be treated
successfully with antibiotics if detected promptly.
~ HABITS
There are two kinds of tick-
hard and soft. A hard tick has a
hard plate just behind its head.
A soft tick lacks this back plate
but instead has a tough, leath-
ery covering.
All ticks are parasites, feeding
. on the blood of various verte-
brates. Using its sharp mouth-
parts, a tick pierces its victim's
skin. Between meals, it usually
drops off its host to molt, shed-
ding its covering. A soft tick of-
ten hides like a bedbug in the
nest or house of its host. In con-
trast, a hard tick generally lives
in the grass or underbrush be-
tween attacks on its host.
Ticks are effective carriers of
certain diseases because they
feed on blood and change their
hosts frequently. The diseases
transmitted by ticks to humans
include Lyme disease, Colora-
do tick fever, Rocky Mountain
spotted fever, and tick paraly-
sis. Ticks also present a health
problem for livestock by trans-
mitting diseases such as Texas
fever and equine encephalitis.
~ lIFECYCLE
After mating and eating a final
meal of blood, the female tick
drops off her host animal and
lays several thousand eggs. The
eggs hatch in two to five days.
In its first, immature stage, a
newly hatched tick is known as
a larva. It has six legs instead of
the eight legs of the adult. The
larva quickly finds a hust animal.
After feeding on blood, it drops
to the ground and molts to be-
come an eight-legged nymph.
The nymph either returns to
Left: Perched on a blade of grass
with its legs outstretched, a tick is
ready to grasp a host animal.
~ FOOD & FEEDING
Hard and soft ticks feed on the
blood of mammals, birds, and
reptiles. Some attack a broad
range of hosts. Others feed on
only one host species.
During its larval and nymphal
stages of development, a tick at-
taches itself to a host, gorges it-
self with blood, and then drops
off to molt. After it becomes an
adult, a tick mates and has one
more meal before it drops off its
host, lays its eggs, and dies.
Finding a suitable host can be
difficult, so ticks at any stage of
development can survive for an
the same host animal or finds a
new one for a meal of blood. It
then drops off the host to molt
again. This time it becomes an
adult female or male.
A female soft tick mates only
once, but she may lay several
batches of eggs before dying.
In contrast, when a mated fe-
male hard tick drops off a host,
she lays only one large batch of
eggs before she dies. Both hard
and soft male ticks die soon af-
ter mating.
Right: A swollen female hard tick
contains thousands of eggs, which
she lays shortly before she dies.
extended period without any
food. There are adult ticks that
are known to have lived as long
as 10 years without feeding.
DID YOU KNOW?
Ticks are usually fairly flat
ovals before feeding. After
they eat, their bodies expand
until almost spherical.
Because a tick has a dart-
like anchor below its mouth,
its head becomes embedded
in the skin and may remain
there if the tick is pulled off.
I [ ~ < . ' I J NATUREWATCH
Ticks are relatively easy to find your skin. An embedded tick
in woodlands or fields. Adults should be removed promptly,
can often be seen poised with
their legs outstretched on the
tips of twigs or blades of grass,
waiting for potential hosts to
pass within reach.
After a walk outdoors, you
may at times see a tick crawl-
ing on your clothing, or you
may find one embedded in
~ LYME DISEASE
Lyme disease was initially iden-
tified in Lyme, Connecticut, in
1975. It has spread throughout
the United States, to Canada,
and to several countries in Eur-
asia and Africa. The disease is
caused by a bacterium, but it is
spread by the larvae, nymphs,
and adults of the deer tick as
well as a few other hard tick
Left: Wood tick species are familiar
North American hard ticks. They are
more common than the deer tick.
preferably by a physician, with
a pair of fine-pointed forceps
or tweezers. Do not try to re-
move a tick with alcohol, min-
erai oil, an insecticide, or heat,
because these methods may
leave the tick's mouthparts
and head in the wound, re-
suiting in infection.
species that attack rodents, deer,
and humans.
It is important to begin treat-
ing the disease with antibiotics
as soon as possible. Symptoms
usually occur in three stages. A
rash normally appears at the site
of the bite within a month. Diz-
ziness, shortness of breath, and
muscle aches follow. Without
treatment, there may be bouts
of arthritis, memory loss, facial
paralysis, or meningitis.
CRAB SPIDER
CLASS
Arachnida
ORDER
Araneae
FAMILY
Thomisidae
A crab spider sits perfectly still on a flower with its forelegs spread
apart and waits for an insect to pass by. It then swiftly grabs its
prey and delivers a dose of nerve-stunning poison.
KEY FACTS
SIZE
Length: Usually less than ~ in.
BREEDING
Breeding season: Summer.
Eggs: Laid in silken egg sac that is
attached to a plant and guarded
by the female.
Egg development: 2-3 weeks.
LIFESTYLE
Habit: Sedentary, catching prey by
ambush.
Diet: Insects.
Lifespan: About 1 year in temper-
ate climates.
RELATED SPECIES
There are approximately 3,000
species worldwide in the family
Thomisidae. Close relatives include
the jumping spiders of the family
Salticidae and the wolf spiders of
the family Lycosidae. Representa-
tive species from these families are
found in much of North America.
FEATURES OF CRAB SPIDERS
The ambush: Most crab spiders
feed by lying in wait with their front
legs extended and then pouncing on
insects that come within range.
Flower-dwelling species often hide
on blooms that match their body
color. The pink Thomisus onusfus,
for example, may settle on pink or
purple heather.
Range of crab spiders.
DISTRIBUTION
Crab spiders are found throughout the world except in polar
regions and in the more barren deserts.
CONSERVATION
Alt hough vulnerable to pesticides and loss of habitat, crab spi-
ders are not directly threatened by humans. Their populations
appear to be stable.
Coloration: Varies greatly depending
on the species. Some species can
gradually change color to suit their
background. Pictured here is the
common white crab spider.
Palps: Two limblike
Chelicerae: The two jaws. Each jaw
has a base segment tipped with a tiny
hollow fang. When the spider bites
into a victim, venom flows from a
gland in the head, along ducts in the
base segment, and out at the fang tip.
appendages on either side of the
chelicerae. Both sexes may use
them to manipulate food. Those of
the male have specialized tips for
transferring sperm to the female.
MCMXCII IMP BV/ IMP INC WILDLIFE FACT FILETM PRINTED IN U.S.A. 0160200791 PACKET 79
There are around 3,000 species of crab spider in the world.
These creatures are named for their slight resemblance
to crabs and for their habit of walking sideways or
diagonally, rather than forward like other spiders.
Crab spiders are well camouflaged by their coloring,
which may be a pure hue or a subtle pattern. As a
result, they can simply wait and ambush their prey.

Some spiders are active hunters,
while others trap prey in webs.
Crab spiders use a special tech-
nique-they ambush their prey.
Their main weapon is their col-
oring, which helps camouflage
them against the food source
of their prey.
"Flower spiders" lurk on the
blooms visited by flies, bees,
and butterflies. Misumena vatia
is common on white and yellow
flowers like daisies. The male is
dark, but the pure-white female
matches the white petals. The
motionless spider sits patiently
in the white area with its power-
ful front legs wide open. It usu-
ally moves only at the moment
of capturing prey-although if
disturbed, it may creep slowly
under the flower.
Other crab spiders also use
this basic strategy. One of the
strangest is a black-and-white
species from New Guinea that
looks just like a bird dropping.
Many tropical flies and butter-
flies are attracted to bird drop-
pings for the salts they contain.
Any that investigate this spider,
however, very quickly discover
their mistake.
Right: The tiny male picks his time
carefully, mating when the female
is busy feeding.
FOOD &: HUNTING
Crab spiders have one of the
most efficient killing techniques
in the animal world. When an
insect lands nearby, a crab spi-
der remains perfectly still, wait-
ing with its front legs open. The
insect usually walks right into
the trap. The spider then snaps
its legs together to trap its prey.
Plunging its fangs into the area
between the victim's head and
thorax, it injects a poison that
causes almost instant paralysis.
left: To await its prey, a crab spi-
der opens its front legs wide and
does not move.
I DID YOU KNOW?
If a spider is seized by one
leg, it frequently sheds it to
escape. This loss is no problem
for most spiders, but it can
hamper a crab spider, which
needs all its legs to catch prey.
Crab spiders cannot usually
identify the warning color of
an insect that tastes bad. If a
crab spider kills such a victim,
As a result, the spider does not
waste much energy subduing a
struggling victim, nor does it
attract the attention of forag-
ing birds.
After paralyzing its prey, a
crab spider floods the insect's
body with digestive juices, turn-
ing the insect's insides into liq-
uid. The spider then sucks up
the liquid. All that remains of
the insect is a dry husk, which
the spider drops to the ground.
Right: By injecting a quick-acting
venom, crab spiders can subdue
much larger insects.
it may abandon it immediately.
An African crab spider was
once found feeding on a pray-
ing mantis that was about four
times its size.
The common white crab spi-
der also occurs on yellow flow-
ers. To conceal itself, the crab
spider may change to yellow
over several days.
[ "J NATUREWATCH
Crab spiders are well camou-
flaged, so they are difficult to
spot. One way to find them is
to examine flowers for seem-
ingly immobile insects. You
may see that one is impaled
on the fangs of a crab spider.
Crab spiders do not chew,

Like all spiders, a male crab spi-
der uses a special organ on the
tip of one of his palps (see Fea-
tures on back) to transfer sperm
to the female. To do this, he
must get dangerously close to
the powerful, short-sighted,
and highly predatory female.
A female flower-dwelling crab
spider usually lets the smaller
male crab spider crawl onto her
back and caress her a little with
his legs before mating. Unlike
many other female spiders, she
makes no attempt to eat him.
The males of other crab spi-
der species must immobilize
their mates if they are to es-
so their victims look intact un-
til they are sucked dry and dis-
carded. If you find a spider,
look for tiny corpses at the
base of its feeding perch. A
female may spend most of
her life on just one plant if it
yields plenty of prey.
cape alive. The common Eur-
opean Xysticus cristatus has an
ingenius technique. He seizes
the female by one leg, then im-
mediately starts circling and
stroking her. In the process he
spins a silken thread that effec-
tively ties her up. This lets him
mate with her and then get
away unharmed.
After mating, the female lays
her eggs in a silken pouch at-
tached to a plant and guards it
closely. The newly hatched spi-
derlings feed at first on their
egg sac. They molt (shed their
covering), like other spiders, sev-
eral times while growing.
BRIMSTONE BUTTERFL V
CLASS
Insecta
ORDER
Lepidoptera
GROUP 5: INSECTS & SPIDERS
FAMILY
Pieridae
GENUS & SPECIES
Gonepteryx rhamni
The bright yellow brimstone is one of the first butterflies to
appear in the spring, emerging from its winter refuge
as the woodland primroses burst into bloom.
KEY FACTS
CHARACTERISTICS
Wings: 2 pairs.
Wingspan: About 2 in.
Legs: 3 pairs.
Mouthparts: Sucking proboscis
(adult); biting jaws (caterpillar).
BREEDING
Breeding season: Early spring in
north; spring to summer in south.
Egg to caterpillar: 1-2 weeks.
Caterpillar to pupa: 3-7 weeks.
Pupa to adult: 12-15 days.
Adult lifespan: Up to 9 months.
LIFESTYLE
Habit: Flies during sunny periods.
lives alone or in pairs.
Diet: Adult, nectar and organic
juices. Caterpillar, foliage of buck-
thorn and alder buckthorn.
RELATED SPECIES
The brimstone's closest relative is
the cleopatra butterfly, Gonepteryx
cleopatra.
Range of the brimstone butterfly.
DISTRIBUTION
The brimstone occurs through most of Europe north to south-
ern Scandinavia, and across temperate Asia as far east as Ja-
pan. It is also found in northwest Africa.
CONSERVATldN
Although it is at some risk from agricultural insecticides and
habitat destruction, the brimstone butterfly is numerous and
in no danger.
FEATURES OF THE BRIMSTONE BUTTERFLY
Adult male: Yellow upper wing
surface. Characteristic notch on
forewings and point on hind wings.
Wings of adult female are paler.
Both sexes have an orange spot
on each wing.
Camouflage: The brimstone hibernates among ivy,
where it is concealed by the pale yellow-green and
heavy veins of its wing undersides.
I
MCMXCII IMP BV/IMP INC WILDLIFE FACT FILETM PRINTED IN U.S.A.
Feeding: The
brimstone inserts
its proboscis (mouth-
part) into the base of
a tubular flower to ex-
tract nectar. In the pro-
cess it picks up pollen,
which it transfers to
the next flower. This
helps to propagate
its food plant.
0160200821 PACKET 82
As an adult, the brimstone lives much longer than most
other butterfly species. This insect feeds throughout the fall
in order to build up its energy reserves. It then settles on
an evergreen plant where it hibernates throughout the
cold winter. The brimstone butterfly then reappears
in the spring sunshine with a flourish of activity.
~ LlFECYCLE
The adult brimstone lives up
to nine months-much longer
than most butterfly species. In
the fall it finds a sheltered spot,
frequently among ivy foliage,
and enters the dormant state
called hibernation, having stored
enough energy to survive the
winter. It usually stays hidden
until early spring. It then mates,
lays its eggs, and dies. Adults
that live through the winter
rarely survive into summer.
The eggs hatch in a week or
two, and a caterpillar emerges
from each one. The caterpillar
grows rapidly for three to sev-
en weeks before attaching itself
to a stem and changing into a
pupa. Around two weeks later
the pupa splits open and the
adult hauls itself free, allowing
its wings to expand and hard-
en before it flies off.
In the warmer south the adult
emerges from the pupa in the
early summer and produces a
second, or even a third, gener-
ation. In northern regions the
adult emerges too late to breed
that year. Instead it feeds in the
fall, hibernates, and breeds the
following spring.
Right: The brimstone caterpillar
feeds voraciously on buckthorn
and alder buckthorn.
~ FOOD &: FEEDING
Brimstone caterpillars eat only
buckthorn and alder buckthorn
foliage. The adult female lays
her eggs one at a time near the
tips of the young shoots, and
the caterpillar starts feeding as
soon as it hatches. It usually be-
gins by chewing a hole and then
eats the leaf edge, rapidly strip-
ping it down to the midrib.
The adult generally flies near
buckthorn and alder buckthorn
plants, but it does not eat them.
Like all adult butterflies, it can
only take liquid food. Using its
Left: The coloring of the male brim-
stone is much brighter than that of
the female.
DID YOU KNOW?
The male's butter-colored
wings may be the origin of
the word butterfly.
Mating brimstones may stay
attached to each other for up
to 24 hours.
I Hibernating brimstones can
survive very severe frosts.
long, tubular proboscis (mouth-
part), it sips energy-rich nectar
from flowers, or it sucks juices
from rotting fruit or fungi to ob-
tain protein.
As it probes flowers for nectar,
the brimstone transports pol-
len from one blossom to anoth-
er, cross-fertilizing plants in the
same way a bee does. The brim-
stone butterfly is one of the main
pollinators of spring flowers such
as woodland primroses, whose
tubular blooms match the but-
terfly's long proboscis.
Right: The long proboscis extracts
nectar from slim, tubular flowers
such as red valerian.
The brimstone favors yellow
and purple blossoms, a pref-
erence reflected in its yellow
wings and purplish body.
When resting, a brimstone
"switches off" so effectively
that a fly may land on it with-
out disturbing it.
I
r>;J NATUREWATCH
I
The brimstone is most abun-
dant near buckthorn bushes in
open woods, thickets, and hill-
sides. It appears in two waves
each year: the first is in early
spring, when the mature but-
terflies emerge from hiberna-
~ H A B I T S
One of the most sun-loving but-
terflies in Europe, the brimstone
must warm its body thoroughly
in order to fly. It does not fly if
the sun is not out, and by mid-
afternoon it begins seeking a
roost for the night.
Active brimstones are much
easier to spot than perching
ones. In flight the male is par-
tion; the second is in summer
and fall, when the new gener-
ation is in flight.
When perching with its wings
closed, the brimstone is hard
to spot, since it looks like the
leaves on which it has settled.
ticularly conspicuous, but when
he perches and closes his color-
ful wings, the bright yellow is
hidden. The wing undersides
are a paler greenish yellow, with
a leaflike outline that disguises
the butterfly. When the brim-
stone takes off, it seems to burst
out of nowhere into a flash of
sulfur-yellow.
The male brimstone ranges
more widely than the female. He
roams far from his usual breed-
ing areas, possibly looking for a
new site with a resident female.
Left: The camouflaged pupa is
attached to the plant's stem by
both a silken pad and a girdle.
PERIODICAL CICADA
\
CLASS
Insecta
ORDER
Heteroptera
'" CARD 64
GROUP 5: INSECTS &: SPIDERS \ ~
FAMILY GENUS . - ~ .
Cicadidae Magicicada
Periodical cicadas live much longer than any other insects. After
spending many years developing underground, they come up
for a brief period to reproduce, and then they die.
SIZES
Length: 1-1 ~ in.
Wingspan: 2 ~ - 3 in.
BREEDING
Sexual maturity: 17 years in the
North; 13 years in the South.
Mating season: May to June.
No. of eggs: 500-600.
Hatching time: About 1 month.
LIFESTYLE
Habit: Solitary except during the
brief mating season, when thou-
sands appear within a few days.
Diet: Plant juices, obtained from sub-
terranean roots as nymphs and from
twigs and shoots as adults. Many do
not feed during their brief adult lives.
RELATED SPECIES
Of the 75 species of cicada in North
America, only 6 belong to the genus
Magicicada. The 3 northern species
mature in 17 years, and the 3 south-
ern ones in 13.
Range of periodical cicadas.
DISTRIBUTION
Found in woodlands and suburbs in eastern North America,
from southern Canada to the Gulf Coast, but not in Florida.
CONSERVATION
Because of the clearing of forests and development of suburbs
and shopping malls, periodical cicadas are declining throughout
their range. Immature cicadas often tunnel upward after their
long stay under the ground, only to be blocked by pavement.
FEATURES OF PERIODICAL CICAD
Adult: Can be recognized by
its black body, colorful wings,
and bulging, bright red eyes.
MCMXCII IMP BV/IMP INC WILDLIFE FACT FILE'M
Nymph: Front leg is
modified into a sharp
digging claw and used
for burrowing. The
adult lacks this claw.
PRINTED IN U.S.A. 0160200901 PACKET 90
In the northern part of their range, periodical cicadas
require 17 years to mature and emerge as adults. In
southern areas, they take 13 years. At the end of this
period, a huge brood swarms out of the ground. There
are more insects than their predators can handle.
~ HABITS
Although periodical cicadas are
sometimes called locusts, this
term is more correctly used to
refer to large grasshoppers. Un-
like grasshoppers, cicadas do
not jump.
One of the main differences
between periodical cicadas and
other cicadas is the long time
that it takes for periodical cica-
das to develop. In the northern
United States, as well as south-
ern Canada, these insects spend
17 years feeding underground
on tree roots. There are three
northern species, and the first
to be described was actually
given the species name septen-
decim (Latin for "seventeen").
Development is faster in the
warmer climate of the southern
states. There the nymphs (im-
mature insects) become adults
after 13 years.
A generation of cicadas that
emerges simultaneously at the
end of a 13- or 17 -year period
is called a brood. There may be
two or even three broods in one
area, but their emergences are
always separated by at least
four years.
~ lIFECYClE
After 13 or 17 years of develop-
ment, adult periodical cicadas
emerge by the thousands. The
males are equipped with sound-
producing organs, which they
use to make loud, wailing calls
that sound like drawn-out rep-
etitions of the word pharaoh.
After mating, the females fly
to tender shoots of oaks, apples,
and other trees. With her sharp
egg-laying apparatus, called an
ovipositor, each female deposits
500 to 600 eggs under the bark.
Once they have mated and laid
their eggs, all the adult periodi-
cal cicadas die.
Within a month, tiny, whitish
left: When an adult periodical cica-
da emerges, it is pale with only two
black patches. But it soon darkens.
~ DEFENSES
Periodical cicadas survive part-
ly because of their large num-
bers. Many thousands of these
insects suddenly appear all at
once. Even though a variety of
insect-eating predators, such
as birds and skunks, catch thou-
sands of these cicadas, that rep-
resents only a fraction of the
nymphs hatch. They drop to
the ground and work their way
down into the soil. There they
pierce the roots of trees with
their beaks and begin to feed
on the nutrient-rich sap.
During their 13 or 17 years as
nymphs, young periodical cica-
das move around from time to
time. They live in small cham-
bers in the soil, where they are
safe from predators.
After spending 13 or 17 years
underground, the nymphs have
already lived longer than any
other insects. They then crawl
up, split their skins, and emerge
as adults, ready to mate.
Below: A periodical cicada's beaklike
mouthparts begin for back under its
head and can pierce plant stems.
population. Thousands more
survive for the few weeks they
need to mate and lay eggs.
Periodical cicadas' long lifecy-
de also protects them. It is sig-
nificant that both 13 and 17 are
prime numbers-indivisible by
smaller numbers. Even if there
is more than one brood in an
DID YOU KNOW?
In North America cicadas are
often called locusts because in
1634 the settlers at Plymouth,
Massachusetts, witnessed a
brood of periodical cicadas
emerging. Impressed by the
huge number of insects, they
thought this was one of the
plagues of locusts mentioned
in the Old Testament. Descen-
dants of this brood emerged
in Massachusetts in 1991 .
G:J NATUREWATCH
Years go by without any sign
of periodical cicadas while the
nymphs feed quietly on tree
roots deep in the soil. Then, in
a matter of a few days, thou-
sands of adults appear. They
swarm out of the ground and
fill the air with their loud, wail-
ing calls.
area, it is mathematically impos-
sible for predators--even ones
with lifecycles that take several
years-to time their own emer-
gences to always match those
of periodical cicadas. As a re-
sult, there is never a swarm of
predators equal to the swarm
of cicadas.
In any emergence of period-
ical cicadas, a few individuals
miss their cue, coming out of
the ground a year before or af-
ter the majority of the brood.
One tiny, newly hatched
periodical cicada tunneled 20
feet into the ground in search
of a tree root suitable for feed-
ing. This is equivalent to a hu-
man digging with bare hands
1,500 feet into the earth.
left: After a ma-
jor emergence,
the ground near
the base of a tree
is often covered
with exuviae, or
cast-off nymph-
al skins. After the
adults die, the
exuviae are the
only evidence of
the emergence.
Once an outbreak has sub-
sided and the adults die, little
evidence of the cicadas' pres-
ence remains. The only signs
are empty nymphal ski ns on
tree trunks and dried, brown
shoots of various trees, which
the females killed when they
deposited thei r eggs.
~ FOOD &: FEEDING
Periodical cicadas have beaklike
mouthparts. They use these to
pierce the stems and roots of
plants and then suck out the
juices. Cicada nymphs are at-
tached to roots and feed for 13
to 17 years during the summer.
Many adults do not feed at all
during their brief adult lives.
DEATH'S HEAD HAWK MOTH
CLASS
Insecta
ORDER
Lepidoptera
GROUP 5: INSECTS & SPIDERS
FAMILY
Sphingidae
GENUS & SPECIES
Acherontia atropos
The death's head hawk moth is one of E u r o p e ~ largest moths.
The skull-shaped mark on its back has given rise to the
superstition that this harmless insect is an evil omen.
KEY FACTS
----- ... -
SIZES
Adult wingspan: 5 in.
Caterpillar: 5 in. long.
lIFECYCLE
Eggs: Laid singly on the upper sur-
faces of leaves of food plants.
Development time: In Europe,
from egg to adult in 5-6 months.
In Africa, there may be 2-3 broods
a year.
LIFESTYLE
Habit: Fast-moving, night-flying,
and migratory.
Diet: Larva eats foliage of potato
and other plants. Adult eats nectar,
sap, and honey.
lifespan: At least 2-3 weeks in the
adult form, possibly longer.
RELATED SPECIES
There are 2 other species in the ge-
nus Acherontia. One, A. lachetis, is
found in India and Southeast Asia.
The other, A. styx, lives in the Mid-
dle and Far East.
Range of the death's head hawk moth.
DISTRIBUTION
The death's head hawk moth ranges from Africa north as far as
the Shetland Islands, west to the Azores, and east to northern
Iran as a migrant.
CONSERVATION
The death's head hawk moth is common throughout much of
its range. This moth is less likely to breed in regions of Europe
where insecticides are used on potato crops.
LlFECYCLE OF THE DEATH'S HEAD HAWK MOTH
Adult: A large, robust moth. Hairy
abdomen with a rounded end. Male
and female are similar in appearance,
although the male is slightly smaller.
Visible claws on the
feet for clinging
to leaves.
Coloration: Forewings
are marbled black and brown,
with buff spots and bands.
Hind wings are yellow with
black bands. Abdomen is
striped black and yellow.
Top of thorax has yellow
"skull" mark.
f' MCMXCIl IMP BV/IMP INC WILDLIFE FACT FILETM PRINTED IN U.S.A.
Egg: Tiny green egg laid
singly on the upper surface
of a food plant leaf.
/
1 .. )
. ,1 '. Caterpillar:
Up to 5 inches
long. Brightly colored,
with a "horn" at its rear
end to deter predators.
It feeds on the potato
and other plants.
If it is touched, it
makes a squeaky
clicking sound.
Pupa: Encased in a fragile brown
cocoon. Squeaks when touched.
Stays underground throughout winter.
0160200921 PACKET 92
The death s head hawk moth migrates from Africa as far
north as Scandanavia and Great Britain. Early arrivals may
breed in these regions, but they cannot survive the winter.
This moth is named for the adults distinctive markings,
which resemble a human skull. These marks, along with
the moths ability to make a rhythmic squeaking noise,
have given this insect species a place in European folklore.

The death's head hawk moth of
Africa migrates north and east,
probably when populations get
too dense. It normally reaches
Great Britain and Scandinavia.
At all stages of its lifecycle, ex-
cept the egg, this moth makes
sounds that humans can hear.
The caterpillar gives a crackling
sound with its jaws, especially
when it is picked up. The pupa
can squeak, and the adult pro-
duces the same sound to fright-
en predators. It is thought that
the adult squeaks either by forc-
ing air out through its tongue or
by rubbing the segments of its
abdomen together.
The species' ability to produce
sound has probably helped to
make humans afraid of it.
Right: The death's head hawk moth
uses its proboscis to suck honey from
the cells of beehives.
LlFECYClE
The death's head hawk moth
mates in spring. After mating,
the female lays her oval green
eggs one at a time. She places
each egg on the upper surface
of a leaf of a food plant, often
the potato.
The caterpillar may vary in its
coloring. In Europe it is general-
ly bright green or yellow with
blue or purple stripes. It has sev-
eral defenses. It can produce a
startling crackling sound when
touched, and it is very poison-
ous. Also, like many hawk moth
caterpillars, it has a downward-
Left: The caterpillar's garish color-
ing warns potential predators that
it is poisonous.
Right: When it is disturbed, the
brown pupa of the death's head
hawk moth squeaks.
DID YOU KNOW?
The black and yellow stripes
of the death's head hawk moth
and its habit of invading bee-
hives have earned it the name
"bee tyger hawk moth." Mod-
ern hives are designed to keep
the moth out.
Some other names include
"death's head phantom" and
"wandering death bird."
curving horn at its rear end, and
this may discourage birds from
eating it.
The caterpillar feeds ravenous-
ly and grows very large-up to
five inches in northern Europe.
When fully grown, it burrows
into the soil and forms a large,
fragile cocoon in which it pu-
pates. It remains in the pupal
state throughout the winter
and emerges as an adult the
following spring.
Right: The moth's stripes seemed
to resemble human ribs, adding to
the fear of this insect.
The genus name, Acherontia,
is derived from the name of a
river in the mythical Greek un-
derworld. The species name,
atropos, comes from the name
of a Greek goddess who cut
the thread of life. The moth's
skull mark supposedly looks
like the goddess's mask with
her scissors underneath.
r' NATUREWATCH
In Europe, the death's head
hawk moth is most often seen
at the caterpillar stage, feed-
ing in potato fields in late sum-
mer. These caterpillars are the
offspring of early migrants.
In late fall adult death's head
hawk moths arrive in Europe.
FOOD &: FEEDING
Within Europe the death's head
hawk moth caterpillar feeds pri-
marily on the potato plant. But
elsewhere it eats many plants,
including the tomato, ash, jas-
mine, snowberry, woody night-
shade, and cotton.
The adult moth feeds at dusk,
using its hard, pointed proboscis
(mouthparts) to pierce fruit and
suck the juice. It also gets nectar
from flowers and takes sap from
They can sometimes be seen
around lights.
Farm workers used to find
pupae in potato fields when
they dug up potatoes using
their hands. This happens less
often now that crops are har-
vested mechanically.
trees. It is fond of honey and will
raid a beehive for it. As it moves
across a comb, it thrusts its pro-
boscis into the cells to suck up
the honey. Amazingly, the bees
rarely kill the invader. The moth's
strong, furry body may be resis-
tant to bee stings, or its squeak
may protect it. Sometimes the
bees do kill the moth. They cov-
er its body with wax and leave it
in the hive.
BLACK ANT
CLASS
Insecta
ORDER
Hymenoptera
'" CARD 66
GROUP 5: INSECTS &: SPIDERS
FAMILY
Formicidae Lasius niger
The black ant is one of 14,000 species in an enormous family.
Although it is called the garden ant, it is found not only in
gardens but also inside kitchens, where it often finds food.
KEY FACTS
CHARACTERISTICS
Length: About )il in.
Coloration: Brown to black.
Wings: Only on males and young
queen ants.
BREEDING
Eggs: Laid by queen at a rate of 1
every 10 minutes or so, over a pe-
riod of 6 or 7 years.
Larval development: Varies from
weeks to months, depending on
when the egg hatches.
LIFESTYLE
Habit: Social, living in a colony that
has thousands of members.
Diet: Insects, sowbugs, mites, nec-
tar, and honeydew.
Lifespan: A few months for males;
a few years for queen and workers.
RELATED SPECIES
The genus Lasius includes the jet-
black ant, L. fuliginosus, and the
meadow ant, L. flavus.
Range of tne black ant.
DISTRIBUTION
The black ant is found in Great Britain and Nort h America, but
some authorities consider the North American population to
be a separate species.
CONSERVATION
The black ant is abundant throughout its range, despite being
preyed on by birds and killed by humans.
FEATURES OF THE BLACK ANT
Antennae: Serve as the main sensory
organs for smell , touch, taste, and
hearing.
Eyes: Compound, with many tiny
lenses, each registering an impres-
sion of part of what the ant is
looking at.
Abdomen: Includes
most of the digestive
system and other
internal organs.
,) MCMXCII IMP BV/ IMP INC WILDLIFE FACT FILETM
Mouthparts:
Include a pair of
mandibles (jaws)
that are used for
Legs: Each has 9
segments connected
by movable joints.
On each foot there
are 2 hooked claws,
which dig into the
surface as the ant
walks and enable it
to dig tunnels, scale
heights, and walk
upside down.
PRINTED IN U.S.A.
THE NEST OF A
BLACK ANT COLONY
The chambers and tunnels extend
from the surface to a depth of 3
feet or more. One chamber is oc-
cupied by the Queen and her eggs
(1). Other rooms serve as resti ng
places or hold pupae (2) , larvae
(3) , or food. Eggs, pupae, and ~ ~
vae are regularly moved between
rooms to maintain the appropri-
ate temperature for their particu-
lar stage of development.
0160200991 PACKET 99
The black ant is one of the common species in a family
of insects that have evolved an advanced social structure.
Like other ant species, the black ant lives within a large
but well-organized society in which every member has
a clearly defined role. Each ant takes on specific tasks,
working together with the other ants in order to maintain
the colony as well as to ensure its continued survival.
CHARACTERISTICS
The black ant makes its nest in
a variety of places-under low
mounds of earth, beneath logs,
under stone walks, or in brick-
work. The nest consists of a nar-
row entrance leading through
several small passages to the
main chambers, which are con-
nected by tunnels. Each room
has a different use.
Like nearly all other ant spe-
cies, the black ant lives in a very
organized colony that has many
thousands of individuals. Each
member has a well-defined role
within one of three positions re-
ferred to as castes: queen (fertile,
egg-laying female), king (fertile
male), or worker (sterile female).
The workers carry out a vari-
ety of tasks. Some tend the eggs
and look after the larvae when
the eggs hatch. Others build or
extend the nest and help main-
tain it. Still other workers forage
for food, look after the queen,
or guard the nest.
The queen spends almost all
her life deep inside the colony,
laying eggs in a steady stream.
In a new colony the first genera-
tion of ants develops very quick-
ly. They immediately begin to
build the nest and look after the
queen and the larvae in the sec-
ond generation.
FOOD &: FEEDING
The black ant has a varied diet.
It eats large numbers of insects
such as beetle larvae and other
invertebrates such as sowbugs
and mites. In addition, it likes
sweet foods such as nectar and
especially honeydew.
Honeydew is a kind of sugar-
water produced by aphids and
related insects. The ant climbs
up plants to look for aphids and
then "milks" them by stroking
them with its antennae. As a
left: Male and young queen black
ants use their wings just once, for
their sole mating flight.
DID YOU KNOW?
In addition to aphids, there
may be various species of sow-
bug, scavenging beetle, and
springtail living in the black
ant's nest.
Each year some of the new-
ly hatched females are fertile
and have the potential to be-
come queens. Whether they
do depends on the food they
result of this action, the aphids
release the honeydew.
In addition to foraging for the
honeydew, the black ant takes
a few aphids back to its nest. It
then "farms" them-keeping
the aphids in special chambers
where they can feed on roots.
In fall the black ant may collect
the aphids' eggs and take them
to its nest for the winter. In the
spring it puts them out to hatch
on suitable plants near the nest.
Right: When the black ant discov-
ers food, it announces this by danc-
ing and waving its antennae.
eat. Larvae that are to become
queens are fed a special liquid
produced by certain worker
ants. The others are fed only
regurgitated food, and they
become sterile workers.
The sole reason for the male
black ant's is for him
to fertilize the queen. He usu-
ally dies after mating.
r NATUREWATCH
The best time to find black
ants is on a warm summer
day. Look for a trail of forag-
ing worker ants.
To observe a colony, find a
stone slab that has an ant trail
leading to it. On a hot day if
you lift up the slab, you will

Once a year, generally in July or
August, queens and males fly
away from their nests to mate.
The swarm of insects may be so
huge that it disrupts city traffic.
The ants mate in the air. In just
one mating flight, each queen
receives enough male sperm to
last for the rest of her lifetime.
After they mate, most of the
males die. Each queen returns
to the ground and removes her
wings by rubbing them against
stems and tugging at them with
her jaws. She then digs a small
left: Worker black ants tend to the
queen while she lays an almost end-
less supply of eggs.
see eggs as well as larvae near
the surface. The eggs have to
be maintained at a regulated
temperature, so you may see
some workers move the eggs
and larvae deeper inside the
colony, away from the direct
heat of the sun.
hole in the ground to begin a
new nest. After sealing herself
in, she remains alone in her hole
for several months until the first
eggs are ready to be laid. Dur-
ing that time, she lives on her
stores of fat and by absorbing
her now useless wing muscles.
The queen lays both fertilized
and unfertilized eggs. The fertil-
ized eggs develop into females
and the unfertilized eggs into
males. When the larvae hatch,
the queen feeds them with her
saliva. They soon change into
pupae and eventually emerge
as adult ants, becoming part of
the growing colony.
PEPPERED MOTH
CLASS
Insecta
ORDER
Lepidoptera
GROUP 5: INSECTS &: SPIDERS
FAMILY
Geometridae
GENUS &: SPECIES
Biston betularia
The peppered moth exists in two dramatically different forms-
the normal pale version and a dark variation that has evolved
to suit the dirty, polluted landscapes of industrial Europe.
CHARACTERISTICS
Wings: 2 pairs. Wingspan up to 2
in. Female larger than male.
Eyes: Compound in adult.
Mouthparts: Larva has slicing
jaws. Adult does not feed.
L1FECYCLE
Eggs: Laid in Mayor June in bead-
like strings on foliage.
Larva: Hatches in June or July and
feeds for 2 months.
Pupa: Overwinters in soil between
September and May.
Adult: Emerges in May and flies in
May and June.
LIFESTYLE
Habit: Solitary; active by night.
Diet: Larva eats foliage of decidu-
ous trees. Adult does not feed.
RELATED SPECIES
Others in the same family include
the magpie moth, swallow-tailed
moth, and common emerald.
Range of the peppered moth.
DISTRIBUTION
Found in parts of North Africa, throughout most of Europe,
and east into temperate Asia.
CONSERVATION
Like most moths, the peppered moth has suffered from the
widespread use of insecticides on agricultural lands. It has also
lost much of its habitat, but the species is not endangered.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ - - ~
TWO FORMS OF THE PEPPERED MOTH
Pale form: A male in flight is shown
here. This form's wings are colored
pale ash-gray with dark speckles,
mimicking the lichens on tree
trunks and rocks and thus
helping to camouflage
the moth at rest.
Antennae: Feathery on male;
simple and threadlike
on female.
MCMXCII IMP BV/ IMP INC WILDLIFE FACT FILETM PRINTED IN U.S.A.
Melanic (dark) form:
A male at rest is shown here.
This sooty brown form began to
become prevalent in the last century,
when increasing air pollution from
industry blackened tree trunks. In
polluted areas the dark moths fared
better than their pale counterparts
because their coloring helped
conceal them from birds.
0160200941 PACKET 94
The peppered moth is a good example of evolution in action.
The increased prevalence of the dark form in grimy industrial
regions illustrates the role of natural selection in changing
living creatures to suit altered surroundings, such as a newly
polluted landscape. The change from a pale to a dark color
may seem superficial, but over millions of years changes like
this can lead to the development of a completely new species.
~ LlFECYClE
Like all the moths, the peppered
moth goes through four phases:
egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Af-
ter hatching from the egg, the
larva feeds and grows. During
the pupal stage, the larval body
changes into a sexually mature
adult. The adult does not grow
at all, devoting its energies to
mating and laying eggs.
The whole cycle, or metamor-
phosis, occupies little more than
a year. The adult female lays her
eggs in late spring. She attaches
them in beadlike rows to the
leaves of deciduous trees such
as oaks and beeches. The larvae
hatch in a few days and begin
feeding on the foliage, growing
rapidly and shedding their skin
several times.
By late summer the larvae are
fully grown and are ready to pu-
pate. Each works its way down
to the ground, burrows into the
soil, and builds itself an earthen
cocoon before shedding its skin
to reveal a shiny brown pupal
case. It spends the winter in this
state, protected from the frost
by the insulating soil. In spring it
emerges as a winged moth. As
soon as it can fly, the adult takes
off to mate and dies soon after
the female lays her eggs.
Right: On a tree trunk blackened
by soot, a dark moth is better cam-
ouflaged than a pale one.
~ FOOD &: FEEDING
The adult peppered moth does
not need to feed since it rarely
lives longer than a week or two
-just long enough to mate and
lay eggs. As a larva, it stores up
enough food energy to support
its transformation into an adult
and its brief adult life.
Using its biting jaws, the larva
cuts through energy-rich tree
foliage. It nearly always feeds
at night, spending the day in
Left: The pale peppered moth is pat-
terned to resemble lichen, using this
mimicry to avoid predators.
DID YOU KNOW?
The advantages of the dark
form were revealed in a study
made in the 1950s. A scientist
released both dark and light
forms. The dark moths fared
better in smoky towns, while
the pale forms flourished in
the country.
The peppered moth's family
is named Geometridae because
a state of sticklike immobility to
hide from predatory birds.
Unlike most caterpillars, the
peppered moth larva feeds on a
variety of leaves, including oak,
elm, beech, birch, willow, plum,
and even bramble foliage. As a
result, female peppered moths
can lay their eggs on a range of
plants, enabling the species to
colonize different types of habi-
tats throughout their range.
Right: The twiglike larva of the pep-
pered moth feeds at night, chewing
through foliage.
all the larvae walk by looping
their bodies in a way that re-
sembles the dividers used by
mathematicians in geometry.
Many moths have evolved
dark forms, but the peppered
moth is the best-known exam-
ple of industrial melanism. Mel-
anin is the dark pigment that
helps disguise the moth.
m ~ . J NATUREWATCH
The peppered moth rests on
tree trunks and in foliage. It is
hard to ~ e e unless it is a poor
match with its background.
Dark and light forms frequent-
ly occur together, but there
are always more of the better-
matched variety since birds
~ DEFENSES
As a larva and an adult, the pep-
pered moth's main defense is
camouflage. The larva looks like
a twig, enhancing this effect by
holding itself stiff when it is not
feeding or is threatened. Its skin
color is always a close match to
the bark of the tree on which it
feeds, varying from yellowish
green on willow to ash gray on
oak and brown on birch.
But camouflage is not a per-
fect defense, so the larva has an-
other trick. If spotted, it drops to
the ground and lies motionless.
Most predators seeking live prey
ignore an animal that seems to
be dead, even if they are able to
find it again.
catch the mismatched insects.
A female moth has simple,
threadlike antennae. The male
is smaller, with complicated,
feathery antennae with thou-
sands of sensory cells that can
detect the female's fragrance
from far away.
The normal adult is a pale col-
or with dark speckles, which dis-
guises it when it rests on a tree
covered with lichens. But in an
industrial area, where trees have
lost their lichens because of pol-
lution, peppered moths tend to
be dark, matching bark that has
been blackened by soot. Since
light-colored moths in these re-
gio.ns are more visible to preda-
tors, it is mostly the dark moths
that survive to breed.
First discovered in 1848, pop-
ulations of dark peppered moths
flourished due to the Industrial
Revolution. Now, as control of
air pollution improves, the dark
forms are decreasing.
CARD 68 ]
PURPLE HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFL V ~
"'__ GROUP 5: INSECTS &: S P I ~ ,.-(
CLASS ORDER FAMILY GENUS &; SPECIES
Insecta Lepidoptera Lycaenidae Quercusia quercus
The purple hairstreak is a high-flying butterfly that is found
in European oak forests. As it flits among the topmost
branches, its iridescent wings glint in the sun.
KEY FACTS
CHARACTERISTICS
Wings: 2 pairs.
Wingspan: 1 ~ in.
Eyes: Compound.
Mouthparts: Larva has 1 pair of
chewing mouthparts. Adult has
sucking proboscis.
LlFECYCLE
Eggs: Laid singly on oak twigs.
Larva: Brown. Feeds for 6 weeks.
Pupa to adult: 5 weeks.
Adult lifespan: 4 weeks.
LIFESTYLE
Habit: Flies by day high in trees.
Diet: Larva, mainly oak foliage.
Adult, honeydew and nectar.
RELATED SPECIES
The black hairstreak, Stryrnonidia
pruni; white-letter hairstreak, S. w-
alburn; green hairstreak, Cal/ophrys
rubi; and brown hairstreak, Thecla
betulae, are the closest relatives.
Range of the purple hairstreak butterfly.
==--=====
DISTRIBUTION
The purple hairstreak is found in Europe as far east as Turkey,
but not in the far north. This butterfly also occurs on the north-
ernmost tip of Africa.
CONSERVATION
Like most butterflies, the purple hairstreak has suffered from
deforestation and the widespread use of insecticide sprays.
THE PURPLE AND BROWN HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLIES
Purple hairstreak: Male has purple iridescence
over most of his wings, which are dull
brown when light is not reflected off
them. Wings are edged with
white. Each hind wing
has a small "tail."
MCMXCII IMP BV/ IMP INC WILDLIFE FACT FILETM PRINTED IN USA.
Brown hairstreak: Male is brown
allover, with orange patches on
"tails" of hind wings. Female
has broad orange bands
across forewings.
0160200951 PACKET 95
The purple hairstreak is a glowing example of butterfly
iridescence. It is essentially dull colored, but it gleams with
rich purple when the sunlight is reflected off of its wings.
Although it is one of the most common hairstreaks, this
species is rarely noticed because it flies high and is elusive.
~ CHARACTERISTICS
A butterfly's color comes from
the minute scales that cover its
wings. The actual wings under-
neath the scales are stiff, trans-
parent membranes.
The purple hairstreak's wing
scales are mostly dark brown,
but some are finely etched with
ridges that act like microscopic
prisms, scattering light and re-
flecting it as an iridescent pur-
ple. The intensity of the purple
varies depending on the angle
of the light, and the color may
seem to flash on and off as the
butterfly flutters its wings. This
bright coloring can be a disad-
vantage, making the butterfly
obvious to predators like birds.
The male flies higher than the
female. He patrols his territory
and swoops down on any rival
males or other intruders such as
wasps. Occasionally the purple
hairstreak flies down to a forest
clearing to feed or bask in the
sun. The female descends more
often than the male, but she is
not as brightly colored and is
therefore harder to spot.
Like all butterflies, the purple
hairstreak must warm up in the
sun to bring its flight muscles up
to their working temperature.
So on cloudy, cool days it may
not fly at all.
~ FOOD & FEEDING
The adult purple hairstreak lives
for only about one month. So it
needs food only to supply ener-
gy for breeding and flying. It
gets this food in the most con-
centrated form available: sugar.
Most butterflies obtain sugar
from nectar, the syrup secreted
by flowers to attract insects. Al -
though the purple hairstreak
drinks nectar, it gets most of its
sugar from tree sap.
Trees are often plagued by
sap-sucking aphids. Tree sap is
mostly sugar with a little pro-
tein. To obtain enough protein,
Left: The male hairstreak is the more
conspicuous sex because his wings
reflect more purple.
~ I D YOU KNOW?
Although it is the most com-
mon hairstreak in northern Eu-
rope, the purple hairstreak is
very rarely seen.
The purple hairstreak's scien-
tific name comes from the Lat-
in word quercus, which means
aphids must eat far more sugar
than they need, so they get rid
of the excess in the form of a
sugary secretion called honey-
dew. In summer honeydew falls
onto trees' lower leaves, where
the purple hairstreak feeds on it.
Uncoiling its long proboscis, or
mouthpart, it sucks the sugary
solution into its stomach. Some-
times a rich source of honeydew
attracts a large number of pur-
ple hairstreaks, which create a
spectacular sight as they flutter
from one leaf to the next on iri-
descent wings.
Right: The white "hairstreak" on
the underside shows when the but-
terfly folds its wings.
"oak tree," and reflects the fact
that the oak is the caterpillar's
food plant.
A dark area on the forewings
of the male emits a powerful
scent known as a pheromone
that helps attract mates.
I r { ; ; ~ NATUREWATCH
The adult purple hairstreak is
most likely to be seen feeding
on honeydew from an aphid-
infested tree. The caterpillar
can be found on leaves of oak
~ lIFECYCLE
Like most insects, the purple
hairstreak has a multistage life-
cycle lasting about a year. It be-
gins life as an egg, hatches as
a feeding caterpillar, and then
enters a transformation stage
called the pupa. Eventually the
adult butterfly emerges from
the pupa. It mates and lays its
eggs, starting the cycle again.
The female purple hairstreak
lays her eggs on oak twigs dur-
ing july. The eggs are dormant
through fall and winter, then
hatch in April, when the oak
Left: The brown caterpillar of the
purple hairstreak feeds on young
oak leaves.
trees, but it falls off if touched.
With binoculars, the purple
hairstreak can be seen flying
high in the trees or basking
in the sun.
trees are budding. The tiny cat-
erpillars immediately start eat-
ing the tender foliage. Several
caterpillars feed on one shoot,
spinning a silken net to hide
themselves from predators.
The caterpillar grows for six
weeks, shedding its skin several
times. It then pupates in a bark
crevice or under leaf debris on
the ground. In five weeks the
adult butterfly emerges.
After its wings have expanded
and hardened, the butterfly be-
gins looking for a mate. Within
a few days a female may lay her
eggs. Soon after mating and
egg laying, the butterfly dies.
MEADOW BROWN BUTTERFLY
CLASS
Insecta
ORDER
Lepidoptera
GROUP 5: INSECTS &: SPIDERS
FAMILY
Satyridae
GENUS & SPECIES
Maniola jurtina
The meadow brown is one of the most common butterflies
in Europe. The primary reason for its success is the
great abundance of its main requirement-grass.
CHARACTERISTICS
Wings: 2 pairs.
Wingspan: Female, up to 2 in.
Male, 1% in.
Legs: 3 pairs, with 1 pair nonfunc-
tional.
Mouthparts: Sucking proboscis
(adult); biting jaws (caterpillar).
LlFECYCLE
Breeding season: From May to
September.
Caterpillar to pupa: 8-9 months.
Pupa to adult: 1 month.
Adult lifespan: Up to 2 months.
LIFESTYLE
Habit: Flies throughout summer
on sunny and cloudy days.
Diet: Adult, nectar and organic
juices. Caterpillar, grasses.
RELATED SPECIES
Close relatives include the gate-
keeper and grayling and other
"browns" such as the speckled
wood, ringlet, and marbled white.
Range of the meadow brown butterfly.
DISTRIBUTION
The meadow brown butterfly inhabits a range from Europe
south to North Africa and north to southern Scandinavia,
extending east to the Ural Mountains and Iran.
CONSERVATION
The meadow brown is at some risk from agricultural insecticides
and habitat destruction. But it appears to be flourishing and is
not thought to be in any danger.
FEATURES OF THE MEADOW BROWN BUTTERFLY
Female resting: Wings close to
reveal the duller undersides,
which camouflage the butterfly
against grass and leaves.
MCMXCII IMP BV/ IMP INC WILDLIFE FACT FILE' M PRINTED IN U.S.A.
Female: Much brighter than
the male. A large single eye-
spot stands out against the
orange patch on each of her
forewings.
0160200831 PACKET 83
The meadow brown is one of Europe's least spectacular
butterflies, but it is also one of the toughest. It is capable of
flying during weather that would keep almost every other
species from taking to the air. The meadow brown is also
unusual because the female is much brighter than the
male. The opposite is true of most other butterfly species.
~ HABITS
Most butterflies are unable to fly
without the heat of the sun to
warm them. As a result, they dis-
appear on cloudy days, saving
their energy until the sun comes
out. The meadow brown, how-
ever, seems to have extra ener-
gy reserves, since it keeps flying
even in a light drizzle. This but-
terfly is most common on grass-
land, especially long grass. But
it also flutters through gardens,
farm fields, and woods.
The male is duller than the big-
Right: The caterpillar changes into
a pale green pupa at the base of a
food plant.
ger female, but both have drab
coloring that camouflages them
well. A resting meadow brown
is difficult to see, especially in
dead grass or fallen leaves. The
undersides of the forewings are
pale orange, but when slipped
behind the brown hind wings,
they seem to vanish.
~ LlFECYClE
The meadow brown's life is over
within a year. It spends most of
the year as a caterpillar and only
a few weeks to two months as a
winged adult.
After emerging as an adult in
spring or early summer, the male
flies off to find an unmated fe-
male. If he is successful, the cou-
ple performs an aerial courtship
dance. Then they mate, linking
the tips of their abdomens to
transfer sperm.
The female spends some time
searching for suitable grasses on
which to lay her eggs. She de-
posits each egg on a separate
Left: The female meadow brown
has an eyespot on each forewing.
DID YOU KNOW?
The meadow brown is fre-
quently afflicted with tiny red
mites that suck blood from the
joints in its external skeleton.
Meadow browns sometimes
patrol up and down hedges
without actually crossing them.
The hedges apparently act as
blade. The caterpillar immedi-
ately starts feeding on the grass
after hatching. It molts (sheds its
skin) several times as it grows
during summer and early fall. In
winter it is mostly dormant, wak-
ing only in mild spells to feed.
By midspring the caterpillar is
fully grown. It goes through its
final molt in Mayor June and
turns into a pupa. It spends a
month in this transitional stage,
attached to a grass stem by a
pad of silk. During this time, its
body breaks down and reforms.
When it finally emerges from the
pupa, it is a winged adult.
Right: The nocturnal caterpillar
feeds for eight or nine months.
boundaries between territories.l
In the warmer parts of the
meadow brown's range, the
caterpillars may develop so
quickly that they emerge as
adults during their first sum-
mer. They then lay eggs that
produce a second generation.
1
'I:nJ NATUREWATCH
The meadow brown is one of the only butterfly to be seen.
the most common butterflies The female has orange wing
in Europe. It thrives wherever flashes, while the male is dark-
there is enough grass to feed er and smaller. Variations are
its caterpillars. It flies through- common, with some individ-
out the warmer months, and uals possessing much larger or
I on c l o u ~ it is frequently __ s_ m_a_lIe_r_e_y_es_p_o_ts_. ____ ---I
~ FOOD &: FEEDING
As an adult, the meadow brown
can feed only on liquids, which
it sucks up through its long, tu-
bular proboscis (mouthpart). In
order to obtain fuel for flying, it
feeds on rotting fruit and flower
nectar-energy-rich foods that
have high sugar contents.
Flowers produce nectar to at-
tract insects such as butterflies,
which become dusted with pol-
len as they feed. They then car-
ry the pollen to other flowers,
fertilizing the unripe seeds.
Left: When mating, the male and
female meadow browns join the
tips of their abdomens.
Flowers benefit if the butterfly
visits many plants of the same
species, so each flower provides
just enough nectar for a taste.
Eager for more, the butterfly
moves on to the next flower.
The meadow brown favors the
nectar of grassland plants such
as thyme and scabious.
The caterpillar has a different
diet. Instead of a sucking pro-
boscis, it has very strong jaws
for chewing tough grass such as
meadow grass. It feeds on great
quantities to build up the re-
serves it needs for its transfor-
mation into an adult.
'" CARD 70
COMMON WHIRLIGIG BEETLE ' ~ .
" GROUP 5: INSECTS & SPIDERS "-' .
CLASS ~ ORDER FAMILY GENUS & SPECIES
Insecta ~ Coleoptera Gyrinidae Gyrinus natator
The common whirligig beetle is a sociable creature that lives in
groups on fresh water. A tireless predator, it spends most of its time
darting across the surface looking for small insects and their larvae.
CHARACTERISTICS
Length: Larva, about ~ in. Adult,
less than 1. in.
Coloration and form: Larva is
slender, with about 1 3 sections
plus gills. Adult is shiny bluish
black, with an oval body.
Mouthparts: Adult has pointed
mandibles. Larva has a perforated
sucking canal.
BREEDING
Breeding season: March to April.
Eggs: Laid end to end or in clus-
ters. underwater.
LIFESTYLE
Habit: Sociable. Feeds by day; flies
by night to new habitats if neces-
sary. Adult hibernates in winter.
Diet: Insects and their larvae, espe-
cially mosquitoes.
RELATED SPECIES
There are more than 700 species in
the family Gyrinidae.
Range of the common whirligig beetle.
DISTRIBUTION
The common whirligig beetle is found in Great Britain and Eu-
rope, south to northern Spain, north to southern Norway and
Sweden, and east to the Black Sea.
CONSERVATION
The common whirligig beetle is in no immediate danger. How-
ever, some local populations are threatened by drainage or pol -
lution of their watery habitats.
FEATURES OF THE COMMON WHIRLIGIG BEETLE
Larva
Gills: Slender
appendages that
enable the larva
to breathe un-
derwater.
Body: Slender and segmented into
about 13 sections. Twice as long
as that of the adult.
Adult
'i;' MCMXCII IMP BV/IMP INC WILDLIFE FACT FILETM PRINTED IN U.s.A
Body: Hard.
shiny black sur-
face. Elytra (out-
er wing cases)
protect the
wings.
Legs: Long front
pair. Two hind
pairs are much
shorter and are
used to propel
the beetle on the
water surface.
0160200871 PACKET 87
The common whirligig beetle can fly, leap, dive, and even
walk on water. It is a dizzying sight as it constantly darts
across the surface of a calm pond. This restless behavior
enables the shiny black beetle to escape from predators
or to pounce on another insect in just a split second.

Adult common whirligig beetles
live in groups on still or sluggish
fresh water. They spend most of
the day dashing over the sur-
face of the water.
Surface tension makes the top
of the water a springy "floor"
for this beetle. Its light body
weight, spread over six legs, al-
lows it to walk across the water
without breaking the elastic sur-
face. But at any sign of danger,
the beetle dives underwater.
There it moves by beating its
two short hind pairs of legs up
to 60 times a second. Very small
blades on the legs fan out on
each backward thrust to propel
the beetle forward. The insect
also uses this method to move
on the su rface.
Unlike some other beetle spe-
cies, the common whirligig bee-
tle flies very well. So if its watery
home begins to dry up, it can
fly to a new area.
LlFECYCLE
After hibernating in the winter,
the common whirligig beetle
mates in the spring. The female
lays her eggs end to end or in
clusters on underwater plants.
The slender larva that emerges
after several weeks is about half
an inch long, twice the adult's
length. Unlike the adult, the lar-
va spends almost all of its time
underwater. It takes its oxygen
directly from the water, using
10 pairs of slender gills. In con-
trast, the adult breathes air.
The whirligig larva preys on
creatures such as midge larvae.
Its long legs have sharp claws,
and each of its mandibles (jaw
pincers) has a canal through
Left: Common whirligig beetles
gather on the water, moving rest-
lessly in search of food.
Right: When handled, some whirli-
gig beetles give off an odor similar
to the scent of pineapples.
DID YOU KNOW?
A whirligig beetle can jump
more than three feet, or 200
times its body length. That is
the equivalent of a rabbit leap-
ing more than 250 feet.
A relative of the common
which it is able to suck fluid out
of its prey.
The larva builds a cocoon out
of mud on a plant beside the
water's edge. Unaccustomed
to moving outside of its aquat-
ic home, the larva contorts itself
uncomfortably during the con-
struction. The whirligig spends
its pupal stage in the cocoon
and emerges as an adult in Au-
gust or September.
Right: The larva's front three pairs
of appendages are legs. The others
are gills.
whirligig, native to Southeast
Asia, measures one inch long.
Although it is over four times
longer than the common Eu-
ropean species, it is also able
to skim the water's surface.
NATUREWATCH
The best time to see the com-
mon whirligig beetle is in Au-
gust or September, after the
youngest beetles have come
out of their pupas.
FOOD & FEEDING
The adult common whirligig
beetle feeds mainly on mosqui-
toes, but it also finds other in-
sects and their larvae under or
on the water. Since its hind legs
propel it effectively, this beetle
can use its much longer front
legs to catch food. Each foreleg
has a sharp claw to grasp the
catch, which is often a dead
Left: The usually active common
whirligig beetle floats on the wa-
ter 's surface when resting.
These insects can be seen on
fresh water, searching for prey.
But they must be approached
cautiously, since they will dive
underwater if disturbed.
insect floating on the water.
Each of the beetle's eyes have
two parts that work much like
bifocal glasses. As a result, the
insect can see above and below
the water at the same time.
This whirligig can face fierce
competition when it hunts. It is
always on the lookout for pred-
atory insects, birds, and fish . If
cornered, it secretes a milky liq-
uid and tries to escape through
the cloudy water.